Game On Rewind: Clemson beat reporter WIll Vandervort stops by! 2024-10-30

on defensive times. Where would you grade this team right now? Overall?

Make Twim's defense feel good because they know they're six and one and they can still play better, and they play I think offensively they're playing as bad as good as they can. And you know, I don't know if there's anything really you can critique negatively on the offense. I mean, offensive line has much improved, only allowed two sacks themselves all year. Uh the uh, that's just the

offensive line being charged with sacks, by the way. The you know, Kate Klubmick obviously is is swinging it everywhere. Twenty touchdown, three interceptions. You know, he's got four rushing touchdowns and has really become a factor in the run game, taking care of the football on both both sides. And then the wide receivers, man, you know, they're much improved too, and you know, start off with you knows, even putting britting Steel in there. You know, Britney Steel's having a

heck of a year, so is Antonio Williams. Obviously you've got more and you know Bryant west Coat doing their thing. And then also you know Troy Stilado and Adam Randall have been just hitch out as well and they've had their opportunity. So I just really don't see anything on the offensive side that I could be negative about. You know, where defensively there's some issues. You know, obviously at defensive end,

they're still trying to figure some things out there. I think, you know, Shaheen loss has come around, like where he's at in his progression. I think on the back end, I think they on the last game they moved Khalil Barnes more back to the nickel position and put Griffin back there at safety. I think that was a good move because I think Khalil Barnes is more comfortable and plays better at that nickel position, and I think it showed against Virginia because he probably had his best game

of the season. So if they can get better on that back end of the defense, and I think maybe they're taking steps to do that. They're gonna be They're gonna be challenging to get to beat. And if the defensive line can just continue to get better and they can start get more pressure on the on the quarterback like they did the last couple of weeks, you're gonna

start seeing them get better as well. So yeah, there's there's some good things and bad things, But overall, I say, as seams of the age right now, Will Van.

run game Dabo. Sweeney has pointed out that that's been a big plus for him. Just size up Club Nick his development. It's not just the offensive line. They've done a great job, and these receivers have stepped up big and I think the play calling has been great. But Clubnick on his own has really grown up in a very short amount of time here.

not running like one or two yard touchdown runs. I mean he's running for like thirty forty yards out for touchdowns. Well what that does that really, he's really making defenses pay when they go man a man and he gets outside the pocket, right, and so you know that means

teams have to do different things they don't want to do. Well, that's going to open up the run game already has you know, Clemson looks how balance Clemson has been right now, they're one of the most balanced teams in the country. They're averaging two hundred averaging almost three hundred yards of game throwing the football, and they're averaging two hundred yards

of games running the football. I mean, that's all you want out of your offense, is your averaging nearly five hundred yards a game in total offense, you're averaging over forty points. And that's counting the Georgia game, by the way, in those numbers, so they're doing in the six game win straight, they're actually way over those in those numbers.

So they got a good balance running the football. And I think club Nick being a part of running the football and being a factor in the run game is why that balance is showing, because it's just opening up everything in the offense. And when you look at Clemson and today with Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson and Kelly Bryant there when the quarterbacks ran the football, they were part of the run game, yep, and they put stress

on the defense. And with all the weapons Clemton has, you throw that factor in there now it's almost unstoppable. And that's why they've been so good this first half of the season.

And you know it's still it's still know him today and you know, see him through through what we do with our job and stuff like that, and you know, he's just one of those people man that he's just good on every side, you know, I mean, whether he's a football player, he's one of the best. Whether he's a coach, he's one of the best, and whether as just a person, he's one of the best. As a dad he's one of the best, and as a husband,

one of the best. And he's just good people and and and he and he demands and that helps him win his run in his room, right in this running back room, because that makes by him being who he is and demands so much of himself, that forces his players understand how much he demands of them, and they respect it and understand it, and they want to play for him and play hard for him. And that's what you see out of his running back room. And uh,

just so happy for CJ. Man really am just that he's in the not no surprise obviously that he's in the Ring of Honor, and as well deserved as anybody. He's up there with my good friend Levon now who was the last one before him, And it's just it was just awesome for me because he's the first player I've been doing this twenty years, guys. I know that sounds crazy, but I have. He's the first player during my twenty years that's now in the Ring of Honor

that I covered at Clemson. So it's it is crazy, it's it's it's pretty special to say, hey, I watched his I remember when he played all four years at Clemson and what he did with the program, And you know, he is to Clemson football in this era that Steve Fuller was in the nineteen seventies and eighties. Steve Fuller, A lot of people don't know this or remember it.

The old timers will, but Steve Fuller was like c J. Spiller, and he kind of proved everybody that, hey, a great player can't come to Clemson and have a great career and go on to the NFL and have a great career. When Steve Fuller proved that and put Clemson on the map with those seventy seven and seventy eight teams, it really sparked what we saw in the nineteen eighties and what Clemson did winning the national championship in eighty one and then going on and just having a dominant decade

there under Danny Ford. Well, c J. Spiller is the guy that did that for Dabo Sweeney. He came back, he came to Clemson over Florida, and when everybody in America wanted him. He was a five star guy, and he came to Clemson and he ended up having a great career, went on to the NFL, had a great career as well. And then and what that did is that just showed the CJ. Excuse me, the TAJ Boyds and the Sammy Watkins and you know New Hopkins, those guys. It started it right and then by CJ doing it,

those guys followed in line. And then Clemson came in and then you got to Shaun Watson, you got Trevor Lawrence, you got all those great receivers and Christian Wilkins, and I can go on and on and on, and then we see where they're at right now. And yeah, c J. Spiller is the guy that started it all man, and he did. You know, he deserves that credit.

an interesting team with some some good offensive weapons. Let's get your perspective on what lies ahead for Clemson here, seven thirty kickoff down at the Valley this Sunday or this Saturday. I should say, by the way.

and they deserve that credit. It's good to see those guys looking forward to obviously I see Taj a lot, but obviously looking forward to seeing Sammy back in Clemson. But as far as the game goes, this is a huge game, guys, for Clemson as they start that stretch here in the season where they got Louisville this week. Next week they go to Virginia Tech, and then two weeks ago they go two weeks from now, they go

to Pittsburgh. Listen, if Clemson. We've already found out by the way the tiebreaker works, the possibility to have a three way tie in the ACC. So regardless, if Clemson can win these next two games, regardless Clymtson's going to Pittsburgh, We're into orange pants. I mean, it's a championship game, a chance to clinch a birth in the a SEC Championship game, going to Pittsburgh here in a few weeks. So it starts with Louisville first. I mean, they got

to win this game. I mean it's huge and what they want to do, and they want to get to the AC Championship game. They want to make the colleg football playoff and they need to get there. They got to win this game. But also this game is huge in the sense of what's happening on Tuesday night. And I'm not talking about the elections. I'll talk about the colleg football payoffs because that's what we care about, and the college football playoffs. Initial rankings are coming out on Tuesday night.

to what they've already done. And I know people have to say, well, well, what's Clinton's strength to schedule is not any good? Well, here's the thing, we don't know what this committee is looking for yet. We're going to find that out on Tuesday night. Because some committees in the past have been big on strength to schedule. Some committees in the past have been big on yeah, you don't got a very good strength to schedule, by how dominant have you been in your wins? Well, Clinton's been

dominant in their wins. And if Clemson's able to play well against a good Louisville team and win and look good doing it, I think that's going to bode wonders for Clemson. And what you hope is they start off this rankings in the top ten, because then that'll give them opportunities with Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh and South Carolina in the next few weeks to get some good wins to add on to that resume. And I know people are saying John Rofe, people like yeah, but well about

the automatic birth. You don't got to worry about that, you do because you don't know what's going to happen in the championship game. You just can't assume Clinton is winning the ACC anymore. So you want Clinton's resume to look good to when they get DACY championship game. They're sitting in the top six. They don't have to get in the top five in this there, but they're in that top six. When the regular season is over, going to Charlotte, then Clinton, I think, is in the playoff

regardless of what happens in d ACY championship game. That's why these next few weeks are so big for Clemson.

two starts that he's had here in Pittsburgh. But I also want to ask you and get your take on this defense, this Pittsburgh defense, namely kind of in the first half of games and also when it comes to stopping teams on third downs. Obviously, the defense has been really well when it comes to I mean, obviously third quarters they're holding teams to zero points, but just second half in general, this team really dominates on defense.

they got to figure it out here pretty fast. But I think part of it is just guys are getting out of their gaps and are just the run laying. Integrity is not there, and I think, you know, they're just just getting killed on that back side of it. And you saw that the other night against the Giants, and so I think that's the number one thing they got to get better at stopping the run and then

allowing those chunk plays. When they do it, seems like they'll have a team second and you know, and I think part of us because they got such a great pass rush, but they'll have a team second and fifteen and they're thinking, Okay, they're gonna throw the football and then guys just rush up field. And the Giants killed them with the delayed draw, and so did Dallas, and so there's an issue there self. Scouting this week's going to be able to find it probably what's actually happening,

so they can concentrate on fixing it. They did a better job adjusting to that, I think, more so in the second half, even though they did give that long touchdown run when they got up two scores there, So you know, that's part of the problem for him on defense. But then they you know, they make adjustments, and that's one good thing they've been good after this year. And like you said, they've been good at getting off the field when those opportunities have come up, and that's been

much better this year too. Limiting the penalties as well. You know, the Steelers don't don't. They don't get penalized too much knock on wood with my jinx and anything here, you know, But they've been really good about, you know, not being penalized, especially on the big stupid plays like a pass interference penalty or a holding bells out you know, when the bell out plays is what I call them, Yeah, you know, And so they they've been real good about

limiting those things. And then of course, guys, they got T. J. Watt and if teams would start allowing, would start official would called a hole at least. Yeah, I think I think it would least help this. I can't. I've been keeping a running count throughout the last five or six teams, and so like, the Steelers will get called on the average three times for holding during the game and the

opposing team only one. And I'm sitting there thinking, are you trying to tell me that the Steelers pass rush on defense is not as good as the other teams. I mean, I don't believe that to be the case. Obviously he's got t J. Watt and Alex high Smith and Alex high Smith by the way, twelve pressures.

watch play. Man. I wish he was wearing black and gold, I know it, and not that blue and white, because man, he was. Man, if you had him with Cam Haywood, forget about, it would be fair. Forget about you know, in the middle of that defense, it wouldn't be fair. So yeah, dex is launch playing well. But I thought I thought Russell Wilson, you know, in the offense, I thought was much better. Again, as they continue to get better, I was a guy in the camp you know that.

You know, with Russell Wilson got healthy, you need to put him in the lineup and you and because I felt like the offense needed that because he just sees the game better than justin field. Bill gives you, Yeah, the electrifying runs and stuff like that, and that's great. But the NFL is about passing the football, and you got to be able to throw the football. If not, teams are gonna just load up the box and eventually going to stop you. Dominant. Yeah, look how dominant you know,

Nagie Harris has been. Now you know, you're getting better and better each week. And so I mean, and George Pickens now and and and Donnelle Washington. Oh my gosh, you know these weapons are coming out of nowhere, and those students were this good. I'm like, yes they are. They just didn't quarterback. I could throw it to him.