Tigers Takeaways: Auburn, Clemson spring scrimmages headlined by Cam Coleman's future stardom
Lots of teams across the country will hold spring scrimmages over the next two weekends. Although these games carry less and less importance in each passing season with the post-spring portal window and so many players sitting out for cautionary reasons, there are still takeaways to be had.
Both Clemson and Auburn concluded spring practice Saturday with their annual intra-squad scrimmages On a beautifully chilly afternoon in South Carolina, Dabo Swinney’s squad delivered a clunky offensive performance, while Hugh Freeze’s team wrapped up camp with a freshman wideout looking like the team’s best player and a quarterback battle that’s probably over?
Here are a host of takeaways from the two Tigers’ scrimmages:
Clemson still has a major question mark at quarterback
Cade Klubnik is a former 5-star recruit who, in a down year for ACC quarterbacks, could emerge as one of the best players at his position in 2024.
The junior could also lose his starting job.
I wouldn’t bet on either happening, but the sheer possibility speaks to the volatility in Klubnick’s game right now. The Tigers’ second-year starter had a rough spring game, starting the afternoon just 2-for-6 with an ugly interception on a miscommunication with a receiver. Klubnik made several other dangerous throws and missed multiple open receivers.
Klubnik did settle in for one nice long drive where he made a few smart throws in the red zone to set up a short touchdown run. But there were hardly any explosive plays when he was under center, and far too many 3rd-and-12s.
Spring stats are mostly meaningless, but he completed just 50% of his throws, and averaged just 6.1 yards per attempt — nearly identical to what he did as Clemson’s starter in 2023.
The Tigers’ blue-chip quarterback signee Christopher Vizzina struggled even worse (two interceptions including a horrible pick-six to a linebacker right at the line of scrimmage) than Klubnik, with third-stringer Trent Pearman looking like the team’s best option on the day.
Swinney accurately dubbed Clemson’s offense “incomplete,” which is at least mildly concerning since the unit desperately needs to make a step forward if the Tigers are going to compete for an ACC title this fall. Notably, the Tigers were with starting tailback Phil Mafah and a pair of starting offensive linemen in the scrimmage.
Clemson has some intriguing pieces around the quarterback (one player in particular who I’ll touch on in a moment), but if Klubnik isn’t better than what he showed Saturday (or in 2022), then it won’t matter much.
“We’ve got a chance to be a much more confident group,” Swinney said. “And our quarterback taking another step is going to be a good part of that.”
Cam Coleman and Bryant Wesco Jr. are those dudes
If you’re one of these college football die-hards who plays in a deep keeper fantasy league, I suggest you draft either Cam Coleman or Bryant Wesco Jr. rather early this year.
After weeks of spring buzz, Coleman looked like a future Biletnikoff winner in his first action in an Auburn uniform. The No. 4 overall prospect in the 2024 class stole the show in the Tigers’ spring game. The 6-3, 195-pound wideout has an elite combination of size, speed and body control — and all three were on display Saturday as he looked like an AJ Green clone with the way he caught the football.
The 5-star freshman hauled in a long touchdown where he was well-covered but simply tracked the ball better than the corner. He also had another deep pass where he got behind the defense, earning him MVP honors on the day.
Coleman let one touchdown slip out of his grasp that would’ve been a crazy catch where he attempted to reach around the back of a corner. He’s clearly already Auburn’s No. 1 receiver, and the present and future of the Tigers’ offense.
Freeze scored a huge win on the recruiting trial flipping Coleman from Texas A&M, and the blue-chip overall recruit looks set for a monster freshman season — not bad for a 17-year-old kid who literally went home after the spring game to attend his senior prom Saturday night.
“He changes us,” Freeze said.
“He just tracks the ball and thinks every ball is catchable. I know he made a couple great ones. There’s one he didn’t that might have been his best effort. … He had a couple of missed assignments in the tight redone on balls we were hoping to throw him down there that got us in trouble. That’s on us, we have to clean that up and make sure he knows the whole system. But when he knows what to do, he’s really, really talented.”
As for Bryant Wesco Jr., Clemson’s blue-chip freshman isn’t quite the household name that Coleman is, but the rookie has skills, too.
The 6-2, 175-pound is a long, lanky wideout with fluid athleticism. The Tigers — once among the contenders for Wide Receiver U after producing the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Mike Williams and Tee Higgins — badly need a big playmaker on the perimeter and Wesco Jr. certainly looked the part Saturday.
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With erratic QB play, Wesco Jr. just caught three passes for like 30 yards. But he showcased real juice after the catch and displayed great body control on an over-the-shoulder fade touchdown.
The Tigers are hoping Wesco Jr. and incoming freshman TJ Moore can add some sizzle to their wide receiver room, and it appears they certainly hit on at least one of those guys for 2024.
“We’ve got to put him in the crock pot and beef him up a little bit between now and (the season) because we’re going to need him,” Swinney said on the ESPN+ broadcast.
“Really, really proud of that kid and the spring that he had. He’s definitely put himself in position to help us.”
Clemson’s defensive line … still hell-on-wheels
The Tigers don’t return a single starter along the defensive line from last season, as Xavier Thomas, Tyler Davis and Justin Mascoll are all off to the NFL.
But I wouldn’t anticipate any drop-off this fall. The group might actually be even better, in fact.
Despite promising sophomore Peter Woods sitting out due to an illness, Clemson’s defensive line dominated Saturday’s scrimmage, recording close to double-digit “sacks,” some 15 tackles for loss and a host of balls batted at the line of scrimmage.
Sophomore Stephiylan Green was unblockable, as the sophomore tackle pushed the pocket for four sacks. The Tigers had waves of multiple defensive ends flying off the edge for negative plays, too.
Freshman All-American T.J. Parker, who was second on the team with 12.5 tackles for loss, was hardly a factor in the scrimmage, which speaks to Clemson’s overall impressive depth and talent up front.
When you consider that Barrett Carter returns at linebacker and the Tigers’ secondary is well-stocked with talent, too, Clemson should boost the best defense in the ACC this fall.
The Tigers looked ready to ride with Thorne again in 2024
Barring a real 180 change here in the next week or so, Hugh Freeze seems content to roll with former Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne at quarterback.
Although Thorne will never be confused with an all-conference QB, he was the most consistent signal-caller on the team Saturday. He was efficient and decisive with the football, and appears the most capable of maximizing the talents around him (i.e. Cam Coleman, Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis, etc.)
Since last spring, Freeze has yo-yo’d a bit on his feelings toward Thorne, but if he’s not going to dip into the transfer portal for more competition, then Auburn’s “quarterback battle” between Thorne, Holden Geriner and Hank Brown looks over.