Clemson Tigers Show Promise in Televised Spring Game

By MikeBullock  |   Wednesday, April 14, 2010  |  Comments( 0 )

Clemson Tigers
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After hitting a home run in Friday night’s baseball game against Duke, Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker returned to Death Valley on Saturday to lead his white Tigers to victory over their orange teammates, 17-0. Parker, who was held out of practice and two baseball games preceding his return to action Friday, underwent an MRI for his back last Monday, but the results were negative.

Any signs of pain were nonexistent in the game, as Parker went 7 of 15 for 79 yards, and caught a touchdown pass from teammate Marquan Jones. While those numbers aren’t spectacular by any means, when taken in the context of a game that’s essentially a glorified scrimmage they are proof Parker can play. His first day back at practice resulted in a 70 yard strike to Bryce McNeal, proving Parker’s arm strength isn’t lacking.

The running back by committee approach will continue this season. Head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Billy Napier waited patiently until Andre Ellington took one out wide right and dashed for 34 yards into the end zone. Both coaches praised the work by Jamie Harper on Wednesday’s practice. Harper was named the Most Improved for Spring Practice winner among running backs and Ellington won the award for Strength Training and Winter Training periods.

When asked about the game, Coach Swinney said, “This was a beautiful day, a great day for Clemson football. Tremendous fan support. Had a great Junior Day as well. Had most of our signees here. The weather was great, the fan support was a record crowd and I thought both teams competed. I was pleased with the effort on both sides. When you divide your team up evenly you get thin at many positions. But, you can evaluate how much they compete and who will make some plays. There was good energy on both sides. We have a chance to be a good football team this fall. We just have to work hard over the summer m- that will be important to a lot of players.”

When referring to “thin” Swinney is not only talking about how the team was divvied up between the white and orange, but the lack of significant depth on the offensive line. As the spring scrimmages and workouts have continued, the glaring weakness along the second string line has been exposed time and again through domination by the second string defensive line. If the Tigers hope to improve on last season’s win total, finding a way to strengthen the line depth needs to be of first importance.

After the game, Clemson alumni turned NFL Pro Bowler, Brian Dawkins gave the team a pep talk, discussing his “all in” approach with the players. Dawkins is the Tigers most successful alumni, in regards to football, having played in 199 games, including five NFC Championships, one Superbowl and eight Pro Bowls.

“Brian Dawkins gave a great talk to our team after the game,” Swinney said. “He talked about what it meant to be all-in with a program and the importance of working hard in the off season.”
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