Clemson Football Outlook, 2011

A new offensive approach, combined with the traditional success of the Clemson defense will be keys to Clemson’s path to ACC prominence in 2011.

Tiger Head Coach Kevin Steele, who led Clemson to a top 20 national ranking in scoring defense and total defense last year, the Tigers are hoping to challenge for the ACC Atlantic Division Crown they captured in 2009.

Overall, Clemson returns 46 lettermen from the 2010 team that was bowl eligible, the 12th straight year of postseason eligibility for the Clemson program. Twenty of the returning lettermen are on offense, including eight starters, while 22 returning lettermen are on defense, including five starters. Both the starting punter and placekicker return as well.

Clemson must replace some fine players on both sides of the ball. The most celebrated of the departures is defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, who led the nation in sacks in 2010 as a junior with 15.5. He was the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Award as the top defensive player in college football as selected by the Football Writers Association.

The defense also must replace two-time All-American DeAndre McDaniel. The Clemson graduate finished his career with 15 interceptions, tied for second in school history, 18.5 tackles for loss and 20 passes broken up. He is the only player in Clemson history with at least 15 interceptions and 15 tackles for loss. The two-time first-team All-ACC safety was a three-year starter patrolling the Clemson secondary.

Reliable team leader Marcus Gilchrist will be a big loss in the secondary, and as a return man, while Jarvis Jenkins was a three-year starter on the defensive line who had 53 tackles and nine tackles for loss last year. Brandon Maye, who led Clemson in tackles per game in ACC play last year and was a three-year starter, also graduated.

On offense, Clemson must replace quarterback Kyle Parker, who finished his career with 32 touchdown passes and over 4,700 yards in just two years as the starting quarterback. He was a first-round draft choice of the Colorado Rockies in June of 2010 and is now starting his professional baseball career.

The Tigers also must replace leading rusher Jamie Harper, who opted for the NFL after his junior season. Harper had a 1,000-yard season in 2010 in terms of yards from scrimmage (760 rushing and 328 receiving) and scored 10 touchdowns. First-team All-ACC offensive tackle Chris Hairston also must be placed.

Offense (20 returning lettermen, 8 returning starters) Morris was the offensive coordinator at Tulsa in 2010 and that offense was a big reason Tulsa improved from a 5-7 record in 2009 to 10-3 last year. The Golden Hurricanes ranked 13th in the nation in passing offense with 288.7 yards per game, and 15th in rushing offense with 216.9 yards per game. Their 505.6 total offense yards per game ranked fifth best in the nation. Tulsa was the only school in the nation to rank in the top 15 in both rushing offense and passing offense.

What was especially impressive was the improvement Tulsa made compared to the 2009 season, the year before Morris arrived. Tulsa improved from 58th in the nation in rushing to 15th, and from 32nd in passing to 13th. Swinney hopes the Tigers can make a similar improvement on offense in 2011.

“Coach Morris has a plan and we are anxious to see him install it,” said Swinney, who is in his third full season at Clemson. “It will be an offense that changes pace. Sometime it will be very quick and sometime we will slow it down. Sometime we will huddle and sometime it will be no-huddle. That will be a function of whom we are playing.

“We should be an offense that runs more plays and that should lead to more points. It is an offense that has balance and will be physical. We will take advantage of our playmakers.” Clemson’s team combined to run 90 plays in the first half of the spring game this year.

The heir apparent at quarterback is red-shirt sophomore Tajh Boyd. The native of Virginia played in seven games last year as Parker’s backup and completed 33-63 passes for 32 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those scores came in the final two minutes of the Meineke Car Care Bowl against South Florida.

“Tajh has an outstanding work ethic, and is respected by his teammates because of that work ethic,” said Swinney. “This will be an important spring and preseason camp for him, but he will do well in this system.” He threw for a score and ran for a score in the 2011 spring game.

Cole Stoudt, son of former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Cliff Stoudt, will be the backup quarterback entering fall camp. He threw for 118 yards in the Spring game. Tony McNeal, a fine all-around quarterback from Chester, SC, also played in the spring as a first-year freshman and will be in the mix at the signal caller position.

Through seven games last year Andre Ellington ranked 10th in the nation in scoring with 12 touchdowns and was 30th in rushing yards per game with 91.7. He had four 100-yard rushing games in the first seven contests, including 22-140 against eventual National Champion Auburn. He had just gained 166 yards rushing in 20 carries and scored three touchdowns in a victory over Georgia Tech, then he suffered a toe injury at Boston College that virtually ended his season.

“Andre Ellington’s return is as important as any aspect of our football team,” said Swinney. “He is an outstanding back in all phases of the game. We definitely missed him the second half of last year.

“We will look totally different in the fall compared to April and Ellington’s return has a lot to do with that.” Clemson also will see many talented skill position players join the squad in August.

Demont Buice got plenty of work as Ellington sat out Spring practice. Buice was the top rusher in the spring game with 18-102 and a score, while Howard had 11 rushes for 97 yards and a score.

The top returning receiver is sophomore DeAndre Hopkins, who had 52 catches for 637 yards and four touchdowns in 2010. His nine receptions in the Meineke Car Care bowl established a Clemson record for a bowl game. He finished the year with three 100-yard games in his last four contests.

Jaron Brown is another outstanding young receiver for the Tigers. The red-shirt junior, who was a first-team Academic All-ACC selection in 2010, had 32 receptions for 405 yards and three scores. He ranked fourth on the team in receptions, but was second in reception yardage.

Bryce McNeal is another veteran receiver. The native of Minnesota had 19 receptions for 187 yards last year when he started three games and played in 12. Marquan Jones is a senior who had 21 catches for 184 yards, including six receptions in the victory over a top 25 NC State team. He had 71 receiving yards in the spring game, best among all players.

The tight end/H back position also has some outstanding returning talent. Dwayne Allen was a second-team All-ACC player last year when he had 33 receptions for 373 yards and a touchdown, the most receptions for a Clemson sophomore tight end. Also a solid blocker, the junior was a midseason semifinalist for the John Mackey Award last year.

Brandon Ford is a converted wide receiver who had a strong finish to the 2010 season. The native of Wando, SC had 10 catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown catches came in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against South Florida, and he became the first Clemson player to catch two scoring passes in a bowl game. Sam Cooper is a red-shirt freshman who will also get some playing time in 2011.

Chad Diehl is a red-shirt senior who is a unique player. He has the ability to play at the next level because of his abilities as a blocker in all sorts of formations. He is a veteran of 43 games, including 17 starts in his career and will break the Clemson record for games played this year as long as he stays healthy. He is rated the top senior fullback for the 2012 NFL draft according to CBSSports.com.

The Tigers return four starters on the offense line for new line coach Brad Scott, who retired from coaching in February. Caldwell, who was the head coach at Vanderbilt in 2010, will welcome back starters Landon Walker (OT), Antoine McClain (OG), Dalton Freeman (C) and David Smith (OT), and top reserve Mason Cloy (OG), who has 19 career starts and 38 career games played.

“There will be some adjustment at the beginning for the offensive line in this offense,” said Swinney, “but not as much as some people may think. The biggest adjustment will be playing more snaps because of the change in pace.

“Our biggest task this spring on the offensive line will be to find a fifth starter. We have a lot of options and we will go through spring practice and give a lot of young players a chance. We have some versatility in the offensive line so there are a number of ways we could go.”

Walker played 805 snaps last year and started all 13 games, giving him 35 career starts entering his senior season. He knows what it takes to be successful because over his career he has gone against top NFL draft choices Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska, Jerry Hughes of TCU and Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech, not to mention competing against former teammate Da’Quan Bowers every day in practice.

Freeman is a red-shirt junior who will be in his third year as a starter at center. A multi-year academic All-ACC selection, Freeman has made 22 starts (all consecutive entering 2011) in 26 games over the last two years. Freeman had 58 knockdown blocks last year in 811 plays, and averaged 80.6 percent in terms of his film grade, third best on the team. He has been listed as a preseason first-team All-ACC candidate by many services this summer.

McClain is also in his third year as a starter and fourth year as a key member of the offensive line. He has played over 1,500 career snaps in 40 games, 27 as a starter. He has started every game over the last two seasons. A third-team All-ACC selection by Phil Steele in 2010, McClain had a team best 69 knockdown blocks, including a team best 14 at Auburn.

Smith is a returning starter at guard for 2011, but he has also played tackle in his career. The Clemson graduate from nearby Greenville, SC had a solid junior year despite missing some time with injuries. He started 11 of the 13 games and had 30 knockdown blocks in over 500 plays.

There are many options for the fifth starter in Swinney’s offensive line. One would be Cloy, a veteran red-shirt senior who has played both guard and center over his career. He played in 12 games last year, two as a starter and had 31 knockdown blocks for the season and has 136 for his career. He is a two-time first-team Academic All-ACC selection.

Philip Price, an original walk-on who has earned a scholarship, could be the fifth starter as a left tackle. He has played in 29 games over his career and the senior is a very athletic player. For example, he has a 10-1 broad jump, fourth on the entire team. Brandon Thomas and Matt Sanders are two other junior offensive linemen who could move into a starting role this year.

Defense (22 returning lettermen, 5 returning starters) Clemson had a strong season on defense in 2010. The Tigers were fifth in the nation in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed, ninth in tackles for loss, 13th in scoring defense, 19th in total defense and 23rd in pass defense. While technically, only five starters return from that unit, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele does have some talented reserves who logged considerable playing time and they are ready to assume starting roles.

“We have lost some outstanding players, there is no doubt, three of whom were first-team All-ACC players (Bowers, Jenkins and McDaniel), but we are in the third year of this system under Coach Steele and we have some returning backups who played a lot,” said Swinney.

Clemson had one of the top defensive lines in the nation last year, and that could be the case in 2011, even with the departure of Jenkins and Bowers, who were both taken in the top 51 selections of the NFL draft.

Andre Branch and Brandon Thompson give the Tigers one of the top, experienced defensive end/tackle combinations in the country. Branch has played in 34 games over the last three years and has 16.5 career tackles for loss, including seven sacks. He had 55 tackles overall in 2010 to rank seventh on the team.

Thompson has been a stalwart in the middle of Clemson’s defensive line for the last three years and enters his senior year with 131 career tackles, including 14.5 behind the line of scrimmage. He also finished strong, as 43 of his 56 tackles came in the last seven games of the season.

There are strong candidates on the front four to replace Jenkins and Bowers. Malliciah Goodman and Kourtnei Brown are two experienced defensive ends, while Rennie Moore is a veteran defensive tackle. Goodman had 21 tackles in 13 games last year, including nine in the win over Georgia Tech when he got a starting role. His pursuit of the quarterback on the option was a big reason the Yellow Jackets scored just one touchdown against the Tigers. Freshman Corey Crawford had an outstanding spring, including two sacks in the spring game from the defensive end position.

Moore is a veteran of 32 games, just one as a starter, but he had 26 tackles in 13 games in 2010. He was one of the more productive defensive players off the bench as his seven tackles for loss with attest. Red-shirt junior college transfer Josh Watson looks to be a promising addition to the defensive line as well. Tyler Shatley is a strong defensive tackle who also will be in the mix on the defensive line. Young players Tra Thomas and Tavaris Barnes also had strong springs.

Technically, Clemson has just one starter returning at the linebacker position. Corico Hawkins had 71 tackles in 2010, the most among returning Tigers. Quandon Christian started seven of the 13 games at an outside linebacker position and is not considered a returning starter because he was 12th on the team in starts. But, the Freshman All-ACC player according to Rivals.com had a solid year with 24 tackles, including 22 first hits.

The third linebacker position will feature returning veterans Victor Beasley.

“We lost some veteran players in the secondary in DeAndre McDaniel, Marcus Gilchrist and Byron Maxwell, all players who could play professionally next year. But, Xavier Brewer started 10 games and played well for us, as did Coty Sensabaugh. And, I like what I have seen in the players we red-shirted last year.”

Brewer finished the season with 10 passes broken up, second best on the team. He also had a 61-yard interception return for a touchdown against Maryland that broke the game open, and had nine tackles and an interception against Auburn. Sensabaugh started three games and had 28 tackles and two passes broken up. He has had exactly one interception in each of his three years with the program.

The safety position features returning starter Rashard Hall, a two-time Academic All-ACC selection who is on the verge of becoming an All-ACC player on the field. In two years he has eight interceptions and five passes broken up in 27 games. He already has nine career takeaways.

Jonathan Meeks is another returning letterman who should move into a starting position. The native of Rock Hill, SC had 28 tackles last year in 13 games, one as a starter. He was the top tackler in the spring game among starting players. He had six tackles and two passes broken up in his top performance against Georgia Tech. Darius Robinson and Martin Jenkins are two more returning lettermen who lettered as freshman defensive backs.

Young players Desmond Brown, Garry Peters and Bashaud Breeland all had strong springs and will be counted on in the secondary.

Special Teams Clemson has both of its starting kickers returning, but will have to find a replacement for Marcus Gilchrist in the kick return area. Gilchrist ranked in the top four in the ACC in punt returns (10.1) and kickoff returns (23.7) in a solid senior year handling both duties.

Dawson Zimmerman was the MVP of Clemson’s special teams last year as the punter. He averaged 42.7 yards a punt, but an outstanding 40.6 in terms of net punting. The rising senior, who is a near 4.0 student as an English major, was one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award as a junior. He had 19 punts inside the 20 and nine punts of 50 yards or more, including two boots over 76 yards, the only player in Clemson history to accomplish that.

Chandler Catanzaro was Clemson’s starting placekicker for most of 2010 and he had 14 field goals in 22 attempts. The 14 field goals, the most by a Clemson freshman since 1991, included 6-9 from the 40-49.

Clemson’s Non-Conference Schedule Rated 10 by Sporting News Clemson will play the 10th most challenging non-conference schedule in the nation according to the Sporting News. Three of Clemson’s four non-conference games will be against teams that played in bowl games last year and all four of the non-conference foes won at least eight games in 2010.

Ten of Clemson’s 11 FBS opponents went to bowl games last year, including six who won at least nine games in 2010. Additionally, Wofford, Clemson’s FBS opponent, was 10-3 and reached the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

Clemson’s three FBS non-conference opponents had a combined 31-10 record last year, a .756 winning percentage. That list includes defending National Champion Auburn, who comes to Clemson on September 17. Troy (8-5) and South Carolina (9-5) also had outstanding seasons in 2010.

Miami (FL) (fourth), Florida State (6th) and Clemson (10th) were the three ACC teams in Sporting News top 10 for toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. Overall, Clemson’s 12 opponents in 2011 had a 104-55 record last year, a .654 winning percentage. Each of Clemson’s first five opponents won at least eight games, including four in a row who won at least 10 games.

Sporting News Top 10 Non Conference Schedules for 2011 1. LSU: vs. Oregon (Dallas), Northwestern State, at West Virginia, Western Kentucky 2. Pittsburgh: Buffalo, Maine, at Iowa, Notre Dame, Utah 3. Colorado: at Hawaii, California, Colorado State (Denver), at Ohio State 4. Miami (FL): Ohio State, Kansas State, Bethune-Cookman, at South Florida 5. Ohio State: Akron, Toledo, at Miami, Colorado 6. Florida State: Louisiana-Monroe, Charleston Southern, Oklahoma, at Florida 7. Georgia: vs. Boise State (Atlanta), Coastal Carolina, New Mexico State, at Georgia Tech 8. UCLA: at Houston, San Jose State, Texas 9. USC: Minnesota, Syracuse, at Notre Dame10. Clemson: Troy, Wofford, Auburn, at South Carolina