The Clemson football team finally practiced outside on Monday for the third day of open spring practice, able to spread out more than the two previous open practices when they were forced inside due to weather.
Media members were allowed to watch around the first five periods of practice. Here are some notes and takeaways that The Tiger observed:
— Defensive end T.J. Parker and corner Avieon Terrell, who wore green limited-contact jerseys on Friday, were full participants in today’s practice.
— Wide receiver Adam Randall was in a yellow non-contact jersey during today’s practice. On Friday, he was a full participant in practice but came up holding his lower right back/hip area following a drill. It is unknown what exactly held him out today.
— Safety R.J. Mickens was in a limited-contact jersey today after participating fully in Wednesday and Friday’s practices. He still took reps in most of the drills that didn’t involve contact.
— Kicking took center stage again at the start of practice. Robert Gunn III went 3-for-3, although his longest kick of the day was low and seemed to have been tipped off the line, grazing the upright as it went through. Mid-year enrollee Nolan Hauser also went 3-for-3 and had plenty of leg on each of his kicks.
— Phil Mafah led running backs Jarvis Green and David Eziomume in footwork drills to start the day. Mafah clearly stepped into a leadership role as he explained the drill to both tailbacks. Mafah also looks noticeably slimmer this spring and was quick on his feet throughout Monday’s drills.
— During offensive line drills, center Ryan Linthicum controlled the blocker he was competing against. However, redshirt sophomore Dominic Cardone was very noticeable on Monday as he stands at 6-foot-9 and 380 pounds, dwarfing the rest of the offensive line. Cardone hasn’t seen the field yet as a Tiger, but the walk-on is worth keeping an eye on based on his sheer size.
— Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley continued refining handoffs with the quarterbacks, including working under center, which wasn’t seen much last year. Riley incorporated running backs into the drill and emphasized shoving the ball into the running back to ensure they secured it. Notably, when Cade Klubnik and Mafah lined up together, they had a flawless exchange, which Riley vocalized.
— Riley later shifted focus to the mental aspect of route running. Working specifically on reading defenses with the wide receivers and tight ends. He got on tight end Jake Briningstool during this drill, making sure that he kept the route going if he didn’t feel open rather than stopping early.
— Redshirt freshman quarterback Colby Shaw was throwing some beautiful back-shoulder fades today as the wideouts worked on running different routes. One of Shaw’s throws went to Bryant Wesco Jr., who made a nice play on the ball while keeping his feet in bounds.
