Clemson Cruises In Opener: Position Grades
No fans, no problem. Top-ranked Clemson brought its own energy to Winston-Salem and cruised to a 37-13 win over Wake Forest on Saturday night.
While it certainly wasn't perfect, it was a solid showing for a season opener, especially after such a long and unusual offseason.
The offense was sharp and efficient, and the defense was stout. Even the Tigers up-and-down special teams units were good in the dominating win.
Position Grades:
Quarterbacks: Trevor Lawrence kicked off his Heisman campaign, in what we now know will likely be his final collegiate season, in stellar fashion. Lawrence rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, while completing close to 80 percent of his passes for 351 yards. He was as sharp as you can ask for in a season opener... A+
Running Backs: The Clemson running backs averaged four yards per carry and amassed 185 rushing yards as a group. Even the freshmen Demarckus Bowman and Kobe Pace had six carries each. Travis Etienne wasn't picking up large chunks of yards the way fans have become accustomed to seeing but still went over the century mark and averaged six yards per carry, while also adding another 47 receiving yards... A
Wide Receivers: The receivers weren't great but turned in a solid effort against the Demon Deacons. Amari Rodgers led the way with five catches for 90 yards, including two big ones on consecutive plays on the Tigers' first touchdown drive of the game. Joseph Ngata and Cornell Powell were the only other wideouts with more than one catch in the game, but nine different receivers caught passes... B-
Tight Ends: This group turned in one of the best efforts seen from Clemson tight ends in quite some time. Braden Galloway's five catches tied a team-high, and he proved just how valuable of an asset he can be in this offense. J.C. Chalk caught his first career touchdown pass and Davis Allen also had a big 42-yard grab... A+
Offensive Line: After replacing four starters from last years team, this offensive line passed its first test against a veteran defensive front that featured one of the ACC's best pass rushers in Carlos Basham Jr. The run blocking could have been better in short yardage, but overall a solid first effort from the group its first time out... B+
Defensive Line: Despite missing Xavier Thomas and Justin Foster, the defensive line was dominant. Freshmen Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy were impressive in their debuts and K.J. Henry looks like he has turned the corner and will be a force to be reckoned with. Defensive linemen accounted for 4.5 of the teams six sacks and 6.5 of the teams 11 tackles for loss on the night... A+
Linebackers: Mike Jones Jr. and Baylon Spector turned in great performances in their first career starts. Both registered five tackles and were big factors in limiting Wake Forest to a measly 1.1 yards per rush... A
Secondary: The Tigers were without two key pieces in Derion Kendrick and Mario Goodrich, and while it wasn't all pretty, the young players behind them filled in nicely, all things considered. With so much inexperience, some growing pains are expected, and there were a few on Saturday night... C+
Special Teams: B.T. Potter hit on all three of his field goal attempts, including one from 52 yards out as time expired in the first half. Will Spiers averaged close to 43 yards per punt and had one that went for 56 yards... A+
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