Clemson stumbled mightily in it’s season opener losing to a fired-up and prepared Duke Blue Devils team. The season is certainly not over and the Tigers have a chance to start righting the ship this weekend as they play host to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.
Here is a look at everything you will need to know about the Tiger’s Week 1 Opponent:
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
2023 Record – 1-0; Last Week: Win vs. North Greenville University 13-10
2022 Record: 2-8 overall; 2-3 in the Big South Conference
Head Coach: Gabe Giardina – 1st Season – (Previously: HC – Albany State)
Coach Giardina comes to Charleston Southern after a 5 year run of success at Division 2 Albany State, where his record was 37-17 overall and an eye-popping 27-5 over those same 5 years in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He was the Offensive Coordinator under current Liberty Head Coach and former Coastal Carolina Head Coach Jamey Chadwell at Charleston Southern. He started his coaching career at Alabama as a Graduate Assistant under Mike Shula and Nick Saban.
Offense
Offensive Coordinator: Adam Hollifield – 1st Season (Prev: Albany State OC)
Coach Adam Hollifield followed Coach Giardina to Charleston Southern after serving as his OC at Albany State.
The offense struggled last weekend in the first game of the season against North Greenville University only garnering 252 total yards of offense and 13 points, in a close, thrilling 13-10 victory.
Here is a look at the projected starters for the Charleston Southern Buccaneers as well as some 2023 statistics:
| Quarterback | Kaleb Jackson | RS Freshman | #15 | 2-8; 9 yds | *Came in for injured starter Tony Bartalo |
| Running Back | JD Moore | RS Junior | #10 | 17 att. 105 yds | |
| Running Back | Timothy Ruff | RS Junior | #24 | 7 att. 30 yds. | |
| Wide Receiver | Fred Highsmith | RS Freshman | #80 | 1 catch, 13 yds | |
| Wide Receiver | Will Kakavitsas | RS Senior | #3 | 1 catch, 27 yds. | |
| Wide Receiver | Jaden Scott | Sophomore | #89 | 2 catches, 29 yds. | |
| Tight End | Tyree Taylor | Junior | #11 | No Stats | |
| Left Tackle | Jacob Tylski | Senior | #79 | ||
| Left Guard | Lee Matthews | Senior | #75 | ||
| Center | Benjamin Moxley | RS Senior | #50 | ||
| Right Guard | Darius Meeks | RS Junior | #74 | ||
| Right Tackle | Ronnie Hayes | RS Sophomore | #51 |
Defense
Defensive Coordinator: Nick Reveiz – 1st Year – (Previous: DC VMI)
Coach Reveiz, son of former NFL Kicker Faud Reveiz, comes to Charleston Southern from Virginia Military Institute where he served as the Defensive Coordinator for a highly successful unit.
The defense in week 1 versus North Greenville was swarming, only allowing 291 total yards of offense and was particularly stingy in run defense where the Crusaders only managed 55 net yards. The defense also tallied 5 sacks and forced an interception as well in the week 1 win.
Here is a look at the projected starters for the Buccaneers on defense along with some stats from the early season:
| Defensive End | Cooper Dawson | RS Senior | #14 | 1 Tackle; 1 QB hit |
| Nose Tackle | Laron Davis | RS Sophomore | #92 | 4 Tackles, 2 Sacks; Int. |
| Defensive Tackle | Devonte Turner | Senior | #99 | No Stats |
| Bandit End | Darrius Bell | RS Senior | #32 | 5 Tackles, 2 Sacks |
| WILL Linebacker | Shary Jefferson | RS Sophomore | #2 | 3 Tackles |
| MIKE Linebacker | Malik Barnes | Senior | #9 | 6 Tackles |
| SAM Linebacker | Bryce Llewellyn | Sophomore | #43 | 6 Tackles |
| Cornerback | Geordan Livingston | RS Junior | #8 | 1 Tackle |
| Strong Safety | Trayson Fowler | RS Senior | #5 | 2 Tackles |
| Free Safety | Davion Williams | RS Freshman | #16 | 4 Tackles |
| Cornerback | Jamel Johnson | Sophomore | #37 | 2 Tackles |
Special Teams
Here is a list of the specialists for the Buccaneers along with statistics from game 1:
| Kicker | Sam Babbush | RS Junior | #29 | 2-2 FG; Long of 44 yds. |
| Punter | Brian Cooey Jr. | RS Junior | #93 | 7 punts; 38.3 yd average |
| Punt Returner | JD Moore | RS Junior | #10 | 4 att. 13.8 yd avg. |
| Kick Returner | Nivon Holland | RS Sophomore | #9 | No stats |
Summary
This Charleston Southern team that Coach Giardina inherited will be quite the challenge as the Buccaneers were 2-8 a season ago. Add the fact that the starting quarterback Tony Bartalo appears to be injured and not expected to play against the Tigers, and they will turn to an untested Redshirt Freshman to lead the way.
The Bucs were able to come away with a narrow victory against Division 2 North Greenville University 13-10 in week 1, and a much bigger test comes this weekend in Death Valley. The Tigers look to lick their large wounds and use this as a “get-right game.”
