Praise for Young Tigers Keeps Rolling In
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney can't keep from rattling off his praises and practice observations for the younger Tigers.
With so many players to tend to, Swinney is outstanding at keeping up with virtually every players' progression and has seen some extraordinary play nine days through practice from a handful of budding stars, starting with two offensive lineman given the opportunity due to injury.
"The biggest thing is we started, and Walker (Parks), Jordan (McFadden) weren't able to go for a few practices when we started," Swinney said. "They're both back now, and both of them had a really good day today. but that forced Mitchell (Mayes) and John Williams to get a ton of reps, way more than they would have gotten had those guys been out there (to start practice)."
After a surprising decision that saw former offensive tackle Jackson Carman declare for the NFL draft, the starting tackle spot opposite McFadden is wide open, with plenty of talent vying for the playing time.
The secondary was on Swinney's mind afterward, and with former Tiger Derion Kendrick's dismissal from the team, one mid-year has taken advantage of the now short-handed cornerback room.
"Nate Wiggins is a young, mid-year guy that's coming here and had an interception today," Swinney said. "I mean, he's got to get in the weight room, but he is really talented and has a chance to really be a very strong contributor for us this year as a true freshman."
Sitting at 175 pounds, Swinney was dead on about his weight room suggestion as Wiggins weighs in ten pounds lighter than the next smallest corner, with Sheridan Jones and Fred Davis II coming in at 185.
Wiggins is the only freshman among a group of seven cornerbacks, and putting on some muscle this offseason could see Wiggins fill in as a great nickleback option on Brent Venables' defense with the potential to take playing time from all of Jones, Andrew Booth Jr. and Davis II.
Swinney's highest praise of the press conference came on both sides of the ball, with the Clemson coach raving about sophomore receiver Ajou Ajou and his improvements in only nine months, as well as offering a serious confidence boost to freshman linebacker Jermaine Trotter Jr.
"Ajou is a guy that has taken advantage of this opportunity. He's one of the most improved, and he should be," Swinney said. "(Ajou) had a long way to go from being a real truly functional, dependable, confident receiver (in 2020). But the light has really come on for that guy; he's making some strong strides. I'm super encouraged by what I've seen in him from where he was when he first got here last summer."
Trotter has much more depth ahead of him than Wiggins, with 12 other linebackers in contention but is in a similar boat as the only freshmen amongst his positional peers. Despite numerous upperclassmen ahead of him, Trotter has made the most of his early enrollment, catching serious attention from his head coach.
"Those young backers are impressive," Swinney said. "Trotter at linebacker, I mean, he really truly is about as good of a linebacker prospect as you could sign coming out of high school. He is just a very talented young man."
Swinney finished rattling off his list, mentioning the defensive line and quarterback Hunter Helms, and how after a few atrocious practices, Helms finished at the midway point with his best day of the spring.
With nods to freshmen Peyton Page and DeMonte Capehart's improvements, Swinney was reluctant to add that Tigers' defensive lineman Bryan Bresee and Tyler Davis are playing 'at another level' in their second season together. The competition at virtually every position is exciting for Swinney and should have fans foaming at the mouth for the first September matchup with Georgia.
"Capehart really caught my eye today, and Peyton Page," Swinney said. "But Tyler Davis and Bresee are at another level. Those guys, they're having some of their best practices that I've seen them have since they've been here. And so, just all across the board. I see a lot of guys working hard to improve, and if we can continue to have that type of focus and progress when it's all said and done, we got a chance to be a good football team."
