Heel Tough Blog: Clemson Preview

Nicholas Faulkner- Icon Sportswire

After a much needed week off, the Tar Heels return to Kenan Stadium on Saturday to welcome in another team that is struggling so far this season in the Clemson Tigers. In what will be a crucial game for both sides, the Tar Heels will be looking to put a slow start against power conference opponents behind them and get a step closer to bowl eligibility. Here is a look at everything you need to know for what will be just the second matchup with Dabo Swinney and Tigers in Kenan Stadium since he took over.

Team Breakdowns

Tar Heels

It has not been the start anyone expected to the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heels getting blown out by their first two power conference opponents by a combined score of 82-23, but Saturday is a chance to at least begin turning things back in the right direction. According to multiple reports, senior Max Johnson is expected to get the start at quarterback over beaten and battered sophomore Gio Lopez, who is apparently doubtful to play in the game after suffering an undisclosed injury against UCF. This might be the best thing in the long run for the team considering just how much Lopez has struggled to move the ball on offense this season and could provide some real hope that the team can at least compete better in conference play than they did in non-conference play. Johnson will have a promising run game to lean on led by true freshman phenom Demon June Jr., who has shown some really nice things after contact in each of the last three games. The team has a trio of backs behind him that might also be able to thrive if the blocking in front of them was better. At wide receiver, it has been hard to evaluate guys because of the struggles from the quarterback spot, but sophomore Jordan Shipp looks to be a real promising player and guys like Chris Culliver and Javarius Green have shown flashes when they have had the football thrown their way. At tight end, Jake Johnson has been the most productive in the passing game, but Jordan Owens has been playing a significant role as a blocker and should continue to do that moving forward. The Tar Heel offensive line received a boost before the UCF game with the return of Austin Blaske to the lineup, but this group still struggled elsewhere along the unit. The group will need to be much better as a run blocking unit than they have been so far and they have to pass protect at a high level with Johnson providing less mobility than Lopez did out of the quarterback spot. Hopefully the week off has allowed Blaske to get a little bit healthier and the team can find some answers at spots like left guard and center where they have had issues so far this season.

Defensively, the team is getting a huge boost with the expected debut of senior transfer addition Pryce Yates expected to happen this weekend. Yates is someone that can create those havoc plays that the team has been missing so far early in this season. If he can do that, it could create some hope for a defense that right now doesn’t have much based on the performance of the team in the trenches. On the interior, there are some guys like Isaiah Johnson and Xavier Lewis who have graded out and played well and they should probably be playing more, but on the edges, there isn’t much hope outside of Yates. Andrew Simpson, Khmori House and Mikai Gbayor have played pretty well at linebacker outside of the opener and give this unit a little bit of hope moving forward, especially if Yates can return and provide some push up front. In the secondary, the team has lockdown corner Thaddeus Dixon that they can rely on, but there isn’t much else they can count on at this point from week to week, something that needs to change.

On special teams, the team has found some much needed consistency across the board. Punter Tom Maginness may not be averaging more yards per punt than he did last year, but he has a much better net average on his punt this year. So far, through four games, placekicker Rece Verhoff has been perfect on kicks and has been very successful in kickoff situations, as well. In the return game, Chris Culliver appears to be waiting for his opportunity to rip off a big return, while Will Hardy remains a solid punt returner.

Clemson

The Tigers, like the Tar Heels, are off to a slow start and are hoping that this can be a get right game for them after losing three of their first four games. At quarterback, Cade Klubnik has regressed after coming into the season as one of the Heisman favorites and will be hoping to get back on track against a Tar Heel program that he has had some success against so far in his career. Joining him in the backfield is senior wide receiver convert Adam Randall, who is off to a promising start and might just be the team’s best offensive player so far this season. This wide receiving corps was expected to be one of the best in the country this season and while Bryant Wesco has hit some big plays, the rest of the unit has been fairly underwhelming outside of Antonio Williams, who has been on and off the field with injuries. The team also hasn’t been able to find that replacement for Jake Briningstool at tight end yet this season, which is part of the reason that the passing game hasn’t been as successful as it was a year ago. The other reason for that is because of the offensive line, which has had to deal with some injury issues and inconsistent play. While the unit has allowed just one sack, it has also allowed 41 total quarterback pressures, an average of 10.3 per game, and has graded out poorly in run blocking in all four games of the season.

On the other side of the ball, the level of play hasn’t necessarily matched the level of talent. TJ Parker and Peter Woods are expected to be high NFL Draft picks and while they haven’t been bad, neither guy has been as dominant as they probably would have liked to be in the first four games. Instead, it has been Purdue transfer Will Heldt who has been the best of the group and could pose the most problems for the Tar Heels on Saturday. At linebacker, Wade Woodaz and Sammy Brown have been solid so far this season, but haven’t taken the step forward that many were expecting they would. Avieon Terrell might be the best defensive player this team has right now, but the rest of the secondary has been picked out on times so far early in the season.

The special teams unit is in good shape, even with Nolan Hauser’s struggles early in the season. Punter Jack Smith is having a strong season in terms of punt average and net average and the return games have been very solid so far with Randall returning kicks and Wesco returning punts.

Team Stats

Tar Heels

Off. PPG: 21.0 (T-107th)

Off. PYPG: 150.0 (T-124th)

Off. RYPG: 113.5 (113th)

Off. TYPG: 263.5 (134th)

Off. 3rd Down %: 34.7% (108th)

Off. 4th Down %: 71.4% (29th)

Off. Red Zone TD%: 54.5% (T-105th)

Tackles For A Loss Allowed: 20.0 (T-37th)

Sacks Allowed: 6.0 (T-42nd)

Def. PPG: 22.8 (T-60th)

Def. PYPG: 208.0 (64th)

Def. RYPG: 136.5 (64th)

Def. TYPG: 344.5 (59th)

Def. 3rd Down %: 44.4% (T-114th)

Def. 4th Down %: 66.7% (T-104th)

Def. Red Zone TD%: 29.4% (5th)

Tackles for A Loss: 17.0 (T-122nd)

Sacks: 4.0 (T-129th)

Interceptions: 4 (T-35th)

Turnover Margin: 0 (T-68th)

Penalties Per Game: 4.3 (T-18th)

Penalty Yards Per Game: 45.0 (T-39th)

Clemson

Off. PPG: 19.8 (117th)

Off. PYPG: 249.0 (55th)

Off. RYPG: 116.3 (112th)

Off. TYPG: 365.3 (87th)

Off. 3rd Down %: 36.0% (103rd)

Off. 4th Down %: 36.4% (117th)

Off. Red Zone TD%: 60.0% (T-83rd)

Tackles For A Loss Allowed: 11.0 (T-2nd)

Sacks Allowed: 4.0 (T-18th)

Def. PPG: 22.8 (T-60th)

Def. PYPG: 240.3 (94th)

Def. RYPG: 121.8 (49th)

Def. TYPG: 362.0 (73rd)

Def. 3rd Down %: 37.7% (T-68th)

Def. 4th Down %: 42.9% (T-43rd)

Def. Red Zone TD%: 63.6% (T-79th)

Tackles for A Loss: 26.0 (T-60th)

Sacks: 10.0 (T-55th)

Interceptions: 3 (T-59th)

Turnover Margin: -2 (T-93rd)

Penalties Per Game: 4.8 (T-27th)

Penalty Yards Per Game: 46.8 (T-50th)

Keys to the Game

-Have a Pulse Offensively

-Create Turnovers

-Find the Endzone

Injury Report

Tar Heels

OUT- Devin Ancrum (undisclosed), Jake Bauer (undisclosed), Shamar Easter (undisclosed), Tyler Houser (undisclosed), Gio Lopez (undisclosed), Henry Martello (undisclosed), Deems May (undisclosed), Chinedu Onyeagoro (undisclosed), Laderion Williams (undisclosed)

PROB- Aidan Banfield (undisclosed), Guytano Bartolomeo (undisclosed), Evan Bennett (undisclosed), Connor Cox (undisclosed), Chris Culliver (shoulder), Gavin Gibson (undisclosed), Caleb Hood (undisclosed), Isaiah Johnson (undisclosed), Pryce Yates (undisclosed)

Clemson

OUT- Jarvis Green (undisclosed), Jay Haynes (undisclosed), Tristan Martinez (undisclosed), Armon Mason (undisclosed), Peyton Streko (undisclosed), Elyjah Thurmon (undisclosed), Mason Wade (undisclosed), Easton Ware (undisclosed), Ari Watford (undisclosed), Billy Wilkes (undisclosed), Makhi Williams Lee (undisclosed)

Projected Starting Lineup

Tar Heels

Offense

QB# 7 Gio Lopez, So.

RB#35 Demon June, Fr.

WR-X# 1 Jordan Shipp, So.

WR-SL# 0 Alex Taylor, RFr.

WR-Z# 3 Chris Culliver, Jr.

TE#80 Jordan Owens, Sr.

LT#58 Austin Blaske, Sr.

LG#68 Aidan Banfield, So.

C#69 Chad Lindberg, Sr.

RG#52 Daniel King, Sr.

RT#55 Jakai Moore, Sr.

Defense

DE# 8 Smith Vilbert, Sr.

DT# 6 D’Antre Robinson, So.

DT#91 Leroy Jackson, RFr.

DE# 9 Melkart Abu-Jaoude, Jr.

WLB# 7 Khmori House, So.

MLB# 2 Andrew Simpson, Sr.

CB# 1 Thaddeus Dixon, Sr.

SS# 5 Gavin Gibson, Sr.

FS#31 Will Hardy, Sr.

CB#29 Marcus Allen, Sr.

NB#21 Kaleb Cost, Jr.

Special Teams

PK#90 Rece Verhoff, Sr.

P#96 Tom Maginness, Sr.

KOS#90 Rece Verhoff, Sr.

LS#42 Spencer Triplett, Sr.

H#96 Tom Maginness, Jr.

KR# 3 Chris Culliver, Jr.

PR#31 Will Hardy, Sr.

Clemson

QB# 2 Cade Klubnik, Sr.

RB# 8 Adam Randall, Sr.

WR-X# 1 T.J. Moore, So.

WR-Z#12 Bryant Wesco Jr., So. 

WR-SL# 0 Antonio Williams, Jr.

TE#11 Olsen Patt-Henry, Jr.

LT#71 Tristen Leigh, Gr.

LG#50 Collin Sadler, Jr.

C#53 Ryan Linthicum, Gr.

RG#64 Walker Parks, Gr.

RT#78 Blake Miller, Sr.

Defense

LDE# 3 T.J. Parker, Jr.

LDT#11 Peter Woods, Jr.

RDT#19 Demonte Capehart, Gr.

RDE#13 Will Heldt, Jr.

WLB#17 Wade Woodaz, Sr.

MLB#47 Sammy Brown, So.

LCB# 8 Avieon Terrell, Jr.

SS# 7 Khalil Barnes, Sr.

FS# 6 Ricardo Jones, So.

RCB#23 Ashton Hampton, So.

NB#25 Misun Kelly, So.

Special Teams

PK#81 Nolan Hauser, So.

P#89 Jack Smith, Jr.

KOS#38 Robert Gunn III, Jr.

LS#58 Holden Caspersen, Gr.

H#88 Clay Swinney, Jr.

KR# 8 Adam Randall, Gr.

PR# 0 Antonio Williams, Jr.

Game Information

Kickoff Time: 12:00 PM ET

Weather: 73℉, 2% chance of rain, 3 mph ENE

TV: ESPN

Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network