Communication, Being Dialed In, Next Steps for Clemson Offense

After the Tigers first scrimmage of fall camp, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott detailed the next steps his offense needs to take as the Tigers hit the backend of camp.

It's not uncommon for the defense to be a little ahead of the offense during fall camp.

In Saturday afternoon's scrimmage, that once again proved to be the case for the Tigers, as the Clemson offense struggled to have success against a defense littered with talent. 

Outside of correcting some of the mental mistakes made by the Tigers' offense, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said one of the biggest keys for the group going forward will be staying the course.

"Communication is where it starts, and then the guys being dialed in," Elliott said. "As I told them before, camp is always like this. It's a little bit frustrating because the defense is gonna be a little bit ahead. We're not necessarily game planning for them and we're going to have play calls that are not going to match up. Don't get frustrated."

With a number of younger, inexperienced players taking reps on the offense, Elliott said it's imperative to not let frustration start to set in and that the team focuses on the bigger picture.

"Sometimes guys, especially young guys, are a little bit frustrated because things don't match up," Elliott said. "We try and tell them not to focus on that because we don't want to get into just game-planning for the defense. We're installing our entire offense, you know to build for the season."

With fall camp set to wrap up with another scrimmage on Thursday, Elliott said the Tigers want to stay focused on the little things. Making sure the communication is where it needs to be and staying on top of the fundamentals. 

Then the team will take the next step, which is preparing for the season opener in Charlotte against Georgia, one of the biggest out of conference matchups of the 2021 season.

"The biggest thing is with so many young guys, just helping them to stay confident," Elliott said. "Focus on the things you can control, which is your fundamentals. Make sure that we have the proper communication, we're headed in the right direction, and then come when school starts, we'll pare it down and we'll figure out exactly what we're going to carry into the Georgia game."