We’ve had some time, as it’s been three days since the Clemson Tigers’ 34-3 loss to Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. There’s a lot that could be said about the loss, which is why I am going to grade the position groups across the squad.
Regarding the Clemson offense, here are my grades with the different rooms.
Quarterback: D+
I’ve heard worse, I’ve heard better, but if there was any grade to put quarterback Cade Klubnik, give me below-average.
There were good things. There were bad things, and I won’t sugarcoat it. Many eyes were on the junior quarterback to take a huge leap, especially with it being Year 2 under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.
There wasn’t much, but there was more than people thought.
Klubnik found some success from the deep pass, which was something that people didn’t really see last season, as the quarterback finished second to last on passes over 20 yards, according to PFF. A 36-yard find to Antonio Williams in the first quarter proves to be promising.
He also looks a lot more vocal behind center as well, which was seen before the insane one-handed catch by tight end Jake Briningstool. Before Klubnik made the throw, he was motioning to Briningstool while on the run, waiting to make the play. It was something that showed improvement over the offseason.
It was when Georgia began to pour it on when fans began to see the old Cade from last year.
There were many different plays that showed this, including a play in the second half when he scrambled out of the pocket and tried to throw it away just before being sacked, where Georgia believed that the officials should have called an intentional grounding.
The interception was thrown into double coverage, but an outstanding play by Malaki Starks. The underthrow to Mafah on the first play of the game was not promising, either.
There was good and bad. No touchdowns and one interception. He has grown, and it might take a defense other than the best in the country to show you that. Just maybe not to the extent that people have expected.
Running Backs: B-
It’s all on sample size, but I didn’t see enough for the running backs to get a higher grade. Whether it be play calling or the major focus on the receivers, the running backs, mainly Phil Mafah, weren’t the prime crop that we saw towards the end of last season.
Mafah had 16 carries for 59 yards on Saturday afternoon, an average of 3.7 yards per carry. Keith Adams Jr. had a carry, but that was late in the second quarter. Jay Haynes had -1 yards off of a carry. While these numbers are smaller compared to how the Tigers finished on the ground a season ago, Mafah’s production was mainly consistent, which makes me interested in why he did not receive the ball as much as he did.
He also had an open field chance to beat a defender on third down on the opening drive, but he did not succeed. Other than that, there wasn’t much to see on the ground, which surprised me from the amount of checkdowns that the Tigers utilized in the first season under Riley, even if it was used as a safety valve to get potential yards late.
Due to the small sample size of the running backs that we saw, but a bright spot in Mafah on the ground, I give this room a B-. I want to see them used more often in future weeks, as this was the group that helped the Tigers rattle off five straight wins to cap off their season last year. I thought Mafah would have more rushing attempts, but that may be the case in weeks to come.
Wide Receivers: D+
In all honesty, this is not a lower grade due to the performance by Antonio Williams. He was the best playmaker on offense on Saturday for the Tigers, and his plays helped put Clemson in a better spot than they could have been. I believe that the team has found their WR1, and he will only build on the performance in weeks to come.
There were a lot of different things that occurred in the wide receiver room on Saturday that had many fans scratching their heads. Where was Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore? Why was Tyler Brown not targeted/playing until the second half? What will the room look like in weeks to come?
I agree with most of these. With all the talk about Wesco and Moore throughout camp, I was surprised to see the limited amount of snaps they played, but understandable at first with the team playing a more physical and experienced lineup like that.
With the Cole Turner drops and Adam Randall penalty in the first quarter, I was disappointed. I thought the switch should have been done immediately, and I liked the usage of Brown in the second half. Using the team’s leading receiver a season ago is something you see right out of the gate, and I just didn’t get it.
Yes, there are reasons for not playing Moore and Wesco, but after what I saw from the room, I think you needed to have a change earlier than when they were playing. With the performances that I saw from the group in the first half (besides Williams), I thought maybe a change could have been made to create a spark, especially with a 6-0 halftime lead.
There’s got to be a change in weeks to come, and I expect more snaps from the freshmen duo.
Tight Ends: C-
The tight ends did their job, somewhat, and I thought that Jake Briningstool had a solid performance solely on the scoring drive. He used his frame to his advantage, which has been something that I have been looking for him to do since he became the starter.
Still, there were negatives, including the drop on the first drive of the game by the senior that stopped momentum early. There were missed blocks that I saw at times, which forced more pressure on Klubnik’s side. I didn’t see enough to grant that the tight end room delivered a solid performance.
With the frame and size of a guy like Briningstool, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound player, you were able to see the athleticism on the one-handed catch alone. I hope to see him used more in weeks to come, especially due to his pass-catching ability.
Olsen Patt-Henry was another who I saw make some good plays and did his job as a blocker. He’s young, and with the amount of 2 tight end sets that I saw, he could have some solid upside in weeks to come, as well.
The tools are there, and I haven’t even mentioned Josh Sapp, and there will be time to figure it out in games. The athleticism and talent is there, though. More than you think.
Offensive Line: B+
I honestly thought that the offensive line did its job against one of the toughest defensive lines in the country. You could tell the addition of Matt Luke was present, and while there were kinks in the armor, the line was sufficient enough to hold up the Bulldogs’ pressure.
I thought some things went downhill when LG Marcus Tate went down, which Swinney reassured after the game that he would be okay. Collin Sadler missed a block a few plays later, which caused a loss of yard and spoiled some momentum on the third quarter drive that would score the field goal.
Linthicum held his own in his first start at center, which I liked. It was also nice to see Walker Parks back at right guard. Having the fully strengthened offensive line was a bright spot in itself. It wasn’t until the beginning of the Georgia run where I think the Bulldogs began to take over.
I think it is a sign to look forward to, however. The Georgia defensive line is one of the best units in the country and I do not think the Tigers won’t be playing a line in the same tier as the Bulldogs. Consider this a win for Matt Luke in his first game as offensive line coach.
