Snap judgments as White tops Orange in Clemson spring game

Cade Klubnik and the White team defeated DJ Uiagalelei and the Orange team 15-7 on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Both defenses were outstanding and both offenses struggled during the annual spring game, with both touchdowns coming on short fields.

Klubnik finished the afternoon 15-for-23 for 126 yards and a touchdown, while Uiagalelei was 17-for-36 for 175 yards with an interception.

Both offenses were limited due to injuries, forcing inexperienced players and backups to get a lot of work.

“The best thing is to get exposed to game experience, so we had some guys get that today,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’re a very incomplete team today, but when we get back going in August, we’ve got a chance to be a very good football team if we do what we need to do this summer.”

Here are some initial takeaways from the scrimmage:

Quick thoughts on Clemson QBs

Neither quarterback was great, and both had limited options at receiver due to injuries, but Klubnik played better overall on Saturday. The freshman was more accurate and seemed to settle in as the game went along.

Uiagalelei made some nice throws as well, particularly to Joseph Ngata. But he also threw a bad interception into double coverage that was picked off by freshman safety Sherrod Covil Jr.

Both quarterbacks held the ball too long as the defenses combined for 13 sacks.

The fact that Clemson was down so many players on offense made it tough on both quarterbacks.

“I rest real easy on that position. I love the guys that we have there,” Swinney said of his QBs. “This is as good a room as we’ve had at quarterback in a long time once we get everybody here.”

Tigers DL talented and deep

The defensive line was as advertised, constantly applying pressure on Klubnik and Uiagalelei. KJ Henry had 3.5 sacks, while Myles Murphy had 3. Xavier Thomas was also constantly in the backfield when he was in the game.

Overall it was just a dominant performance by Clemson’s defensive front, which was without one of its top performers in defensive tackle Bryan Bresee.

“It’s going to start with those guys up front. … It’s going to be a deep group that can lead the way for us,” Swinney said. “I think we’ll have seven guys that are going to get drafted at this time next year.”

Getting healthy a priority

Clemson was missing about as many key players as it had available. The Tigers were without their top two running backs in Kobe Pace and Will Shipley.

Receiver Beaux Collins was unavailable with a hamstring injury and several offensive linemen were out as well.

Clemson also lost Dacari Collins to an injury early in the second half, although it doesn’t appear to be serious. Part of the struggles on offense last season and on Saturday were due to injuries. The Tigers need to get healthy and stay healthy this offseason.

“Had one guy get banged up today in Dacari, but nothing serious,” Swinney said. “He’ll be sore for a few days, but he should be ready to roll when we get back for training this summer, so thankful for that.”