White team uses second half to power 15-7 win over Orange team in Clemson’s spring game
Clemson’s White team took a 15-7 win over the Orange team during the Tigers’ spring game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Plenty of new faces contributed to the win, including field goals of 29, 36 and 40 yards from Jonathan Weitz. The Orange team was held to Phil Mafah’s 6-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
Here are three takeaways from the spring contest:
Questions on offense
While Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday that the only question he had about his team was the punter, it seems the Tigers still have some things to work out. Rising junior quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei started the game 2-for-5 for 16 yards as the Orange team averaged 2.2 yards per play after the first quarter. He showed some improvement as the game went on and completed 47% of his passes, despite throwing an interception, and finished with 175 passing yards.
Freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik’s debut included 106 passing yards, completing 65% of his passes, and a touchdown that put the White team ahead, 12-7, in the third quarter.
Swinney remains committed to Uiagalelei as the Tigers’ starter heading into the fall.
“(Uiagalelei’s) had a great spring, he’s not done anything to not be the starter,” the Tigers’ head coach said. “Cade is a really talented player. We got two guys, I think, can can win at a high level, just like when Trevor and DJ were coming out of the spring. It’s not often that you can say that, but I do. I’ve seen enough from both those guys to know that and so it’s a good situation.”
Clemson wasn’t able to fully display its running game with Kobe Pace and Will Shipley out. Mafah had a chance to get more reps, though, and ended the game with 26 yards on nine carries for the Orange team. On the other side, Domonique Thomas took his first handoffs for the Tigers, recording 22 yards on 13 totes as RB1 on the White team.
Defense remains strong
Even without defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Tre Williams as well as cornerbacks Sheridan Jones and Malcolm Greene, the Tigers picked up from last year with their stifling defense. Both defenses held the opposing offenses to negative rushing yards and combined for 13 quarterback sacks in the game.
K.J. Henry tallied 3½ quarterback sacks and six tackles for the White team. Toriano Pride and Sherrod Covil made their debuts in the secondary with six and three tackles, respectively, with Covil adding an interception.
“They can be as good as they want to be,” Swinney said of Clemson’s defense. “They’ll have the type of depth that gives you a little bit of room for error. I think we’ve got a chance to be a special group in the defensive line. We’re going to be fast and athletic at linebacker and I think we’re gonna finally have some great experience in the secondary. It’s just a matter of getting everybody back.”
Can’t escape injuries
Clemson already had a combined 17 players out of the spring game, which included freshman wide receiver Adam Randall, who tore his ACL during spring practices and had surgery Thursday morning. The Tigers, unfortunately, didn’t make it through the spring game without adding another injury to the list.
Early in the third quarter, wide receiver Dacari Collins went to the locker room with what appeared to be a left arm injury. When going up for a ball, he landed on his arm, bringing out the trainers.
Swinney said after the game that Collins was banged up, but it wasn’t a serious injury.
“It’ll be sore for a few days,” Swinney added, “but he should be ready to roll when we get back training this summer.”
Clemson is set to open the season against Georgia Tech in the 2022 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game on Sept. 5 in Atlanta.
This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 4:33 PM with the headline "White team uses second half to power 15-7 win over Orange team in Clemson’s spring game."
