Tigers excited after Christmas practice in Orlando, happy for no opt-outs

KJ Henry shows his excitement during Saturday's practice (Photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Dec 26 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2021

ORLANDO, FL – Clemson concluded its second Orlando practice Saturday afternoon with genuine excitement about the location and the chance to play another game.

The Tigers practiced for two hours at Boone High School in preparation for Wednesday’s Cheez-It Bowl matchup with Iowa State.

Clemson enters the Cheez-It Bowl at 9-3 and in search of its 10th win of the 2021 season. A win would give Clemson 11 consecutive 10-win seasons, placing the Tigers alongside Florida State (14 from 1987-2000) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) as the only programs ever to reach double-digit wins in 11 straight seasons.

The matchup with Iowa State will feature two of the nation’s top defenses. Entering bowl selection, Clemson ranked No. 9 in the nation in total defense, allowing only 308.4 yards per game. Iowa State was right behind Clemson at No. 10 with an average of 309.2 yards allowed per game.

Junior Clemson right guard Will Putnam said the Tigers are refining the game plan.

“I think today went really, really well. Obviously, with it being Christmas it’s always a little different but I definitely think we made the most of it,” Putnam said of the Christmas practice. “A lot of teams don’t practice on Christmas and it can be tough mentally, but we really enjoyed it. For us, we started preparation over a week ago and we are still getting into it. Right now it’s moreso just honing the game plan. The hard part is over. Now it’s just refining what we’ve been doing and looking forward to the 29th.”

Sophomore defensive end Myles Murphy said the defense is also finetuning its moving parts.

“The preparation has gone very well, actually. We are making strides, coming off what we did last week and going full speed every day,” Murphy said. “We are getting in tune with the playbook and with the playcalls and everything has gone well.”

Putnam said there is a high level of excitement because of the chance to play again, the fact that there are no opt-outs, and the location itself.

“I think a lot of it comes from the leadership within the team like the seniors. Unlike a lot of other teams, no guys are opting out. No one is opting out,” Putnam said. “Everyone is genuinely excited. Yes, it is a little different for us because in the postseason, we’ve been to playoffs every single year I’ve been here. But I think this bowl game is really important to us because it shows how much we truly love the game. I think that’s exciting in itself. We have sixth-year players and we’ve got guys who this could be their last football game, ever. And we are all just genuinely excited. And we’re in beautiful Orlando, Florida, which is better than somewhere else.”

Murphy agreed.

“There is excitement from being Orlando. That is excitement in itself,” he said. ”And then playing another game with each other as a full squad with no opt-outs. Everyone wants a chance to play another game and be with each other and go full speed.”

SCHEDULE

Here is Monday’s interview schedule:

8:30-8:45 | Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Manning and player TBD
8:45-9:00 | Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock and player TBD
9:00-9:15 | Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter, special teams coordinator Mike Reed and QB DJ Uiagalelei
9:15-9:30 | Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, co-defensive coordinator Mickey Conn and LB James Skalski