Friedlander: Are Clemson’s freshmen being thrown to the Dawgs in opener?
Published:
We won’t know exactly who will be in the starting lineups for Clemson’s opener against Georgia on Saturday because Dabo Swinney and Kirby Smart are having too much fun playing silly coach tricks by keeping their depth charts secret.
But it can be assumed judging from the buzz coming out of Death Valley that multiple true freshmen will play prominent roles for the Tigers.
Even if they’re not out there for the first snap at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The 3 most prominently mentioned by Swinney and others around the program are 5-star linebacker Sammy Brown, and 4-star receiver Bryant Wesco Jr., along with 5-star receiver TJ Moore.
They’re talented. They address some of their team’s biggest needs. And they’re going to get a chance to show what they can do right away.
Against the No. 1 team in the nation. In an atmosphere that promises to be intimidating.
While Atlanta might be considered a neutral site and there will be more orange in the stands than if the game was being played in Athens, they might as well have planted hedges around the field for the partisan-UGA vibe in the building at kickoff.
It’s hard enough playing your first college game against anybody, considering the nerves, the pressure and the adjustment to a new level of competition. Now multiply the task by 80,000 – the capacity of Mercedes-Benz Stadium – attempting to do it against a national championship favorite who has only lost 2 games in the past 3 seasons.
For those reasons and others, UGA is a 13.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel sportsbook.
States: OH, MD, LA, KS, NY, TN, NJ, PA, IN, IA, IL, WV, MI, CO, VA, AZ, CT
GET THE APPForget about being thrown to the wolves. These talented young Tigers are about to be thrown right to the Dawgs.
It’s a scenario recent history suggests can be a troubling proposition.
Consider what happened the last time Clemson opened against UGA with a promising youngster in the spotlight.
OK, so DJ Uiagalelei was a redshirt freshman who had seen meaningful action the previous season, including an emergency start under the shadow of Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame.
But that 2021 opener in Charlotte was the first time he was under center of his team. The face of a franchise that had been to the College Football Playoff in each of the 6 previous seasons.
Let’s just say things didn’t go well. DJU did throw the game’s only touchdown pass. But it was to the wrong team.
Now fast forward 3 years to Saturday’s rematch, which has the appearance of a house money game for the Tigers because a win would put them back onto the national radar while a loss would be considered business as usual when top teams from the ACC and SEC meet.
That’s not necessarily the case. This game is the start of early balloting for a referendum on Swinney’s coaching philosophy.
Fair or not, it’s a debate that will be judged largely on how Brown, Wesco, Moore and any other freshman on the top-secret 2-deep perform.
They’re the embodiment of Swinney’s disdain for the transfer portal.
While UGA has brought in the likes of Florida running back Trevor Etienne, Miami wide receiver Colbie Young, Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek and South Carolina defensive tackle Xzavier McLeod as plug-and-play replacements to fill gaps in its lineup, Clemson is pinning its hopes on kids only a few months out of high school.
Brown will at least have the advantage of playing alongside future 1st-round NFL Draft pick Barrett Carter in a Clemson linebacking corps rated among the nation’s best. He’s a 6-2, 230-pound prodigy who earned praise for his play during spring practice.
He introduced himself to Clemson faithful at the team’s spring scrimmage by collecting a sack on his first snap. But now it’s for real and he’s playing a position left vacant by the departure of All-ACC playmaker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
For those interested in hopping on the Sammy Brown hype train, here’s the true freshman LB and former 5-star recruit running past Clemson’s starting left tackle for a “sack” on his very first defensive snap of the spring game earlier today (via ACCNX broadcast) pic.twitter.com/9q0vPMqcoS
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) April 6, 2024
Wesco and Moore aren’t being asked to replace anyone.
Instead, their job is to step in and add production and electricity to a receiving corps that has been one of Clemson’s most glaring issues over the past few seasons.
Wesco was selected as one of “ESPN’s Top 100 Newcomers in College Football This Season” and has drawn public praise from Swinney and quarterback Cade Klubnik. Moore, despite being rated higher as a prospect, isn’t as far along because he didn’t enroll until the fall semester.
That hasn’t lessened the weight of expectations he’ll carry into Saturday’s game. The same goes for any other Tigers making their college debut against the best team in the land.
They’re going to be tested. And tested early.
They might only be freshmen. But they’re going to have to grow up fast.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
