Midseason report card: Grading the Clemson offense's first half

Clemson's QB and O-line play have come under fire against a relatively strong schedule to start.

by TigerNet Staff - Sun Oct 17 08:00:07 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson hit the midseason mark for the regular season by holding on to a 17-14 win at Syracuse Friday and improving to 4-2 on the 2021 campaign (3-1 ACC).

Ahead of a crucial game at Pittsburgh this Saturday, we’re taking a two-part look at the Tigers through six games, starting with the offensive grades.

Clemson midseason grades

(Grades are an average of TigerNet staff input)

Quarterbacks

Analysis: Everybody tries to lay all of the blame on DJ Uiagalelei. While he hasn't been superb, he hasn't gotten a ton of help from his line or receivers or the play calls. There has been incremental improvement each week but there hasn't been a wow moment. - David Hood

Grade: C-

Running backs

Analysis: A room that was pretty crowded back in the spring thinned out to an essentially two-man group over the last couple games, with hopes of a return soon for dynamic 5-star freshman Will Shipley (leg). Hampered by O-line shuffling and re-shuffling early, the moments of brilliance were few and far between out of the running backs, but the group did find a little rhythm with Kobe Pace leading the way after that interior of the front-five saw key shifts against Boston College and Syracuse. If Shipley returns ready to contribute, the season’s second half -- like much of the offensive outlook overall -- has the potential to yield a lot more production here. - Brandon Rink

Grade: B-

Receivers (WRs/TEs)

Analysis: Injuries and inconsistency have plagued this group. Add in the fact that Justyn Ross is playing out of position and doesn't look comfortable in the slot and it's been a mess at times. This group needs to get healthy sooner rather than later. - Hood

Grade: D

Offensive line

Analysis: Georgia was an incredibly difficult opener to try some things out on the offensive line, with most notably Matt Bockhorst going to center and starting a true freshman at left guard in his place (Marcus Tate) -- and you saw the Bulldogs punish them with a running game locked down and a new starting QB constantly feeling pressure. Since Bockhorst has moved back to guard, there have been improvements, but the group certainly hasn’t been the caliber overall to anchor any semblance of a prolific offense this season. D-lines you just wouldn’t expect to bully a team like Clemson and dictate if they can run the ball have done just that. Without a consistent run game and teams often dropping multiple defensive backs, a lot of pressure has been put on Clemson’s young QB. This group has to keep taking steps forward if the next big goal -- an ACC title run -- is to be achieved. - Rink

Grade: D-

Coaching

Analysis: The drop-off overall from a generational quarterback in Trevor Lawrence isn’t all that unexpected, but it’s been jarring to see just how many leaks have sprung up in the Clemson offense over the first half of the season. The refrain of late from coaches and players has been just how close the group is to reaching what’s normal for it -- bountiful explosive plays and lit up scoreboards -- but the further we get into the season, the more you wonder if the answers are there to be that kind of offense this year. Injuries have certainly played a part along the way, but it just doesn’t seem like the coaching staff has figured out what can maximize the talent assembled and attack defenses -- and that’s a bit confounding at this level. After the highly-productive glimpses we saw of Uiagalelei last year -- added to what’s a star-studded roster around him on paper, the Tiger offense is falling well below expectations, and ultimately that falls on the coaching staff to get it fixed. - Rink