CLEMSON – Clemson football is trying to return to its winning ways.
The Tigers (9-4) won their fewest games since 2010 last season to miss the ACC championship and the College Football Playoff for the third straight year. A major reason for last season’s struggles was the offense that ranked 50th in the nation in scoring offense and total offense.
If the Tigers don’t improve on offense, it could spell trouble for coach Dabo Swinney‘s team in 2024. Here are Clemson’s weakest position groups ahead of preseason practices:
Offensive line
The Tigers’ offensive line gave up 28 sacks in back-to-back seasons. Although all of those sacks were not on the unit, Swinney replaced offensive line coach Thomas Austin with Matt Luke in December.
The offensive line struggled in Clemson’s spring game, allowing 11 total sacks from both teams’ units. To avoid injuries to the quarterbacks, Swinney gave them non-contact status and quickly whistled a sack whenever a defender got within arms’ length of the quarterbacks.
In the spring, Clemson’s first-team offensive line featured Tristan Leigh (left tackle), Collin Sadler (left guard), Ryan Linthicum (center), Marcus Tate (right guard) and Blake Miller (right tackle). This could change before the season starts with Linthicum entrenched in a position battle for starting center with Harris Sewell and Trent Howard.
Walker Parks has also been cleared to practice after recovering from a September lower-body injury that ended his 2023 season. Sadler replaced the fifth-year player, but practices will reveal who the starting five will be.
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Quarterbacks
There is pressure on Cade Klubnik to deliver in his junior season. He logged 2,844 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Despite leading the conference in passing attempts and completions, he made critical errors in clutch situations, was sacked 28 times and had the fewest yards per attempt (6.3) in the ACC with over 60% of his throws being nine yards or shorter.
If Klubnik struggles, there isn’t an established quarterback on the roster to replace him. Swinney has confidence in Christopher Vizzina, but the redshirt freshman struggled in Clemson’s spring game. There’s Trent Pearman, who was electric in the spring game, but he is a walk-on.
Running backs
Phil Mafah is the unquestioned No. 1 back after Will Shipley went pro. The question revolving around Clemson’s running backs room is who will backup the senior?
Keith Adams Jr. impressed during spring practices. Swinney described Jarvis Green as a natural back who plays with fluidity and said freshman David Eziomume has room to grow, but he reminds the Tigers coach of a younger Mafah. Then, there’s Jay Haynes, who missed the spring with a hamstring injury.
Still, these backs did not break out in Clemson’s spring game. With Mafah sitting out and Haynes injured, the three backs combined for 40 yards on 20 carries. Entering preseason practices, a clear No. 2 running back must emerge to aid Mafah.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00