The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clemson coach remains upbeat despite losing offensive stars
Be careful what you wish for.
The Georgia Bulldogs were hoping they would draw a tough, Quadrant 1 replacement opponent if their final regular-season game against Texas A&M was canceled. Well, that’s exactly what happened — and then some.
After Texas A&M canceled its eighth game in a row Thursday, the Bulldogs picked up No. 7 Alabama, the highest-ranked team in the SEC. The Crimson Tide (18-6, 3-2) will come to Stegeman Coliseum for each team’s final regular-season game March 6. They’ll tip off at 2 p.m., and CBS has picked up the game for television.
Bama promises to be expo- nentially tougher than what Georgia (14-9, 7-9 SEC) was facing in A&M. Before COVID-19 protocol derailed their season, the Aggies stood 13th in the standings for the 14-team SEC. Technically, they’re 12th at 8-7 overall and 2-6 in league play.
UGA was scheduled to play A&M on Feb. 10 in College Station. But that game — which would have represented a homecoming of sorts for sophomore guard Sahvir Wheeler — was postponed. The Bulldogs instead played Tennessee on the road. Georgia lost 89-81.
Now, here comes the Tide. Though it is coming off an 81-66 loss at Arkansas this week, Alabama remains the SEC’S best team. In case you missed it, they beat Georgia 115-82 on Feb. 13 in Tuscaloosa.
Currently, Georgia is fighting to get into position for a postseason bid. After beating LSU 91-78 on Tuesday in Athens, the Bulldogs improved to 14-9 overall and 7-9 in the SEC. Ideally, if they could win out against South Carolina on Saturday and Bama next week, the Bulldogs would finish with 16 wins and a .500 record in conference play. With a couple of more wins in the SEC Tournament on March 10-14 in Nashville the Bulldogs would be well-positioned for a postseason bid.
Don’t tell Clemson coach Dabo Swinney he has anything to worry about without offensive stars and team leaders in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tailback Travis Etienne on the Tigers.
“There’s nobody that’s left our program that we can’t go into the locker room and replace,” Swinney said. “That hasn’t been case forever and ever and ever.”
Particularly at the two high-profile offensive spots. Clemson seemlessly moved from quarterbacks Tajh Boyd to Deshaun Watson to Lawrence. At tailback, the Tigers during Swinney’s time have gone from C.J. Spiller to Andre Ellington, Wayne Gallman and Etienne.
It might be bumpier transitioning from Lawrence and Etienne, who’ve combined to win the past three ACC players of the year and are off to the NFL.
Still, the Tigers, who began spring workouts Wednesday, “are always under construction,” according to Swinney.
The latest add ons are rising sophomore passer D.J. Uiagalelei and backup runner Lyn-j Dixon.
“I got a bunch of guys down in that locker room that we recruited to come in here and be great players,” said Swinney, who enters his 13th full season at Clemson. “That’s where we go.”
Waiting there as Lawrence’s heir apparent is Uiagalelei, a 6-foot-4, 250-pounder, who is as adept at smarts and leadership as he is with his strong arm and powerful legs.
Uiagalelei gave a preview of his ability when Lawrence missed two games with COVID-19 last fall. He rallied Clemson from 18 points down against Boston College for a 34-28 victory. A week later, Uiagalelei threw for 439 yards, the most ever given up by Notre Dame despite a 47-40 OT loss.
“You got a sneak preview of what this kid can do,” Swinney said.
Dixon has been a steady performer behind Etienne, a 5-10 senior who has averaged 6.6 yards a carry — second to Etienne in program history. But he’s never had the weight of a starting tailback.
If Dixon falters, Clemson has several other candidates for featured back including Chez Mellusi, Darien Rencher and Michael Dukes. The Tigers also have a fivestar freshman in Will Shipley from Matthews, North Carolina, who turned down offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State among others to sign with Clemson.
There are other spots to shore up on offense including receiver, where seniors Amari Rodgers and Cornell Powell were the team’s top two wideouts and combined for 130 catches, 1,902 yards and 14 TDS.
But Clemson’s Justyn Ross, a likely NFL first-round receiver who missed last year with an injury, will workout in a limited role this spring, and Swinney is hopeful he can return this season.
Clemson is much more sure on defense where it lost just one starter from last season. Returnees include sixth-year super seniors in linebacker James Skalski and safety Nolan Turner.
“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back,” Turner said. “But that only matters if you improve.”