CLEMSON, S.C. — As Clemson continues working to unlock its full potential on offense, running back Chris Johnson Jr. evaluated his own personal growth following the opening two games of the season.
“We all know how Week One performance went for everybody, not just me,” Johnson said. “Week Two, I feel like I progressed a little bit. We got the run game going a little bit on the ground, but I definitely feel like a bit of progress from Week One to Week Two. So obviously the run game isn’t where it needs to be yet.”
Addressing how the unit is approaching the rushing attack, Johnson emphasized collective execution and chemistry across the board.
“It’s everybody just got to do their 111,” Johnson said. “Just, just like, do we gotta work together as a team, and we just haven’t been doing that. But I feel like this week we’re gonna get there. You know, it takes time. We still gelling, but I feel like we we in a good spot still.”
When asked about third-down inefficiencies and overall involvement within the scheme, Johnson pointed directly to execution issues that have slowed down the offense.
“Um, like we haven’t been able to move the ball,” Johnson noted. “Like like obviously that’s that’s that’s a that’s the big issue. Like third downs, you know, we we we we having issues on like as a whole right now. So that’s gonna come once we get everything together.”
Despite early struggles, playing inside Memorial Stadium provided an unforgettable experience.
“It was big for me,” Johnson said. “My first game, like with Clemson, you know, I felt like the atmosphere was there. The fans came and showed up, and I loved it.”
With injuries affecting the depth chart, freshman Tait Reynolds has stepped in at quarterback. Johnson made it clear that the entire locker room is backing the young signal-caller.
“Tay has done a good job,” Johnson said. “You know, he’s still a freshman. He’s gonna make minor mistakes. You know, he got a lot on his plate right now. But I love Tay. I feel like Tate. He’s obviously he’s the guy right now. CVs not. CVs out, so I’m rolling with Tate. You know we got his back, and we’re gonna make sure that he has everything that he needs to get the job done.”
On how teammates can alleviate pressure on the young quarterback, Johnson highlighted daily encouragement.
“Just be there for him as a teammate, and just encourage him every day, and be behind him, and just go to work with him,” Johnson said.
After David highlighted roughly 16 plays on film focusing on basic execution and self-control, Johnson agreed with the harsh critique.
“He was right,” Johnson acknowledged. “You know, we’re not living up to our expectations right now. So those 16 plays could have been game-changing plays for us, and that’s just routine stuff that we know that we we that that can’t happen. We know that that’s not the standard, and we know that we got to get better on those types of plays. We shouldn’t be messing up on things that we can do in our sleep.”
According to Johnson, Coach Morris has consistently hammered home that exact point to the unit.
“Um, the biggest thing is routine plays,” Johnson stated. “You know, like, like you know, like he was just saying, just doing the basic things that we could have had so many basic plays, we could have scored 5060, yard touchdowns. We just do what we’re supposed to do.”
Looking ahead to upcoming opponents North Carolina, Washington, and Montana coming to town, Johnson knows the physical intensity must pick up.
“They they got a good they they physical,” Johnson said. “You know they got a couple of turning players from last year, but I feel like they’re gonna be physical. You know, everybody, we’re gonna get everybody’s best. So we just come in. They coming in our house, and we we just gotta we we just gotta play our best game that we had so far.”
