Clemson Football Practice Report – August 16

Aug. 16, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson returned to the practice fields behind the Jervey Athletic Center for a single practice on Tuesday. The Tigers had two practices on Monday and will have two more on Wednesday as they prepare for the season opener on September 3 against a Troy team that has won at least eight games five years in a row.

The Tigers had a two-and-a-half hour practice on Tuesday. They will have a 20-period situation scrimmage on Wednesday morning, followed by a 15-period practice at night.

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney was disappointed with his team’s practice on Tuesday. “We were not a disciplined team today,” said Swinney. “We didn’t pay attention to detail and had a lot of mistakes. We have to do better than this.”

Wednesday morning the Tigers will hold a situation scrimmage. “Football is a game of situations and we will scrimmage in various first down, second down and third down situations. Our goal is to get four yards on first down on offense and hold the opposition to three yards or less on first down.”

The Tigers will be in full gear in the morning and in shells in the evening.

Clemson had a number of players miss practice due to injury and illness. Running back Mike Bellamy was limited in a yellow jersey on Tuesday due to a shoulder injury suffered near the end of practice on Monday night. It is not serious.

Starting linebacker Demont Buice also missed due to an ankle injury. Starting defensive back Xavier Brewer was in a green jersey and was limited due to a foot injury.

Seven players missed the practice with the stomach flu and are expected back Wednesday or Thursday. None of the players are starters.

“The flu is running through our team and we have to be careful and guard against it.” Swinney went as far as telling his team not to shake hands with an open hand, and instead use a fist bump.

There was one number change on the Clemson roster. Freshman Sammy Watkins has switched from number-seven to number-two. The change was made because Watkins and linebacker Tony Steward could be on the same special teams unit at the same time this season. Steward, a linebacker, also wears number-seven.

Clemson currently has six sets of double numbers, all between number-two and number-13. The list includes the number-two (Watkins and Cortez Davis), number-five (Mike Bellamy and Jonathan Meeks), number-six (DeAndre Hopkins and Tavaris Barnes), number eight (Justin Parker and Cole Stoudt), number 12 (Stephone Anthony and Tony McNeal), number-13 (Adam Humphries and Spencer Benton).