Leadership, Accountability Headlining Clemson's Fall Camp

CLEMSON, S.C.-- The Clemson Tigers had one of the highest return rates in the FBS this offseason, and the returning experience is creating leadership and maturity in its fall camp.

Several players from the Tigers’ offensive line, which returns four of its five starters from a season ago, spoke on Monday afternoon. Being one of the most important sets of communication on the field, they have seen personal growth from many players as leaders.

Offensive tackle Tristan Leigh sees the leadership based off of the athlete’s personality, whether being vocal or simply knowing their role as a celebratory player.

“I think something that’s special about this team is how much diversity we have in leadership,” Leigh said. “We have a lot of guys that lead in different ways. Not everybody is the 'rah-rah' guy, the guy that gets everybody going. Some guys lead by example and how they practice. They set the example everyday. We have guys that are hype men and guys that bring in different aspects.”

On the opposite side of the line, Blake Miller sees every position speaking up and taking charge as a leader.

“The thing I love the most is that there’s guys at every position, every side of the ball who are bringing energy,” Miller said. “I know Wade [Woodaz] is very vocal, Sammy [Brown]’s very vocal. Tyler Venables, very vocal, Peter [Woods] is very vocal, T.J. [Parker] is very vocal, and those are just defensive guys I can name you off the top of my head.”

Miller also says that almost every player on the line speaks out, as well as quarterback Cade Klubnik, running back Adam Randall, and wide receivers Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore.

For the offensive line, the leadership comes from second-year offensive line coach Matt Luke, who’s created a mindset where “you got to earn it." Second-year starter Ryan Linthicum says that the words have made him a larger example for the underclassmen.

“Those young guys look to somebody like me, so how am I going to show up?” Linthicum said. “How am I going to show these young guys what, in four years, what they could do? And I think it’s just everyday, bringing that ‘gotta earn it’ mindset, and that’s huge in our o-line room.”

The Clemson Tigers have vocal leaders at every position, according to Blake Miller. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another addition to these players’ characters is the addition of accountability. For lineman Collin Sadler, head coach Dabo Swinney gave them a goal to keep themselves accountable instead of other coaches and players vocalizing it.

“One thing Dabo talks about a lot to us recently is level three accountability, and that’s when the players are holding themselves accountable as opposed to waiting on somebody else to correct us,” Sadler said. “So, really just being on point, holding each other accountable has been a big point of emphasis this offseason for us.”

It’s a close team with a lot of experience, which leads to the expectations of a national championship for the Tigers. As Leigh enters his final year on the line, he’s not overlooking the expectations, as best is the standard at the school.

“Every year, we go into the year with expectation and to be our absolute best,” he said. “Hopefully, if we focus on being our absolute best every single day and look up and be the best, that’s always the goal. That’s always the mission, it’s the same mission.

“We’ve all lived a lot of life together, fought through a lot together and collectively, we have the same goal and same mission, and we love each other, most importantly.”

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