Clemson Holds Scrimmage in Death Valley

Aug. 16, 2003

Clemson, SC – Clemson held its second full scale scrimmage of the preseason in Death Valley on Saturday. The Tigers ran over 120 plays in the three-hour scrimmage that ended a stretch of nine practices in six days.

“The team worked hard today and it was good to see because we have had practice in 11 of the last 12 days and three of those days had double practices,” said Head Coach Tommy Bowden. “We made some mistakes on offense, some turnovers that can hurt and some penalties near the goal line. Those are mistakes that have to be corrected. We had a couple of lost fumbles and interceptions.” It should be pointed out that the first-team offense did not commit a turnover on Saturday.

One of the players Bowden singled out after practice was graduate running back Chad Jasmin. Listed as the first-team fullback, Jasmin played fullback and tailback at times during the scrimmage and led all rushers with 10 carries for 53 yards. “Chad Jasmin was the best of the running backs today. He had a 25-yard early in the scrimmage where he made some people miss and showed power. He has had a very good preseason camp.”

Freshman running back Brandon Nolen of Old Bridge, NY had 10 carries for 48 yards, but most of his yardage was gained against the reserves on defense. Bowden worked many running backs on Saturday, including Reggie Merriweather (9-25), Duane Coleman (7-18), Yusef Kelly (3-8) and Kyle Browning (4-23).

Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst connected on 8-16 passes for 93 yards and a score, a 25-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Hamilton, who made a leaning reception on the play that completed a 50-yard scoring drive against the number-one defense. Kevin Youngblood had four catches for 26 yards to lead the receivers in terms of catches.

There were also some highlight plays on defense on Saturday. Senior cornerback Toure Francis returned a fumble 92 yards for a touchdown and had an interception and a pass deflection. Mo Fountain had six tackles, but four were for losses, including three sacks. John Leake led all tacklers with 10, while Lionel Richardson added eight. Placekicker Aaron Hunt continued his fine preseason camp by hitting 4-4 on field goals. He connected on attempts of 28, 30, 34 and 38 yards.

There were no injuries in the scrimmage. Clemson will have Sunday off, then will return to the practice fields for its final two-a-day sessions on Monday.