A year ago, Clemson lost seven of its 11 offensive starters from its 2020 College Football Playoff squad and returned players responsible for only 31 percent of the team’s total offense from the prior year, which ranked 125th out of 130 FBS teams. The unit gained valuable experience throughout 2021 and enters 2022 more battle-tested and carrying momentum gained from the emergence of young contributors down the stretch.
Clemson leaned heavily on the running game in 2021, as Clemson averaged at least 150 rushing yards per game for the 11th straight season. However, the Tigers will seek to restore their signature balance in 2021, as Clemson stands as one of only two teams in the country to both run for at least 11,000 yards and pass for at least 15,000 yards since 2018.
The balance and the resulting success of the Clemson offense since the 2014 postseason resulted in Clemson graduate and long-time Clemson playcaller Tony Elliott earning the head coaching job at Virginia last December. Promoted in the wake of his departure was Brandon Streeter, Clemson’s quarterbacks coach who added the title of Offensive Coordinator prior to the team’s 2021 Cheez-It Bowl win. While 2022 will be his first full season calling plays for his alma mater, Streeter spent six years as an offensive coordinator at Liberty (2009-11) and Richmond (2012-14) before joining the Tigers for the 2014 postseason.
QUARTERBACKS
Streeter and Clemson’s offense enter the spring with the luxury of three former five-star recruits and two talented former walk-ons in its quarterbacks group. The incumbent at quarterback is junior DJ Uiagalelei (Inland Empire, Calif.), who started all 13 games for Clemson a season ago and enters 2022 with an 11-4 career record as a starter. Uiagalelei’s 862 snaps in 2021 were the most in a season by a Clemson quarterback since 2017 (Kelly Bryant, 886), as the first-year starter and former No. 2 overall recruit in the Class of 2020 guided the Tigers to a 10-win season while Clemson ended the season starting two true freshmen and a fifth-year former walk-on at wide receiver in each of the season’s final three games.
True freshman Cade Klubnik (Austin, Texas) joined the group in January as a mid-year enrollee after the consensus five-star recruit became the first quarterback to go undefeated as a starter while winning back-to-back state titles in Texas’ highest classification since Allen’s Kyler Murray. The Texas Gatorade Player of the Year joined the Tigers following a prep career in which he posted a 27-0 mark as a starter at Class 6A powerhouse Austin Westlake, contributing on three consecutive state championship teams including the final two as the starting quarterback.
The quarterback group’s depth was bolstered in January when Clemson added a new addition in the form of a familiar face. After departing Clemson’s program prior to the 2018 season, super senior Hunter Johnson (Brownsburg, Ind./Northwestern) returned to Clemson as a graduate transfer following four years at Northwestern. The much-respected signal caller maintained relationships at Clemson throughout his time in the Big Ten and reached out to Dabo Swinney about possible graduate assistant openings. Swinney, seeking a veteran presence in the quarterbacks room, instead swayed Johnson to use his “COVID year” and be a sixth-year senior on Clemson’s 2022 roster.
Clemson’s depth at the position is also bolstered by third-year sophomore Hunter Helms (West Columbia, S.C.) and redshirt freshman Billy Wiles (Ashburn, Va.), two former walk-ons who were rewarded with scholarships this offseason after initially passing up on Division I scholarship offers to instead chase their dreams at Clemson.
RUNNING BACKS
Despite amassing a glut of talent at the running back position, Clemson’s rushing attack seemed to be at a crossroads after the first four games of 2021, as the Tigers ranked 99th in the country in rushing yards per game through the end of September. Yet thanks in part to a trio of talented young backs that commanded key roles as the season progressed, Clemson averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game (24th in the country) in the month of November as Clemson’s offense began to hit its stride in its six-game winning streak to close the year.
Despite being held to two rushing yards in the season opener, under the guidance of first-year running backs coach and College Football Hall of Famer C.J. Spiller, Clemson averaged 168 rushing yards per game, giving Clemson a 150-yard or better rushing average in each of the last 11 seasons. Two different players reached 500 rushing yards, the sixth time in the last seven seasons Clemson has accomplished that feat.
The statistical leader of that duo was sophomore Will Shipley (Weddington, N.C.), who earned second-team Freshman All-America honors from The Athletic despite missing several games with leg and head injuries at different points of the year. He rushed 149 times for 738 yards (5.0 avg.) with 11 touchdowns (second-most by a Clemson true freshman since 1972), caught 16 passes for 116 yards, averaged 27.1 yards on 14 kickoff returns and threw a two-yard touchdown pass in 2021.
Junior Kobe Pace (Cedartown, Ga.) enjoyed a breakout campaign in his second year in the program, totaling 641 yards and six touchdowns on 104 carries over only 273 snaps in 11 games last fall. The powerful back earned ACC Running Back of the Week after rushing for a career-high 191 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns vs. No. 13 Wake Forest in November, the most rushing yards by a Clemson player since Travis Etienne’s 212 rushing yards against Wofford in 2019.
A year ago, sophomore Phil Mafah (Loganville, Ga.) appeared destined for a redshirt to help create some roster separation from Shipley and Pace. But after the combination of A) Mafah’s emergence, B) the transfers of two other running backs, and C) the impact of the injury bug, Mafah was called into action. The bruising back played in each of Clemson’s last nine games, recording 292 yards and three touchdowns on 68 carries and gaining 50 yards on seven receptions over 170 offensive snaps.
Clemson legacy Keith Adams Jr. (St. George, Utah) will join the program in the summer after signing with the Tigers in February.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Few coaches had to adapt in 2021 like Clemson Wide Receivers Coach Tyler Grisham. An almost inconceivable run of injuries resulted in Grisham’s unit starting two true freshmen and a fifth-year former walk-on for each of the final three games of the season. The team’s leader in starts at wide receiver, receptions and receiving yards was Justyn Ross, who was coming off of missing the entire 2020 season with a career-threatening spinal condition. By season’s end, 25 different Tigers caught at least one pass, the most in the Dabo Swinney era.
But Clemson’s turnstile at wide receiver and the ensuing opportunity for young players has resulted in the Tigers returning receivers who account for 138 combined career games and five different players who have recorded at least one career start.
The group’s elder statesman is senior Joseph Ngata (Folsom, Calif.), who leads the returning receivers in both career games (31) and career starts (11). Before the injury bug struck him again midseason, Ngata got off to an impressive start, recording 110 yards on six receptions in the season opener against eventual national champion Georgia, one of only five 100-yard receiving performances surrendered by the Bulldogs last year. He also had an acrobatic touchdown reception in a three-point win at Syracuse in early October.
Junior E.J. Williams (Phenix City, Ala.) similarly fought injuries throughout the 2021 campaign, missing time at various points in the year with hand, knee and leg injuries. But the third-year receiver has been lauded by coaches throughout his tenure for his toughness, and buoyed largely by a strong end to his freshman year in 2020, he will enter 2022 with 32 career receptions for 372 yards and two touchdowns in 20 career games with six starts.
Known as the “Collins Towers” in Dabo Swinney’s nomenclature, second-year sophomores Beaux Collins (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Dacari Collins (Atlanta, Ga.) emerged down the stretch of their true freshman years in 2021. Beaux joined elite company with his debut season, joining DeAndre Hopkins (2010), Sammy Watkins (2011), Artavis Scott (2014), Hunter Renfrow (2015), Deon Cain (2015) and Justyn Ross (2018) as the only Clemson freshmen — true or redshirt — in the Dabo Swinney era to post at least 30 receptions and at least 400 receiving yards in their first season. Dacari caught 16 passes for 221 yards in nine games and established himself early in his career as one of Clemson’s top perimeter blockers.
Clemson will hope for a clean bill of health for fourth-year slot receiver Brannon Spector (Calhoun, Ga.), who missed the entire 2021 season while working through respiratory challenges. The slot position is also likely to be contested by Troy Stellato (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who redshirted as a freshman in 2021, and Will Taylor (Irmo, S.C.), the do-it-all dual-sport athlete who passed up MLB riches to play two sports at Clemson but had his freshman season in 2021 ended prematurely by a knee injury.
Three freshman scholarship signees will join the unit for 2022, including early enrollee Adam Randall (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and summer enrollees Antonio Williams (Irmo, S.C.) and Cole Turner (Vestavia Hills, Ala.).
TIGHT ENDS
Following his promotion prior to the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl, Kyle Richardson now has purview of Clemson’s tight ends as Passing Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach. His 2022 group will feature one of the offense’s most respected veteran leaders and two young talents who are primed for larger roles after ascending the depth chart in 2021.
The unit is expected to be led by Davis Allen (Calhoun, Ga.), the senior whom former Offensive Coordinator Tony Elliott once called “his favorite player on the team” in a meeting with ESPN announcers last fall. Allen assumed the starting role on a full-time basis early in the 2021 season and started 10 games for the Tigers, tying for the team lead with three touchdown receptions. He enters his first offseason as an incumbent starter with seven career touchdown catches, three shy of becoming the sixth Clemson tight end ever to catch 10 career touchdown passes.
Allen’s contributions will be supplemented by the continued ascents of redshirt sophomore Sage Ennis (Graceville, Fla.) and sophomore Jake Briningstool (Brentwood, Tenn.). Ennis played in all 13 games for Clemson last season and earned his first career start when Clemson opened in a two-tight-end set against Florida State. Briningstool’s raw ability as a pass catcher resulted in him appearing in each of Clemson’s last seven games of 2021, playing at least 14 offensive snaps in each of Clemson’s last four contests.
Alongside that trio, the group will also feature the longest-tenured player on the roster. Super senior Luke Price (Dillon, S.C.) joined Clemson as a walk-on linebacker in 2017 and is entering his sixth year in the program (and fourth year as a tight end) in 2022. Josh Sapp (Greenville, S.C.), the son of former Clemson quarterback and linebacker Patrick Sapp, will join the program this summer after signing with the Tigers in December.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Offensive Line Coach Thomas Austin formally took the reins to the unit in February after Robbie Caldwell transitioned into an off-field role following four-and-a-half decades of on-field college coaching. Austin was a two-time All-ACC selection on Clemson’s offensive line from 2006-09, appearing in 48 games with 39 starts before moving on to a four-year NFL career.
After being written off by most local and national observers after a tough performance in the season opener against eventual national champion Georgia, Clemson’s 2021 offensive line rebounded to allow only 14 sacks in its final 12 games and finished having allowed the second-fewest sacks in the ACC. The unit’s strong performance down the stretch came despite the Tigers starting seven different offensive line combinations in 13 games. Clemson lost only one contributing senior offensive linemen from 2021 and has only only senior among its ranks in 2022.
Redshirt senior Jordan McFadden (Spartanburg, S.C.) is returning for his fifth season at Clemson and should be a prime candidate for preseason All-America and All-ACC honors. Routinely called Clemson’s most consistent and reliable offensive lineman a year ago, McFadden earned second-team All-ACC honors after playing the most offensive snaps (872) by any Clemson offensive tackle since multi-time All-American Mitch Hyatt in 2016.
McFadden’s spot at left tackle is expected to be bookended on the right side by junior Walker Parks (Lexington, Ky.), whose nasty on-field demeanor in 869 offensive snaps juxtaposed his Academic All-ACC credentials.
The incumbent at right guard is senior Will Putnam (Tampa, Fla.), a multi-year starter who gutted through injuries in 2021 and collected all-conference honors from Phil Steele while hobbled. Putnam transitioned to center in the spring and impressed coaches with his quick adaptation to the position.
Clemson’s interior shuffle throughout 2021 paid dividends for the experience and exposure for now-fourth-year interior linemen Mason Trotter (Roebuck, S.C.), who started seven of the team’s final eight games across the guard and center positions but will miss the majority of the 2022 season. Sophomore Marcus Tate earned an opening-night start in the interior as a true freshman and played the best football of his eight starts down the stretch.
Four other fourth-year players will attempt to push for larger roles, including junior Mitchell Mayes (Raleigh, N.C.) and redshirt sophomores Bryn Tucker (Knoxville, Tenn.), Trent Howard (Birmingham, Ala.) and John Williams (Canton, Ga.). Mayes, Tucker and Howard contributed in reserve during the 2021 season while Williams missed the campaign after suffering a knee injury during fall camp.
Beyond the veteran experience, Clemson’s coaches continue to express excitement for the unit’s young depth. Redshirt freshman Dietrick Pennington (Memphis, Tenn.) was on track for substantial playing time as a true freshman before suffering a season-ending injury in his Clemson debut, while fellow freshmen Ryan Linthicum (Damascus, Md.) and Tristan Leigh (Fairfax, Va.) spent the bulk of their redshirt years in the weight room. The group was also joined in January by early enrollees Blake Miller (Strongsville, Ohio) and Collin Sadler (Inman, S.C.), a duo Clemson coaches have called as physically ready to play as any Clemson true freshmen offensive linemen in recent memory.
