Clemson Summer Depth Chart Announced

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney released his team depth chart entering the summer conditioning program today. Below are some notes on the personnel rundown. Click here to view the depth chart in a PDF file: 2014 Clemson Football Depth Chart. 

Clemson opens the 2014 season at Georgia on August 30.  For season ticket information for to http://bit.ly/1oK3cxB.  Clemson 2014 Depth Chart Notes

• Clemson has 13 returning players who were starters or co-starters from last year’s seventh-ranked team that finished 11-2 with a 40-35 win over Ohio State in the Discover Orange Bowl. There are six returning starters on each side of the ball, plus punter Bradley Pinion.
• The depth chart has 51 different players on the offense and defense (not counting special teams), 26 offensive players and 25 defensive players. The 51 players include 18 seniors, 12 juniors, 13 sophomores and eight freshmen. Six of the eight freshmen are on offense and just two on defense. One of the freshmen is Mackensie Alexander, who is listed as a starting cornerback, the only freshman listed as a starter. (Dorian O’Daniel is listed as one of four co-starters at a linebacker/nickel back position). Clemson has started just one freshman at cornerback over the course of the season since 2002 and that was Bashaud Breeland in 2011. He started seven of 14 games that year.
• Cole Stoudt, a senior, is Clemson’s number-one quarterback. He has played in 22 games for 287 snaps but never started a game. He will be the first Clemson quarterback to make his first career start as a senior since Billy Lott in 1979. Lott had the benefit of having his first four games at home as a senior that year. Stoudt’s first start will be at Georgia. Both Chris Morocco (1989) and Will Proctor (2006) were first-year starters for the course of the season as seniors, but each made one start before their respective senior years.
• If Georgia is ranked in the preseason top 25, Stoudt will be just the second Clemson quarterback since 1975 to make his first college start on the road against a top 25 team when the Tigers open at Georgia on August 30. Willie Simmons made his first start at #8 Georgia in 2002. Prior to that you have to go back to 1975 when Steve Fuller made his first start as a freshman at #14 Alabama.
• Five of the six freshmen on offense are at wide receiver or backfield positions. Three are at the wide receiver spots as backups, Demarre Kitt, Artavis Scott and Kyrin Priester. Wayne Gallman is a freshman among four listed at running back and Deshaun Watson is the second-team quarterback.
• Clemson is deepest at the defensive line where all nine players listed on the two-deep are lettermen who have played at least 200 snaps in their careers. The group has played in a combined 266 games with 91 starts. They combined for 69 tackles for loss last year helping Clemson to a number-one ranking nationally in that category. The nine players have averaged 760 plays of experience entering the 2014 season. Six of the nine have already played at least 30 games.
• There are 12 returning ACC players from 2013 who had at least 10 tackles for loss last year and five of the 12 are on Clemson’s defense. Those are Vic Beasley (23), Stephone Anthony (13.5), Grady Jarrett (11), Corey Crawford (10.5) and Shaq Lawson (10).
• The 2014 Clemson summer depth chart has seven players who have played at least 1000 snaps from scrimmage in their careers. The leader is Stephone Anthony with 1,553. Others are Corey Crawford (1396), Adam Humphries (1328), David Beasley (1227), Ryan Norton (1118), Grady Jarrett (1112), and Travis Blanks (1038).
• While the players returning to Clemson’s defensive line have 91 career starts combined, Clemson’s offensive linemen has 49.  The leader is David Beasley with 19 starts in 30 games played.