Clemson 2014 Preview

2014 Clemson Tigers Football Preview

As the college football season quickly approaches, I wanted to preview my Tigers' season. With a lot of changes on offense this year, the defense will be at the forefront of the team's success, at least early on in the season.

Offense

With the best ACC QB in history Tajh Boyd, stud WR Sammy Watkins, starting RB Roderick McDowell, and freak athlete WR Martavis Bryant all gone, the Tigers are looking very different on offense this year. That being said, Head Coach Dabo Swinney and OC Chad Morris have a lot to work with and I wouldn't expect a drastic change in the amount of points Clemson puts up on the scoreboard this year. Let's take a look at some of the key players on O.

Cole Stoudt, QB

Replacing Tajh Boyd is a tough task, but Cole Stoudt has been under his wing for three years and has had a lot of in-game experience due to Clemson demolishing nearly every opponent. Stoudt was 47-59 for 415 yards and 5 TDs last year in the back-up role. Also, Chad Morris's offense is based a lot around WR screen passes and short routes with the occasional long ball. Stoudt is more than capable of running the offense as the starter and probably a better short route thrower than Tajh. I doubt his deep ball is better than Tajh's due to the fact that Tajh has unbelievable arm strength and can drop absolute dimes into receivers' bread baskets from 60 yards away. Anyway, I think Stoudt should be a solid QB this year.

Charone Peake, WR

Charone Peake would've had a very respectable year last season as the number 3 WR if he hadn't torn his ACL early in the season. He's said to be even faster than Martavis Bryant who was faster than Sammy Watkins, which seems nearly impossible. As the number 1 guy this year, expect him to have a breakout year and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being one of the best wideouts in the country because Clemson is Wide Receiver U. They constantly produce ridiculous wide receivers (i.e. DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, etc.)

Mike Williams, WR

Mike Williams had a solid freshman year last year racking up 316 yards and 3 TDs on 20 catches. He is very gifted athletically. He's 6'3" and will probably be Cole Stoudt's top red zone/goal line weapon since he can go up and get the jump ball. 

Some quick notes on other offensive players:

At running back, the speedy tandem of DJ Howard and CJ Davidson could be troublesome for defenses. While Zac Brooks (out for season) is stronger, the other two are quicker and are deadly in open space. Other guys could also step in at running back. Other wideouts that could have impact seasons are Adam Humphries (41 catches, 483 yds, 2 TDs in 2013), Germone Hopper (23 catches, 149 yds, 2 TDs), and any number of the very talented freshman WR class. Of Clemson's top 5 recruits for this year, 4 of them were wide receivers, so they could be keys on offense this year. At tight end, there are three players with decent amount of experience. Sam Cooper, Stanton Seckinger and Jordan Leggett are all battling for more significant playing time this year. Of them all, Leggett is clearly the most talented but it's up to him to gain the respect from the coaching staff in order to earn the number 1 TE job. Personally, I think Leggett is a freak athletically and is poised for a breakout year.

Clemson's strength, at least early on, will be their defense. This has not been the case the last few years, but DC Brent Venable's defense returns the entire starting D Line which was one of the most productive in the country last year. Here are the key guys on D:

Vic Beasley, DE

First of all HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA look at Aaron Murray just getting fucking destroyed. Vic Beasley is insanely athletic for a DE and will probably be a first round pick in the 2015 draft. He had 13 sacks last season and led the nation in sacks for a good part of the year before he faced a bunch of bullshit option teams in the second half and couldn't get very many sacks. He's solid on the run as well. You know how Clowney said he can see fear in Tajh's eyes when he faced him? Well I think everyone is gonna be scared of Vic Beasley this year. The dude's unreal.

Stephone Anthony, LB

Stephone Anthony had a great game in the Orange Bowl that included the game-sealing interception late in the 4th quarter. He's poised for a great season this year as he looks to replace the great leadership of Spencer Shuey in the front seven. 

Grady Jarrett, DT

Grady Jarrett is an absolute force in the middle against the run. He can get the to the QB sometimes, but his main strength is stopping the run which will be key in the first game of the year against Todd Gurley.

Some quick notes on other defensive players:

Corey Crawford and DeShawn Williams are the other returners on the D Line and could have very good seasons as well. Travis Blanks and Jayron Kearse will try to lead the secondary to a better year. A lot of the secondary is talented, but sometimes make some stupid plays. Hopefully Darius "pass interference" Robinson being gone will help out with that. I'm hoping that redshirt freshman CB Mackensie Alexander will stay healthy and be an impact this year after missing last season. He's a former #4 overrall recruit and the word is he's pretty good. 

Schedule

I don't wanna sound pessimistic but there's a very real chance that we start the year 1-2 after the first 3 games. Going to Georgia and Florida State are tough tasks to say the least. The other preseason ranked teams that the Tigers will face are UNC and of course, the chickens. I pray to God that we end the streak and finally beat South Carolina but with our luck, Adam Humphries will probably muff 6 more punts in that game and ruin our chances.

Best Case Scenario: The Tigers eek out a tough one in Athens opening week, upset crab leg boy and FSU, overcome their demons against South Carolina, and take care of everyone else on their way to an undefeated season and they're playoff bound.

Worst Case Scenario: Clemson's worst case scenario could be many teams' best case scenario. The worst I see Clemson going this year is 9-3 which is still respectable after losing much of your starting offense. 

Obviously, I'm hoping to be closer to the best case scenario, but only time will tell. I'm ready to get back in Death Valley and enjoy another season of Clemson football. If you've never been to Death Valley, it is truly one of the greatest sporting spectacles in the world. There's absolutely nothing like it. Favorite place on Earth.

I fuckin love Dabo.