Speaker 1: Joining us now to preview a little Clemson Tiger football.
Speaker 1: It's the great. Will Vandervoord, senior writer for the Clemson
Speaker 1: Insider dot com. Well, how you been my friend?
Speaker 2: Man? I'm doing good. Now you just call me great.
Speaker 2: I don't think I've ember been called great.
Speaker 1: So many superletives we could throw your way. Great is
Speaker 1: nice and simple. It gets it down to the point.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about how great you think this Clemson team
Speaker 1: can be. As the preseason poll is out right now.
Speaker 1: Of course Florida State favored right down number one Clemson
Speaker 1: to number two. But let's talk more practically about what
Speaker 1: we're looking at from a team perspective. Let's walk through
Speaker 1: this offense. Obviously you've got a lot of new faces there,
Speaker 1: but the quarterback remains the same k Clubnick fall campus
Speaker 1: opening here. How do you feel Club Nick is poised
Speaker 1: to handle this upcoming season.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I think the verdict is still out
Speaker 2: on on what CA can do. I mean, we're hearing
Speaker 2: all the right things. He's saying the right things, and
Speaker 2: you know, but you know, I think people want to
Speaker 2: see it right. They want to see this is going
Speaker 2: to consistently, you know, show he's going to play well,
Speaker 2: and you know, because he did have his ups and
Speaker 2: downs last year. I know when you look at his
Speaker 2: stats and they'll say, well, his stats weren't that bad,
Speaker 2: and they weren't, and he played within the system for
Speaker 2: the most part, but there were times when he went rogue,
Speaker 2: went against the system, you know, cost him a game
Speaker 2: against Florida State, it cost him against Miami, you know.
Speaker 2: So he made a bad decision in the game against
Speaker 2: NCU State that cost him. So you know that he's
Speaker 2: had his moments where you know, he he played well
Speaker 2: and looked good. Notre Dame comes to mind, played very
Speaker 2: well and was very efficient in that game. I think
Speaker 2: for most of the Florida State game he played excellent
Speaker 2: and you know, and had and probably if the fumble
Speaker 2: doesn't happen, which he did that, you know, and I
Speaker 2: don't totally blame that on him as much as anything
Speaker 2: that was a Phil Maffa didn't didn't complete his job
Speaker 2: there when he was trying to. He didn't let me
Speaker 2: and block the linebacker. So you know, kind of add
Speaker 2: together and I think fans were finally frustrated about it,
Speaker 2: and so they want to see, you know, can he
Speaker 2: be as good as advertised when he was coming out
Speaker 2: of high school and get Twimson back to the collegeotball playoffs.
Speaker 1: You look at the weapons they have to work with.
Speaker 1: Obviously Tyler Brown interesting results in year one. There they
Speaker 1: have Antonio Williams and some others. I think the cornerstone
Speaker 1: here and maybe I'm a little biased because my son
Speaker 1: just did his first round of dynasty play on a
Speaker 1: sports College Football twenty five and Jake brittenstill was a machine.
Speaker 1: We know what Brittan Steel can do a tight end.
Speaker 1: How do you see him into this big year for
Speaker 1: Clemson because I think he can elevate this team as
Speaker 1: a huge weapon and not only security blanket, but a
Speaker 1: guy that can really challenge the hashes in that secondary
Speaker 1: for Clemson.
Speaker 2: I think it all depends on I think how the
Speaker 2: other guys are going to do, because you know last year,
Speaker 2: you know, he was excellent last year. You know of
Speaker 2: fifty catches, almost five hundred yards, I think six or
Speaker 2: seven touchdowns. You know, a very good season. It could
Speaker 2: have been more if you think about, like if there
Speaker 2: was anybody else there that was a weapon right on
Speaker 2: the past game. I think the key for Clemson is
Speaker 2: they've got to do better than six point four yards
Speaker 2: per reception, right one, not per attempt. That was one
Speaker 2: hundred and thirtieth in the college football of one hundred
Speaker 2: and thirty two teams last year, last in the Atlantic
Speaker 2: Coast Conference. They really have to do a better job
Speaker 2: of getting the ball down the field. And maybe you
Speaker 2: know that is where when you hear about Brian Westcoe
Speaker 2: and you hear about TJ. Moore, those receivers, maybe that's
Speaker 2: what they bring to the table. I think that's what
Speaker 2: it's expected of those guys to bring to the table.
Speaker 2: A lot of people, you know, anxious to see what TJ.
Speaker 2: Moore's gonna be, what kind of receiver he can be.
Speaker 2: I think we got a good idea what Brian Westco
Speaker 2: can be. And so those two freshmen come in and
Speaker 2: just give Clemson some kind of the resemblance of a
Speaker 2: vertical passing game, which they haven't had since Pee Higgins.
Speaker 2: Then then I think, you know, they have a chance
Speaker 2: to be really good in Breening stool. To answer your question,
Speaker 2: I think he's going to be better than people can be.
Speaker 2: I think he's one of the top tight ends in
Speaker 2: the country. But I think if you want to see
Speaker 2: him have a great year. I think it's got to
Speaker 2: It's God, he's got to have help. In other words,
Speaker 2: defenses if he if they're you know, when you look
Speaker 2: at Jordan Lagan, how good he was. The reason Jordan
Speaker 2: Lego was so good because people had to worry about
Speaker 2: Mike Williams and r David Scott and and the and
Speaker 2: then they really couldn't They had to worry about Hunter
Speaker 2: re and Fro. They just couldn't focus on him. Well.
Speaker 2: Right now, Clemson is a situation where last year all
Speaker 2: they had because Antonio Williams was hurt, a lot of
Speaker 2: other guys got hurt at wide receiver, So it was
Speaker 2: this Tyler Brown and Brenning Stool. So you did it
Speaker 2: was a whole lot easier for defenses to focus on.
Speaker 2: But if you get if Clemson gets that deep vertical
Speaker 2: passing game going, the middle is going to open up
Speaker 2: tremendous and I think Brenning Stool will be the number
Speaker 2: one beneficiary of it.
Speaker 1: We're joined by Vanderward Clemson insider. I'm John Ellis. That's
Speaker 1: Trey Falco. Ethan Parsons is in studio, former Burns High
Speaker 1: School standout. He's got a question for you, will go ahead, Ethan.
Speaker 1: I was gonna ask, other than Cad, who do you
Speaker 1: think is the most important player for this team to
Speaker 1: make back to the collegeball playoffs?
Speaker 2: Most important player? Hmmm, yes, I mean, I guess I'll
Speaker 2: go over. So we've talked a lot offense. I guess
Speaker 2: I'll go over to the defensive side. I think Peter
Speaker 2: Woods has got to be He's got to be probably
Speaker 2: the next the next most important guy because Peter Woods
Speaker 2: is the guy who you know he's gonna play a
Speaker 2: different position this year. They moved him in the spring
Speaker 2: to the outside right, specifically because they do not have
Speaker 2: anybody else on the outside. You know, they got TJ. Parker,
Speaker 2: and they had nobody else coming in as a pass rusher.
Speaker 2: And if Woods doesn't let's just say this is something
Speaker 2: would have happened to Peter Woods that would not that
Speaker 2: would not be good for this defense. They need him
Speaker 2: to be healthy all year because he's a guy who
Speaker 2: can bounce inside outside, but primarily in the fact that
Speaker 2: there's a reason why they moved him outside because they
Speaker 2: didn't trust the guys they have in there right now
Speaker 2: and they needed to have another special person on the
Speaker 2: edge that can consistently get pressure on the quarterback to
Speaker 2: compliment TJ. Parker, so he's not getting double team constantly.
Speaker 2: So Peter Woods, I think is probably extremely important in
Speaker 2: the sense of you know what's the best way. Look,
Speaker 2: there's two things you do. If you're in the NFL
Speaker 2: and you're drafting, right John, you know this is as
Speaker 2: good as I do. The first person you drafted is
Speaker 2: a quarterback. The next person you're drafting a defensive End't
Speaker 2: there two most important players on your team? So I
Speaker 2: say that's why I would say Peter Woods is probably
Speaker 2: the next most important person on Clyms's team.
Speaker 1: I think an important person is film Afa, and he's
Speaker 1: finally getting his chance to shine. As your colleague, Jason
Speaker 1: Priester wrote about this, MafA had some high marks. Uh,
Speaker 1: not only for the entire offense, but the offensive line
Speaker 1: in particular. Let's talk about your perspective on MafA becoming
Speaker 1: the bell coal in the backfield now and your take
Speaker 1: on the offensive line. Any issues to worry about there?
Speaker 1: Are you pretty confident about them as a group? Go
Speaker 1: ahead on that one.
Speaker 2: I think the start in five you're very confident in
Speaker 2: them as a as a as a group, right, I think,
Speaker 2: you know, one through five Clemson is really good. The
Speaker 2: problem is the depth. So if there's an injury, and
Speaker 2: let's be honest as guys, the guys on the offensive
Speaker 2: line and defensive line, they'd get hurt first, yeah, and
Speaker 2: the most by anybody you know. Last year, A lot
Speaker 2: of people kind of miss it because he got hurt
Speaker 2: so early in the season. But Walker Parks was a
Speaker 2: huge injury for Clemson last year. He is a start
Speaker 2: and right guard. He was a most experienced player they
Speaker 2: had on the offensive line, and then he struggled and
Speaker 2: then Marcus Tate got hurt right after that and that
Speaker 2: didn't help, right, So they had issues there too. So
Speaker 2: that's why they got to they gotta make sure they
Speaker 2: stay healthy. I think if those start, I can stay healthy.
Speaker 2: And I think they got an excellent opportunity to be
Speaker 2: really good upfront and to I want to say, I
Speaker 2: should say really good, but be better is what I
Speaker 2: should say. And that's gonna be the key for them
Speaker 2: in this running game. Because you mentioned Phil MafA, But
Speaker 2: MafA is only gonna be as good as his offensive
Speaker 2: line is gonna be in front of them. And you know,
Speaker 2: teams are gonna start the season like Georgia are gonna
Speaker 2: be keying on him. They're gonna force Kake club Meet
Speaker 2: to beat him, and so it's not early on. It's
Speaker 2: not gonna be easy for a guy like Cade. I
Speaker 2: mean for a guy like Phil MafA to do what
Speaker 2: he needs to do. So the passing game is gonna
Speaker 2: have to come to the forefront because teams aren't gonna
Speaker 2: let Phil MafA beat them to start the season. And
Speaker 2: so it's gonna get to a offensive line and those
Speaker 2: wide receivers and quarterback for Clemson to show how good
Speaker 2: they can be on offense. And I think they're gonna
Speaker 2: be improved on offense. But I'm with you what you're
Speaker 2: kind of implying there, John, I think they're only gonna
Speaker 2: be as good as that offensive line is gonna be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it always comes down of the trenches. And then
Speaker 1: you've got an interesting dynamic, Will Vandervor joining us here,
Speaker 1: Clemson insider with this defense, a young secondary that got
Speaker 1: a lot of reps. I know they lose Nate Wiggins,
Speaker 1: but I really like Khalil Barnes a lot. I liked
Speaker 1: him last year. I like him even more moving forward.
Speaker 1: Terrell obviously has a lot of talent. They had got
Speaker 1: some good young players in that secondary. How do you
Speaker 1: size that group up heading into I guess you call
Speaker 1: it year two for this cores. I guess for this
Speaker 1: young group. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I like this secondary and I like the guys they
Speaker 2: got coming in. I think this is a very talented secondary.
Speaker 2: Now it's not very experienced, as you pointed out a
Speaker 2: lot of young guys, but it's a good secondary, and
Speaker 2: I think he's got a chance to be a great secondary.
Speaker 2: You know, you look at a guy a Sean Lewis
Speaker 2: who's gonna be you know, he was a backup for
Speaker 2: most of last year, but he showed flashes right you
Speaker 2: know the North Carolina game. It takes an interception to
Speaker 2: the house. You know, you got Avian Terrell who started
Speaker 2: the last games of the season last year, and he
Speaker 2: was he was a shutdown as you can ask for
Speaker 2: a freshman receiver to be. And I think he's got
Speaker 2: the potential to beat Clemson's new shutdown guy. Uh So,
Speaker 2: you know, and then Khalil Barnes. You get Jake Venables
Speaker 2: back this year, excuse me, Tyler Vnables back this year.
Speaker 2: I think that's going to be a big boost for
Speaker 2: that Clemson secondary. And you got R. J. Michins back,
Speaker 2: who I think is probably the best football player on
Speaker 2: the team. And what I mean by that is he
Speaker 2: understands everybody else's job, and he understands his job as
Speaker 2: well as anybody. And he's he's great at watching film.
Speaker 2: He so when he gets into a game, he comes
Speaker 2: in as prepares as anybody in his football IQ is
Speaker 2: as good as anybody. Now you're bringing invenables back Inventibles
Speaker 2: is just like his dad as far as when it
Speaker 2: comes to his football, like you. And so you got
Speaker 2: two coaches out on the field, if you will, and
Speaker 2: then you know that's going to be benefit that's gonna benefit Climpson.
Speaker 2: I think the secondary, it's better than a lot of people,
Speaker 2: especially nationally think. I think the secondary is gonna prove
Speaker 2: itself to be one of the best in the country again.
Speaker 2: And people forget those four guys you mentioned as far
Speaker 2: that are gonna be sophomores this year. They they got
Speaker 2: to grow up against some very good quarterbacks last year.
Speaker 2: People forget how Clemson's secondary was, and those four guys
Speaker 2: played consistently and for that secondary, And so I think
Speaker 2: that's going to bode well for Clemson this year against again.
Speaker 2: They're gonna have to play some pretty dog gone good
Speaker 2: quarterbacks again this year too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's invaluable. Well, we talked about that.
Speaker 1: The turning point for Nate Wiggins, A lot of people
Speaker 1: felt was that game at Wake Forest a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago where in over time, you know, they survived,
Speaker 1: but he had some hard reps in that game, and
Speaker 1: then he became such an instrumental piece to that team
Speaker 1: down the stretch, and I think you look at you know,
Speaker 1: just great moments for this young secondary that translate into
Speaker 1: turning points for young players that end up becoming at
Speaker 1: some point NFL quality guys. First second round. We saw
Speaker 1: Wiggins go first round this year. Speaking of the NFL
Speaker 1: real quick. We know you're a big Steelers guy, Trey
Speaker 1: falco Is as well. You talked about the terrible talent
Speaker 1: Our studio. You love the fact it's draped over our
Speaker 1: Panthers sign. I know you love that Steelers. I mean,
Speaker 1: here's the thing, you know, Russell Wilson, that there's all
Speaker 1: this talk coming in about that the job is going
Speaker 1: to be his and it will be a competition but
Speaker 1: we all know Russell would have been the favorite, maybe
Speaker 1: have not been for four days miss with a calf injury.
Speaker 1: He's back splitting some reps. Now with Fields, do you
Speaker 1: buy into the fact that this is very much a
Speaker 1: fifty to fifty open competition right now in Fields could
Speaker 1: ultimately get the starting job.
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: The planing Fields was never the plan to begin with.
Speaker 2: Russell Wilson was always the plan. I think that's the
Speaker 2: way Mike Conlin looks at it going in and I think,
Speaker 2: you know, when it's all said done, if Russell Wilson
Speaker 2: stays healthy, I think he'll come into the start the
Speaker 2: season against the Falcons. Now as you keep the job,
Speaker 2: I don't know. I guess that's gonna be based on performance.
Speaker 2: But I think you know you got a young quarterback
Speaker 2: of Justin Fields, who I think was thrown out to
Speaker 2: be a starting quarterback sooner than he was ready for
Speaker 2: and when he was in Chicago, I think the Steelers
Speaker 2: feel like he can maybe be the guy after this
Speaker 2: year with them. We'll see both those guys. You know,
Speaker 2: the students didn't pick up rus Russell Wilson's out. Russell
Speaker 2: Wilson's Justin Field's option either. So that tells you that
Speaker 2: they're they're waiting to see what happens this year before
Speaker 2: they make a decision on next year. Now, they didn't
Speaker 2: pick up Najie Harris is either. Najie Harris said after
Speaker 2: practice earlier last week that the reason they picked up
Speaker 2: because they told him they don't know what their offense
Speaker 2: is going to be next year. So what does that
Speaker 2: tell you about the quarterback situation? That tells you the
Speaker 2: Steelers are gonna try to see if they could figure
Speaker 2: it out this year with those two guys. I think
Speaker 2: whoever comes out this year, then the Steelers may say, Okay,
Speaker 2: let's go two or three years with Russell Wilson, We'll
Speaker 2: bring in a rookie, let him go with it. If not,
Speaker 2: then they'll they'll they'll go ahead and just keep Justin
Speaker 2: Fields and he'll be their future. So I think we
Speaker 2: still got some time to decide on that before they
Speaker 2: decide on that. But right now, but everything everything my
Speaker 2: gut tells me, and what I've read with Tomlin during
Speaker 2: the preseason before men camp start, I mean training camp started,
Speaker 2: Russell Wilson is going to be the guy I think
Speaker 2: he's gonna get the first shot at it and then
Speaker 2: they'll go from there.
Speaker 1: Well. Vanderward covering the Clemson Tigers for the Clemson Insider
Speaker 1: dot com and of course, the Believe in Clemson Football Podcast.
Speaker 1: Thanks for making time on short notice, brother. We'll get
Speaker 1: you back in here soon to talk more Steelers and
Speaker 1: more Clemson. Bud.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Man, I always love to do it. My friend,
Speaker 2: give me a holler,