With Clemson’s Media Day completed, the next media event is ACC Media Day, where all teams across the Atlantic Coastal Conference will meet for media availability to answer questions before the fall season begins in just a few weeks. With plenty of eyes on the reigning champions, here are a few questions going into next week about the fall.
1. Managing competition and “Defending your ACC belt”
With Clemson winning yet another ACC Championship last December, they once again become the hunted in the conference this year. With plenty of great talent this season that could give the Tigers a run for their money, the biggest question is how will they get back to the top of the ACC with College Football Playoff hopes.
With those hunting down the Tigers, the biggest name among these contenders is the Florida State Seminoles, who bring back a plethora of starters and are headlined by Heisman hopeful quarterback, Jordan Travis. The two will face off in Death Valley on September 23, and could potentially play each other again in the ACC Championship come December, since the new rule allows the top two teams by record, regardless of division finish.
Following the Seminoles are a handful of teams that the Tigers could slip up with and cost them a title defense. First, Clemson has to travel to Durham on Labor Day Monday to face the Duke Blue Devils, who could be an interesting fight with a lot of returning starters from last year. The Tigers will also face off against teams like North Carolina, NC State in Raleigh, and Notre Dame, who aren’t an ACC team but could thwart a plan of a College Football Playoff appearance.
The ACC is the real deal with plenty of contenders, so looking for a way to manage the competition and be kings of the conference for the second straight year is one question that I certainly have on ACC Media Day.
2. Staying healthy on both sides of the ball
Some of the biggest X-factors who played for Clemson last season were sidelined for a good amount of the season, and if those players stay healthy this season, they could make tremendous impacts in vital games to help the Tigers win close games. Some of these players provide leadership for the younger guys and are starters who provide great production on either side of the ball. For the others, they are the young players who have plenty to prove and could surprise fans with how they play after being back from injury.
For example, Beaux Collins and Adam Randall are two receivers returning from injury. For Collins, he is entering his junior year and after starting the season with a touchdown in four straight games, he missed a few games with a shoulder injury and struggled to come back to full health. At full strength, the junior could be a great option for quarterback Cade Klubnik. It goes the same with Adam Randall, who was limited last season after an injury in the spring.
If guys like these two are able to play full strength for a majority of the season, it would certainly increase the Tigers’ chances of repeating as conference champions. Questions about how to stay healthy for these guys, as well as players like Xavier Thomas and Ruke Orhorhoro on the defensive side, would be important to know.
3. The role of the running game in the Air Raid offense
With situations around the offense such as the quarterback decision, injuries, and questions on coaching, the constant factor that never let down Clemson on offense was the running game. With backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah headlining the running back room, the running game was hard to stop for opposing defenses, with the Clemson duo exploding for chunk plays to move the chains and eventually score points. However, with the hiring of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley in January, the passing game for the Tiger offense has been completely revolutionized, which leaves questions for the backfield.
With the only departure being third-string Kobe Pace entering the transfer portal, the running back room returns almost completely the same, with new guys like Dominique Thomas and Jarvis Greene being others who could make big plays in the backfield for the Tigers. It brings up the question: where do the running backs fit into the Air Raid offense?
In previous articles, I have said that the running backs were arguably one of the most important parts of this Tiger offense, especially with Shipley and Mafah returning for their junior years after monster years. If Riley is able to fit the run game into his notorious Air Raid offense, which he saw huge success in late games last year through his run game with former TCU running backs Kendre Miller and Emari Demarcado, the Tigers would be complete on offense and cause defenses to struggle. I am just curious to see what the role is with the Clemson roster.
4. Cade Klubnik’s progression
With most of these questions coming about the offensive side, one of the biggest ones looks at the new QB1 behind center this season: Cade Klubnik. With an incredible performance in the ACC Championship game last season against North Carolina and a solid outing in the Orange Bowl against a tough Tennessee team, the sophomore has now cleared out the initial jitters and cemented himself as the new signal caller this season. The question, now, is has he taken the next step to becoming one of the top quarterbacks in the country after showing flashes of being able to do so?
With the addition of Garrett Riley and a healthy offense, Klubnik has everything he needs to do so. An offseason with time to gain chemistry with his team will certainly help as well, and Clemson fans will hopefully see a more confident quarterback to help lead their offense beginning on Labor Day Monday. If the work has been put in while in the offseason and the coaching staff believes that the next step has been taken, then Cade Klubnik will be a force to be reckoned with across the college football world.
5. The Clemson secondary
When looking at the dominant Clemson defense last season, the only flaw that fans saw last season that cost the Tigers points tended to be in the secondary. Whether it be injuries or inexperience, it created pressure for the Tigers, most presently seen against Wake Forest and South Carolina last season. With an offseason to bring back defensive backs from injury, as well as bring in some new faces with freshmen like Khalil Barnes, the defensive backs are hoping to brush off the flaws from last season. The questions are, who will step up and lead this group, and what have they done in the offseason to improve for upcoming teams such as Florida State, North Carolina and Notre Dame?
If anyone has something to prove and could lead this group, it would be junior Andrew Mukuba. The former ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year has newfound confidence, as well as coming off an injury early in the season, he is the front-runner to lead this class. Fellow junior Nate Wiggins is another guy as well who could be the No. 1 defensive back after this season. That would be for the coaching staff to decide, with a potential new face also potentially stepping up as the season goes on.
No matter who leads this group, they have a huge task to lead a Clemson secondary with a ton of potential and who are looking to strengthen the weakest (arguably) part of last year’s defense.
