Clemson Holds First Scrimmage

Aug. 13, 2005

Clemson, SC – Quarterbacks Charlie Whitehurst and Will Proctor combined for 296 yards passing and four touchdowns to highlight play in a 72-play Clemson football scrimmage at Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning. It was the ninth straight day of practice for the Tigers who will break from practice for Fan Appreciation Day on Sunday (3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Memorial Stadium.)

“We went into the scrimmage with some set plays in certain situations that we wanted to see on film,” said Bowden. “I thought we threw and caught the ball well. We gave up some sacks that weren’t called and that hurt the defense some (statistically). I thought the backs ran hard. Defensively I didn’t think we tackled very well. We need to improve in that area.”

Bowden had his number-one offense go against the number-one defense for the entire day. Charlie Whitehurst was sharp, hitting 14-21 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw an interception. His performance included scoring passes of 13 and five yards to Chansi Stuckey. Stuckey was the top pass catcher with five receptions for 52 yards and the two scores.

Kelvin Grant led all receivers in terms of yardage with 78 yards on four catches. He had a 43-yard reception from Proctor early in the scrimmage, then suffered a shoulder injury on a diving 14-yard grab for a score from Proctor. It is not known at this time how much time Grant will miss due to the injury.

Proctor was 7-13 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. He completed a pair of deep balls on the day, the aforementioned 43-yard pass to Grant and a 59-yard scoring pass to first-year freshman Tyler Grisham. That was the first touchdown of the day. Senior Curtis Baham also had a good day in the receiving department, catching four passes for 37 yards. Aaron Kelly caught both passes thrown his way for 31 yards and Andrew Diomande also had a pair of catches for 19 yards.

Reggie Merriweather led the running backs with nine rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Duane Coleman had 4-15 and a six-yard scoring run. That run was one of the highlights of the day as he was initially stopped up the middle, broke to the left and scored thanks to a block from quarterback Proctor.

The offense had two fumbles, but did not lose a fumble to the defense and the quarterbacks did not throw an interception. Cullen Harper also saw action in the scrimmage and was 2-3 for 19 yards. The three quarterbacks were a combined 23-37 for 315 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

The kicking game was also solid. Junior kicker Jad Dean kicked a 52-yard field goal that hit the crossbar and bounced over. He also had a 45-yarder and missed from 57 yards on a kick that was long enough, but wide left. Stephen Furr, the starter at the beginning of last year, had a 40-yard field goal.

The defense was led by Nick Watkins, who had seven tackles, including two tackles for loss. Anthony Waters added seven tackles, including six first hits. Rashaad Jackson had four tackles, including two tackles for loss, including a sack, to lead the defensive linemen.

Kelvin Grant and Antonio Clay were the only players who left the scrimmage with an injury. Grant suffered a shoulder injury and the extent of it will not be known until Sunday or Monday. Clay suffered a bruised thigh that was not serious. Dustin Fry missed the scrimmage due to a hamstring injury and Nathan Bennett, who had missed the last two days with a virus, was back in action on Saturday.

Clemson Scrimmage Statistics August 13, 2005

Clemson Memorial Stadium

Scoring Summary

Dean 45 FG

Grisham 59 pass from Proctor (Buckholtz Kick)

Grant 14 pass from Proctor (Furr Kick)

Stuckey, 13 pass from Whitehurst (Dean Kick)

Stuckey 5 pass from Whitehurst (Dean Kick)

Coleman 6 run (Buckholtz Kick)

Furr 40 FG

Dean 52 FG

Merriweather 3 run (Buckholtz Kick)