Clemson Tigers Football: 10 Things to Expect from the Orange-White Spring Game

The majority of the teams in college football have already begun spring practice and are slowly preparing for their spring game later this month. For the Clemson Tigers, their Orange and White game takes place on April 14.

This is a chance for all of the players to prove to the coaches that they belong on the field this season. It also gives the fans an opportunity to see where the team has improved and where the weaknesses remain—all while giving them their football fix until fall comes around of course.

As we inch closer to the Tigers' spring game, here are 10 things that you should expect to see.

Forget About Last Season

We all remember how last season ended for the Tigers, but it's now time to forget about it, as the focus remains on this season.

"

"That was a good team but not a great team," head coach Dabo Swinney explains. "They were good enough to win the ACC but not good enough to go undefeated and not good enough to win a BCS bowl."

"

If the players and coaches can forget about what happened last season, then you can as well. So remove those thoughts of the Mountaineers scoring oodles of points and running back Ellington fumbling on the goal line—those days are over.

A new college football season is about to begin.  

Tyler Shatley Continues to Stand out on the OL

Clemson returns the majority of their offense from a year ago, but their offensive line suffered a major blow with four key linemen graduating. Good news for Tiger fans is that they may have their answer at right guard in former defensive tackle Tyler Shatley. 

"

“That's been a great move for us,” head Coach Dabo Swinney said.“He looks natural. He's powerful. He's a guy who is going to solidify us on the offensive side. ... He has as a chance to be a 70-, 80-play (per game) guy.”

"

Shatley saw limited action last season at defensive tackle, finishing the year with 18 tackles and a broken-up pass. It should be fun to watch the transition and see just how effective he can be with a switch that isn't exactly easy.

To See a Different Andre Ellington

Ever wonder why running back Andre Ellington didn't leave for the NFL draft after rushing for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns? It's simply because that was just the tip of the iceberg, as he believes that he'll be even better this season:

"

When I'm fully ready to go and I'm 100 percent, I'm a different guy on the field. It is one of those things where you have to fight through some pain, and I kind of did that the whole season last year. I still ended up having a pretty good season. I'm just curious to see what I can do when I'm 100 percent all year.

"

I agree that we have yet to see what the senior back is capable of, and now that he's healthy, we should be in for another fantastic season. Don't expect him to get a ton of carries in the game, but the few he gets, we should see a slightly better runner.

Travis Blanks Will Earn His Respect

Travis Blanks is a 4-star recruit out of Tallahassee, FL who is already working with the first-team defense. Yes, you read that right, if he continues his solid play, he should open the season up as the starting nickelback for the Tigers defense his true freshman year.

“It’s hard to think a true freshman is just going to step and be repping with the ones,” Swinney said, “but he’s done a great job of that.”

Blanks has good size at 6'1" and nearly 200 pounds, and he is a great tackler who can also cover very well. He also has great ball skills considering he played receiver in high school and caught eight touchdown passes his junior season.

Expect to see this true freshman make a name for himself when the spring game takes place.

DeAndre Hopkins Makes an Impression

The wide receiver position was often overshadowed by freshman Sammy Watkins, but many people forget that DeAndre Hopkins caught 72 passes and five touchdowns last season. He's put extra work in during the offseason, and he even bulked up to 212 pounds and looks fantastic early on in camp.

“Hopkins has been unbelievable,” head coach Dabo Swinney said, “ain't nobody covered him yet.”

If Hopkins can improve on a much underrated sophomore season, this offense could be a lot scarier than it already is. Last season, Watkins became the star of college football; this may be the year Hopkins makes a name for himself as well.

It all starts with a great spring game to get the people talking.

Sombody Stand out at Defensive Tackle

The defensive tackle position is one of the key areas of concern for the Tigers this season, with last year's starters Brandon Thompson and Rennie Moore no longer on the roster. But defensive coordinator Brent Venables says the four players who are fighting for the starting positions have stepped up in spring, which is a fantastic sign moving forward.

“Those guys have showed up a lot since we’ve started practice,” Venables said. “There’s four of them there that have consistently showed up.”

Tavaris Barnes, DeShawn Williams, Josh Watson and Grady Jarrett are the four players fighting for two spots on the defensive line. Williams and Barnes seem to be the two that are most likely to earn their spots because of the lack of experience Jarrett and Watson have.

Either way, after the spring game, this battle should have more of an legitimate answer.

Sammy Watkins to Make Several Plays

This was an easy one.

We all know Watkins is one of the best playmakers in college football, but this season, you'll see him on the field even more than last season. He'll line up at wide receiver, he'll be the kick returner and will even share more time at punt returner this season as well.

"

"I want to try and help us get good field position and maybe take one or two back this year. I think it will help make us a better team and better on special teams. It will make us better all over." Watkins said.

"

The spring game is all about finding answers to questions, but many Tiger fans will be disappointed if they don't get to enjoy at least one jaw-dropping play from Watkins. It's hard to imagine one not happening in the spring game.

Tajh Boyd to Make Better Decisions with the Football

Unlike many teams in college football, the Tigers aren't running around looking for a quarterback because they have theirs in Tajh Boyd. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have work to do during the spring and things to work on. The main thing he's been working on is his decision-making and turnovers.

"

“Tajh, bottom line is, he’s got to improve his ball security and game management. It’s that simple,” Swinney said. “He does a lot of good things, but he led our team in turnovers. He gave up a bunch of sacks just on his own. … He’s got to become more consistent."

"

Boyd needs to know when a play is over and stop forcing passes, as he threw 12 interceptions last season. In three of the four losses last season, Boyd threw two interceptions. He only had one game where he threw two interceptions and the Tigers won.

Expect to see a different Boyd this spring game as he continues to try and correct his flaws to become the leader of this offense that many believe he can become.

Stephone Anthony to Become One of the Leaders of This Defense

Stephone Anthony saw limited action last year as a true freshman at the linebacker position, but he still finished with 29 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss, which led all Clemson linebackers. This season, he's in a new defensive scheme and is really impressing his coaches.

"

“I think, the beauty of what he can do, is kind of based on what other guys can do. I do think, athletically, intelligently and instinctually, he can do a lot of things,” Venables said. “He can do more than one thing. Some guys are just built to do a certain thing.”

"

Anthony is a lot more comfortable in this defense, and with a year under his belt, he could emerge as one of the better defensive players in the conference. Expect to see him make a huge jump in the spring game.

A Great Team Performance

You saw in the first slide that Dabo Swinney said last year's squad wasn't a great team. Well, this year's team may be just that, as they return majority of the starters and aren't as young as they were a season ago. Swinney has this team focused on the task at hand, and they are knocking out some brilliant practices.

"

"This was one of the better first scrimmages I can remember," said Swinney. "I was pleased with the performance of the defense. I thought they might be behind for this first scrimmage, but they did a good job. Offensively we saw Ellington, Watkins, Hopkins and Boyd make some plays, which is what you would expect. The special teams were good with Catman hitting 4-4 on field goals and the punting was good."

"

It may only be spring, but there is enough talent on this roster to return to a BCS bowl and even compete for a national championship. Expect to see a solid team performance, as it will be good enough to get you more excited for the new football season.