On March 28th, Clemson held their annual spring game, allowing players to showcase their talent in the offseason, fans to enjoy an afternoon in Death Valley, and the media to overreact to performances from transfers and true freshmen.
Clemson went back to a traditional “Orange vs. White” game, getting rid of the Offense vs. Defense theme from last year.
Gordon Sellars shined, with a few impressive catches early on. The wiry 6’3, 175lb true freshman ended the day with an impressive three catches 34 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt Junior Vic Burley was a star on the defense, with 2.5 sacks. The defensive tackle hasn’t contributed much to this point in his career, but has every opportunity to do so with Peter Woods, TJ Parker, and DeMonte Capehart heading to the draft.
Christopher Vizzina was underwhelming, but not terrible. He finished the day going 10 for 18 with 95 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t have any especially noteworthy throws, positive or negative. No quarterback really stood out. A cheer did erupt when Chris Denson entered the game, but neither him nor Tait Reynolds made much of an impression. Trent Pearman came in in the fourth quarter, and was pretty conservative with his passing.
Dabo did his coaching with a mic, allowing fans to hear. He did the same last year, and I haven’t been a huge fan either time. He isn’t doing any real coaching, more so just shouting out things as they happen. He called Gideon Davidson “Gid the Kid.” I don’t imagine that catching on. The Orange team failed to convert on a fourth down in opponent territory. After the play, Dabo had Hauser come out and kick to see if he “would’ve made it.” He did not, and Dabo excitedly called out “Lets go! We made the right decision!”
After the game, Dabo had all the kickers come out and kick a 40 and 50 yard field goal. Nolan Hauser then attempted a 63 yard field, and missed wide left. His second try came up short. Coach Swinney then had his punters come up and get some reps in.
The chilly, slightly windy day wrapped up with a 23-3 victory from the Orange. Obviously score and statistics are irrelevant, but it’s worth mentioning the White team failed to eclipse 50 yards throughout the entire game. While no one made an impression to the extent of Tristan Smith’s spring game last year, it was nice to see the Tigers play on a sunny March afternoon.
