Clemson Football: Position-by-Position Midseason Grades for the Tigers
The Clemson Tigers have won four straight games after a 1-2 start early on. The chances of winning the conference are getting slimmer with every Florida State victory, but the opportunity for an 11-win season is still out there.
This team still has a lot to play for, and this group is playing about as well as anyone in the country right now defensively.
The offense has been shaky since the injury to quarterback Deshaun Watson, but things could get back on track this weekend versus Syracuse.
I have broken down each position and graded them accordingly. Most of the positional units have performed well this season, but a couple of them have a ton of room for improvement.
*Defensive statistics used in this article came from CFBStats.com.
Quarterback
1 of 9
Watson was playing lights-out until he went down to injury, but Cole Stoudt has kept the Tigers in the win column. Stoudt hasn’t been flashy, but as a group, the position has put up great numbers.
The Tigers rank 22nd in the nation in passing—throwing for 303.0 yards per game—and both quarterbacks are completing over 60 percent of their passes.
The production hasn’t been the same with Stoudt in the game, but the leadership hasn’t wavered with him.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 9
Whether it's depth issues or offensive line concerns, the running game hasn’t been able to consistently move the ball this year. It’s been a running back-by-committee mindset through seven games, going with the hot hand, but one of the remaining backs needs to step up.
Zac Brooks suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, and Adam Choice was recently lost for the season with a torn ACL, so the production from C.J. Davidson and Wayne Gallman has to increase.
The running game took a step in the right direction against Boston College, though, scoring both of the offensive touchdowns.
While it hasn’t been the same kind of production as seen in previous years, the running backs have done fairly well given their amount of experience.
Grade: C
Receiver
3 of 9
With the losses of Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant, not many people gave this group a chance. It has exceeded expectations, though, and a couple of guys have been sweet surprises.
Artavis Scott and Germone Hopper have both put up solid numbers, combining for 49 receptions and 691 yards.
This passing attack was unstoppable in Watson’s two starts, and Mike Williams really began to break out. The 6’4” sophomore is up to 671 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season.
Given the uncertainties in the preseason, this group deserves a very good grade.
Grade: B+
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Tight End
4 of 9
Just from a numerical standpoint, the production has been down for the Tigers at tight end. Looking outside of the box scores, part of that can be attributed to the need for an extra blocker.
We haven’t seen the tight end used as much in the receiving game this year, and that could be because of the lack of depth on the offensive line.
Jordan Leggett and Jay Jay McCullough have been the top targets at tight end, but they have only combined for 16 catches in 2014.
We expected better numbers from this group, but given the offensive line issues and injury at quarterback, the tight ends don’t deserve a ton of criticism.
Grade: C+
Offensive Line
5 of 9
The offensive line is the weakness of this team, and it’s not hard to tell. This unit has played well considering the lack of depth, but overall, it hasn’t been the type of effort that wins big games.
This group played awful in the second half of the Georgia game but rebounded well against top-ranked Florida State. Against the Seminoles, the O-line gave a valiant effort that almost resulted in a huge upset.
Despite injuries, these guys have to perform consistently week in and week out, and we just haven’t seen that through seven games.
The Tigers only average 3.2 yards per carry, and the quarterbacks have been sacked a total of 16 times this year.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
6 of 9
This Tigers defensive line has been as impressive as any I have seen at Clemson over the last decade.
Vic Beasley leads the way with eight sacks, but it has been a collective effort, with seven defensive linemen recording a sack this season.
With all of the publicity Beasley receives, Grady Jarrett may be the most underrated defensive player in the country. Everything he does on the field can’t always be seen in a box score, and he is one of the key leaders on a defense that is only giving up 20.0 points per game.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
7 of 9
As good as the defensive line has been, the linebackers have been almost just as good. Stephone Anthony has terrorized backfields with 7.5 tackles for loss and 43 overall tackles.
Even Tony Steward and Ben Boulware have emerged this season and have really helped in defending the run. The top three linebackers—Anthony, Steward and Boulware—have combined for 96 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss.
Grade: A
Defensive Back
8 of 9
If some analysts were skeptical about Clemson’s defense in the preseason, it was likely because of the secondary. The talent was obviously there, but it was unclear how much of a factor experience would have on production.
Another guy who deserves to get way more recognition than he does is Garry Peters. He didn’t play in the season opener but still has 26 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss.
As a unit, these guys are allowing opponents to pass for just 179.4 yards per game.
Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse and Robert Smith have also played very well this season. The grade could be higher, but there have been too many big plays allowed through the air.
Grade: B
Special Teams
9 of 9
As bad as things seemed for Ammon Lakip after the Florida State game, the junior kicker has bounced back in a big way. He is 12-of-16 on the year, and those early misses have seemed to serve as a learning experience.
Bradley Pinion has been impressive punting the ball, and Lakip’s improvements have been encouraging, but the little issues still stand out in this group.
The kick return game hasn’t given the offense good field position, only averaging 17.0 yards per return, and the missed kicks on the road were costly in terms of momentum.
The grade for this unit is average because the positives balance out the negatives.
Grade: C
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