When the Clemson Tigers take to the field in full pads for the first time Wednesday, offensive coordinator Chad Morris will be looking for someone on the offensive line other than center Dalton Freeman and left tackle Brandon Thomas to show him some bite.
After two days in helmets and shoulder pads, Morris is challenging his offensive line to be more aggressive and show a lot more fight than it showed in Tuesday’s two-and-half hour practice at the practice fields behind the Jervey Athletic Center.
“You start seeing those guys that like to bite and those that don’t,” he said. “Some of them were biting real hard in shorts and shirts, but they are not biting right now so we have to figure out what happened when the pads came on.
“If the guy isn’t going to bite with the pads on, it’s hard to coach that.”
One guy who is biting is redshirt freshman Shaq Anthony. The left tackle has impressed the coaching staff with the way he has picked up things and how aggressive he has been.
“Shaq Anthony’s name keeps popping up,” Morris said. “He is having a really good camp. I have been real pleased with him, but we have to have other guys step up, too.
“It’s time for David Beasley to step up. It’s now time for him to show it’s his turn. Kalon Davis is another one. Those are the guys we have to have step up. Gifford Timothy is another guy.”
Morris says it all comes down to the basics. He says he isn’t trying to be hard on his younger guys, but he and offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell want to challenge them to get better.
“Those other guys are trying, we just have to work on steps and techniques,” he said. “There is definitely potential there we just have to keep working hard.”
Clemson’s offensive coordinator thinks things should get better when they go to full pads on Wednesday.
“Full pads go on tomorrow so we will be able to go to the ground with them and have full speed tackling,” Morris said. “We saw a lot of good things and there are a lot of good things out there, but we are still a long way from being a football team that we feel like we can put on the football field right now. We are not there yet.
“Those guys have to grow up. We are expecting those guys to grow up… Those are the guys we are challenging and working hard. They have to work on getting better every day.”
