College Football

2013 Clemson football's 10 things to know: Tajh, Sammy, and A-grade roster management

Yes, Clemson has disappointed in the past. Yes, thanks to a pretty aggressive (and almost unfair) preseason ranking, the odds are decent that the Tigers will disappoint again. But Dabo Swinney is building elite depth to go alongside his stars, and the schedule certainly smiles on Death Valley this year. For more Clemson, visit Shakin' the Southland.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Aug 14, 2013, 11:06am EDT

Confused? Check out the glossary here.

1. The annual question

"Clemsoning" shouldn't really be a thing. The expectations for Dabo Swinney's Tigers shouldn't be adjusted because, for instance, Tommy Bowden's 2008 squad began the season (over)ranked ninth in the country and finished 7-6, or because 2011 Clemson reached No. 6 in the country before losing back-to-back games to unranked opponents on the road, or because 2000 Clemson reached fifth before losing to unranked Georgia Tech at home.

The 2013 team has different players, a different schedule, etc. Every year is different. We all know this.

But in the absence of actual games, we lean on a team's history. That's just how it works. And Clemson's past exploits, "the act of delivering an inexplicably disappointing performance, usually within the context of a college football season," are going to be discussed anytime a Clemson squad gets ranked pretty highly to start the season.

And wow, is Clemson ranked pretty highly to start the season. I've spoken a lot about Louisville getting this year's West Virginia Bump (where your strong bowl performance sets off a wave of offseason hype and a much higher preseason ranking than you'd have otherwise gotten), but Clemson's win over LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl had a similar effect. With a defense that is still suspect and/or young and a recent history that features plenty of good (F/+ rankings over the last four years: 13th, 26th, 33rd, 22nd) but minimal great, Clemson is projected 20th in the Football Outsiders Almanac 2013, just behind Florida State and ahead of Nebraska. A favorable conference schedule will give the Tigers an excellent shot at a 7-1 record and, with Florida State visiting Clemson, a shot at the division crown. That seems reasonable, if conservative, considering recent history and considering the Tigers will be hitting the field without last year's star running back (Andre Ellington) and No. 1 receiver (DeAndre Hopkins).

But the USA Today coaches poll will be starting Clemson at eighth in the country, ahead of preseason darling Louisville, and only slightly behind No. 7 South Carolina. So now if Clemson has a good-not-great season, as projected, it will be seen as another disappointment, another "Clemsoning," so to speak. Is there any way for the Tigers to avoid this fate and actually live up to the lofty hype they don't necessarily deserve?

Quite possibly, yes. This team gets Georgia and Florida State at home, and aside from the secondary (a serious question mark), I like just about every unit. Eighth is really, really high, too high for me to cosign. But the upside is there, and the schedule is friendly (at least, until the season-ending trip to South Carolina that is all but guaranteed to end in pain).

Yes, there are land mines and road games, and no, I cannot emphasize enough how scared I am of the secondary. But I like this team a lot.

More: Bill C. previewing every ACC team And every other team, too

2012 Schedule & Results

Record: 11-2 \| Adj. Record: 11-2 \| Final F/+ Rk: 22
Date	Opponent	Score	W-L	Adj. Score	Adj. W-L
1-Sep	vs. Auburn	26-19	W	28.6 - 30.0	L
8-Sep	Ball State	52-27	W	29.0 - 21.9	W
15-Sep	Furman	41-7	W	32.4 - 25.3	W
22-Sep	at Florida State	37-49	L	50.1 - 39.2	W
29-Sep	at Boston College	45-31	W	36.8 - 28.2	W
6-Oct	Georgia Tech	47-31	W	34.6 - 37.8	L
20-Oct	Virginia Tech	38-17	W	32.6 - 27.1	W
25-Oct	at Wake Forest	42-13	W	32.9 - 22.6	W
3-Nov	at Duke	56-20	W	43.6 - 20.5	W
10-Nov	Maryland	45-10	W	38.2 - 17.1	W
17-Nov	N.C. State	62-48	W	45.0 - 37.9	W
24-Nov	South Carolina	17-27	L	35.7 - 24.3	W
31-Dec	vs. LSU	25-24	W	30.0 - 21.7	W

Category	Offense	Rk	Defense	Rk
Points Per Game	41.0	6	24.8	49
Adj. Points Per Game	36.1	14	27.2	57

2. Things clicked

Full-season numbers were relatively nice to Clemson. Despite Sammy Watkins' injury issues, the Tigers' offense improved from 21st in Off. F/+ in 2011 to seventh in 2012; meanwhile, in Brent Venables' first season as defensive coordinator, Clemson improved at least slightly on that side of the ball, from 59th in Def. F/+ to 51st. Special teams were a bit better, too, so in all this was a successful season despite the fact that Clemson didn't repeat as ACC champions.

But if you're looking for a reason why 2013 could be even better, look first at this:

Adj. Points Per Game (first 3 games): Clemson 30.0, Opponent 25.7 (plus-4.3)
Adj. Points Per Game (next 4 games): Clemson 38.5, Opponent 33.1 (plus-5.4)
Adj. Points Per Game (last 6 games): Clemson 37.6, Opponent 24.0 (plus-13.6)

Clemson was more than a touchdown better in the second half of the season. The offense improved in late-September, and the defense followed suit in late-October. The early loss to Florida State all but eliminated ACC title hopes on September 22, and an easy schedule could have led Clemson to double-digit wins whether the Tigers were a truly strong team or not; but Clemson looked like a truly strong team, too, thumping Virginia Tech by three touchdowns, dominating Wake Forest and Duke on the road as a good team should, and waxing a feckless Maryland team as well. The loss to South Carolina was discouraging, but this team still played at a top-15 level over the last half of the year, and the win over LSU in Atlanta was a nice capstone, proof that Clemson's offensive style can work against a stout defense (well, the Tigers had already proven that against Florida State) and that the defense was improving and could stand up to a physical attack.

Offense

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	9	6	7	7
RUSHING	36	26	26	33
PASSING	13	2	1	2
Standard Downs		18	28	17
Passing Downs		2	1	3
Redzone		40	38	46

Q1 Rk	16	1st Down Rk	46
Q2 Rk	4	2nd Down Rk	2
Q3 Rk	34	3rd Down Rk	5
Q4 Rk	42

Quarterback

Note: players in bold below are 2013 returnees. Players in italics are questionable with injury/suspension.

Player

Ht, Wt

2013
Year

Rivals

Comp

Att

Yards

Comp
Rate

INT

Sacks

Sack Rate

Yards/
Att.

Tajh Boyd

6'1, 225

Sr.

**** (6.0)

287

427

3,896

67.2%

6.8%

8.0

Cole Stoudt

6'5, 205

Jr.

*** (5.6)

212

69.2%

0.0%

5.4

Chad Kelly

6'2, 210

RSFr.

**** (5.8)

Nick Schuessler

6'3, 185

RSFr.

** (5.4)

3. Tajh Boyd takes hits

It's easy to get starry-eyed about the Clemson offense. Tajh Boyd completes two-thirds of his passes while frequently throwing aggressively downfield. Sammy Watkins, when healthy, is one of the three or four best receivers in the country. The offensive line is big and deep. There are former four-star recruits littered throughout the skill position two-deep. Chad Morris, one of the most highly paid assistant coaches in the country, has proven worth the money.

But if there's a red flag here (other than the fact that Clemson lost both Andre Ellington and DeAndre Hopkins), it's this: Tajh Boyd is basically a permanent injury risk. Boyd averaged 12 carries per game last year and was sacked 31 times. He takes a sack once for every 14 pass attempts (hazards of being both a mobile quarterback who tries to buy time to find open receivers and a quarterback who looks downfield a lot and doesn't like to check down to running backs).

Granted, the bowl game was a special occurrence -- the last game of the season, a huge game, etc. But against LSU, Boyd carried the ball 24 times and got sacked five times. He was hit during or after passes many times. Clemson needs Boyd to get as close to his physical limit as possible to be at its peak; but if he crosses that line and gets hurt, Clemson's ceiling drops dramatically. Cole Stoudt was okay in fill-in work against Ball State last season, but the dropoff ater Boyd on the depth chart is steep. For Clemson to truly be a top-10 team, Boyd has to be on the field. This is "wince and say a prayer every time he's about to get hit" territory here.

Running Back

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	Rushes	Yards	Yards/ Carry	Hlt Yds/ Carry	TD	Adj. POE
Andre Ellington	RB				213	1,084	5.1	4.9	8	+6.9
Tajh Boyd	QB	6'1, 225	Sr.	**** (6.0)	155	725	4.7	3.7	10	+3.5
Roderick McDowell	RB	5'9, 195	Sr.	**** (5.9)	82	447	5.5	5.7	5	+6.0
D.J. Howard	RB	5'11, 195	Jr.	*** (5.7)	35	138	3.9	2.8	2	-3.4
Zac Brooks	RB	6'1, 185	So.	**** (5.8)	26	124	4.8	5.2	0	-2.5
Sammy Watkins	WR	6'1, 205	Jr.	***** (6.1)	14	97	6.9	10.8	1	+4.3
Cole Stoudt	QB	6'5, 205	Jr.	*** (5.6)	10	55	5.5	6.4	0	+0.2
Tyshon Dye	RB	6'1, 205	Fr.	**** (5.8)
Wayne Gallman	RB	6'1, 195	Fr.	*** (5.7)

Receiving Corps

Player

Pos.

Ht, Wt

2013
Year

Rivals

Targets

Catches

Yards

Catch Rate

Yds/
Target

Target
Rate

%SD

Real Yds/
Target

RYPR

DeAndre Hopkins

128

1405

64.1%

11.0

28.4%

57.0%

10.9

215.3

Sammy Watkins

6'1, 205

Jr.

***** (6.1)

708

75.0%

9.3

16.9%

61.8%

9.4

108.5

Brandon Ford

480

75.5%

9.1

11.8%

60.4%

9.1

73.5

Adam Humphries

5'11, 190

Jr.

** (5.4)

305

83.7%

6.2

10.9%

81.6%

6.6

46.7

Jaron Brown

345

52.5%

8.6

8.9%

67.5%

8.4

52.9

Charone Peake

6'3, 200

Jr.

**** (5.9)

172

73.5%

5.1

7.5%

64.7%

4.9

26.4

Andre Ellington

207

82.4%

12.2

3.8%

35.3%

13.1

31.7

Martavis Bryant

6'5, 200

Jr.

**** (5.9)

305

62.5%

19.1

3.5%

75.0%

19.8

46.7

Sam Cooper

6'5, 250

Jr.

** (5.4)

71.4%

6.6

3.1%

71.4%

5.9

14.2

Roderick McDowell

5'9, 195

Sr.

**** (5.9)

60.0%

5.8

1.1%

60.0%

5.8

4.4

Daniel Rodriguez

5'8, 175

So.

60.0%

1.0

1.1%

40.0%

2.2

0.8

Stanton Seckinger

6'4, 210

So.

*** (5.5)

100.0%

8.8

0.9%

50.0%

7.5

5.4

Germone Hopper

6'0, 175

RSFr.

**** (5.9)

Jay Jay McCullough

6'3, 230

RSFr.

*** (5.5)

Mike Williams

6'5, 205

Fr.

**** (5.8)

Jordan Leggett

6'6, 235

Fr.

*** (5.7)

4. Who's No. 2?

I can't really get too worried about the running back position. For one thing, as long as he's healthy, Boyd will play a role in the running game. For another, the line should be rock-solid -- four-year starting center Dalton Freeman is gone, but six players with starting experience return (64 career starts), as do a wealth of exciting freshmen and sophomores. And for another, Andre Ellington was good but reasonably replaceable. He wasn't incredibly explosive last year, at least not any more explosive than presumptive new starter Roderick McDowell, and depth should be nice with "a bigger, bulkier Andre" (Tyshon Dye) coming off of the bench. So yeah, a solid running game (26th in Rushing S&P+ last year) should be reasonably solid again.

But Clemson makes its bones with the pass, and while Sammy Watkins is incredible when at full strength (1,225 receiving yards, 9.9 per target, as a true freshman in 2011), the Tigers benefited significantly from having DeAndre Hopkins around, first as a tremendous No. 2 in 2011 (when Watkins erupted), then as an even more tremendous No. 1 in 2012 (when Watkins was struggling). As good as we all know Watkins can be, he needs help.

Hopkins, tight end Brandon Ford, and Jaron Brown all averaged at least 8.6 yards per target, and all three are gone. Adam Humphries was a solid pitch-and-catch guy last year, and four-star juniors Charone Peake and Martavis Bryant could be ready for a step up. But the best news for this unit could be if redshirt freshman Germone Hopper and freshmen Mike Williams and Jordan Leggett keep making plays like they did in Clemson's first fall scrimmage. There are former four-stars galore here, which means the odds are pretty good that somebody will step up in to the No. 2 role. But we won't know somebody can do it until they do it.

Offensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	109.4	2.92	4.30	37.3%	77.2%	17.2%	92.6	6.2%	7.2%
Rank	26	73	1	79	16	33	72	89	74

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	Career Starts/Honors/Notes
Dalton Freeman	C				49 career starts; 2012 1st All-ACC
Brandon Thomas	LT	6'3, 305	Sr.	**** (5.8)	23 career starts; 2012 2nd All-ACC
Tyler Shatley	RG	6'3, 295	Sr.	*** (5.6)	15 career starts
David Beasley	LG	6'4, 315	Jr.	*** (5.7)	12 career starts
Gifford Timothy	RT	6'6, 310	Jr.	*** (5.5)	11 career starts
Shaq Anthony	RT	6'4, 265	So.	*** (5.7)	2 career starts
Kalon Davis	LG	6'5, 330	Jr.	*** (5.6)	1 career start
Reid Webster	RG	6'5, 285	Jr.	*** (5.7)
Eric MacLain	LT	6'4, 260	So.	**** (5.9)
Isaiah Battle	LT	6'6, 280	So.	**** (5.8)
Joe Gore	RT	6'5, 275	So.	*** (5.7)
Spencer Region	RG	6'5, 350	So.	*** (5.7)
Ryan Norton	C	6'3, 270	So.	*** (5.6)
Harrison Tucker	LG	6'3, 290	So.	NR
Jay Guillermo	C	6'3, 290	RSFr.	*** (5.6)
Tyrone Crowder	OL	6'2, 325	Fr.	**** (5.8)

5. Roster Management 101

Recruiting has never really been a problem for Clemson, a school with a decent history, wonderful traditions, an enthusiastic fan base, etc. From 2007-10, Clemson's recruiting classes ranked in the top 20 three times (according to Rivals.com) and averaged a decent 21.0 ranking overall. But the Tigers have ranked eighth, 14th, and 14th, respectively in the last three years. Dabo Swinney and his staff have picked things up a bit in this regard, but that doesn't matter without proper depth, diversity, and roster management. The best-case scenario is quality recruiting at every position, with one wave of blue-chip youth ready to succeed the one that precedes it.

In terms of the trenches (on both side of the ball), Clemson's mastered the art of roster management. We'll get to the defense below, but in 2013, the Tigers return four starters on the offensive line. In 2014, barring injury, they will return three more. And though there will be quite a few seniors in 2014, there is a bumper crop of current sophomores (including a couple of four-star kids) that should be ready to take over. The line's stats were done favors by Tajh Boyd's scrambling ability (and were given issues by Boyd's ability to take a lot of sacks), but it should be better this year and even better next year.

Defense

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	64	83	35	101
RUSHING	58	55	16	95
PASSING	73	95	84	98
Standard Downs		80	22	102
Passing Downs		86	80	90
Redzone		14	6	30

Q1 Rk	111	1st Down Rk	70
Q2 Rk	53	2nd Down Rk	79
Q3 Rk	38	3rd Down Rk	33
Q4 Rk	25

6. So, about those big plays…

We think back on the 2011 Clemson defense as a reckless abomination, awful in every game. It wasn't, but following the humiliation the Tigers faced against Dana Holgorsen and West Virginia in the Orange Bowl that year, changes were still necessary for Clemson to become a truly elite team. Former Oklahoma coordinator Brent Venables took over, and as mentioned above, Clemson's defense improved, especially over the last half of the season. The Tigers were aggressive and efficient against the run, and it paid off with stellar red zone defense and the ability to force opponents to sometimes become one-dimensional.

The problem was that, while efficiency is incredibly important, preventing big plays is even more important. And Clemson was still wretched in that regard. It's difficult to rank 16th in Rushing Success Rate+ (efficiency) and 95th in Rushing PPP (explosiveness). That means that basically every time you let a runner get more than about four yards, you're letting him gain 20. Clemson's line stats were decent, but it still appears Venables has a way to go when it comes to structuring the back seven as he prefers.

Defensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	107.3	2.39	3.39	35.9%	45.0%	23.4%	108.2	5.1%	10.8%
Rank	35	8	79	31	1	16	48	46	11

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Josh Watson	DT	6'4, 285	Jr.	**** (6.0)	13	43.5	4.8%	3.5	3	0	4	1	1
Grady Jarrett	DT	6'1, 290	Jr.	*** (5.5)	13	38.0	4.2%	8.5	2	0	1	0	1
DeShawn Williams	DT	6'1, 285	Jr.	*** (5.6)	13	37.5	4.1%	5	2	0	1	0	0
Corey Crawford	DE	6'5, 270	Jr.	**** (5.9)	13	34.0	3.7%	6	1	0	1	0	2
D.J. Reader	DT	6'3, 335	So.	*** (5.7)	13	27.5	3.0%	0	0	0	1	0	0
Malliciah Goodman	DE				13	25.5	2.8%	9.5	7	0	2	4	1
Tavaris Barnes	DE	6'4, 275	Jr.	**** (5.8)	12	18.0	2.0%	2.5	1	0	0	0	1
Vic Beasley	DE	6'3, 225	Jr.	*** (5.7)	13	16.0	1.8%	8	8	0	2	1	0
Carlos Watkins	DT	6'3, 300	So.	**** (5.9)	9	12.5	1.4%	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Dodd	DE	6'5, 280	So.	**** (5.8)	8	5.5	0.6%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Roderick Byers	DT	6'3, 275	So.	*** (5.6)	5	3.5	0.4%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tra Thomas	DT	6'0, 275	Jr.	*** (5.5)	3	0.5	0.1%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Martin Aiken	DE	6'2, 255	RSFr.	*** (5.7)
Shaq Lawson	DE	6'4, 260	Fr.	**** (6.0)
Scott Pagano	DT	6'4, 280	Fr.	**** (5.8)
Ebenezer Ogundeko	DE	6'3, 230	Fr.	**** (5.8)

7. The line is ready

There is no guarantee that the back seven will be any better in 2013. But before we get there, let's talk about how loaded the front four is. Pass rusher (and nothing else) Malliciah Goodman is gone, but everybody else returns, including a junior (Vic Beasley) who was actually better at the pass-rush-only role in 2012 than Goodman was. Clemson returns a trio of strong junior tackles and a couple of solid every-down ends in Corey Crawford and Tavaris Barnes; the Tigers also welcome three four-star freshmen to the mix, including Shaq Lawson, last season's No. 1 prep school recruit (according, of course, to Rivals). This is the advanced Roster Management class (201, I guess?), with a healthy load of stud juniors, sophomores, and freshmen coming down the pike, one after another. And perhaps best of all, there's not a single senior. Even if somebody leaves early, this line is only going to be better in 2014.

Linebackers

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Jonathan Willard	WLB				12	79.5	8.7%	10.5	3	0	6	0	1
Spencer Shuey	SLB	6'3, 230	Sr.	*** (5.7)	13	71.5	7.8%	6	1	0	1	0	0
Stephone Anthony	MLB	6'3, 235	Jr.	***** (6.1)	13	63.0	6.9%	4.5	1	1	3	1	0
Quandon Christian	WLB	6'2, 225	Sr.	*** (5.6)	13	32.5	3.6%	4	2	1	2	1	0
Corico Wright	WLB				13	22.5	2.5%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tony Steward	SLB	6'1, 235	Jr.	***** (6.1)	13	21.0	2.3%	0	0	0	0	0	1
Lateek Townsend	SLB				10	7.0	0.8%	0	0	0	1	0	0
B.J. Goodson	MLB	6'1, 240	So.	*** (5.6)	13	2.0	0.2%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kellen Jones	LB	6'1, 215	So.	*** (5.7)
T.J. Burrell	WLB	5'11, 215	RSFr.	*** (5.5)
Dorian O'Daniel	LB	6'1, 205	Fr.	**** (5.9)
Ben Boulware	LB	6'1, 230	Fr.	**** (5.8)

Secondary

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Rashard Hall	FS				13	72.5	7.9%	3.5	0	4	4	1	0
Xavier Brewer	CB				13	57.0	6.2%	8	2	2	5	2	0
Jonathan Meeks	SS				13	54.5	6.0%	1	0	2	5	0	0
Travis Blanks	SS	6'1, 190	So.	**** (6.0)	13	45.5	5.0%	2	0	1	7	0	1
Bashaud Breeland	CB	6'0, 195	Jr.	*** (5.7)	10	28.5	3.1%	2.5	1	0	3	0	0
Martin Jenkins (2011)	CB	5'10, 180	Jr.	*** (5.5)	14	22.0	2.3%	1	0	0	6	0	0
Garry Peters	CB	6'0, 195	Jr.	**** (5.8)	12	16.5	1.8%	0	0	1	8	0	0
Cortez Davis	CB				13	15.5	1.7%	0	0	0	0	1	0
Darius Robinson	CB	5'10, 175	Sr.	**** (5.8)	7	12.0	1.3%	0	0	1	2	0	0
Robert Smith	FS	5'11, 210	Jr.	*** (5.6)	13	11.0	1.2%	1	0	0	1	0	0
Dante Stewart	CB	5'8, 185	Jr.	NR	7	5.0	0.5%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Taylor Watson	SS	5'11, 205	Jr.	NR	12	5.0	0.5%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ronald Geohaghan	S	6'0, 200	RSFr.	**** (5.8)
Mackensie Alexander	DB	5'11, 185	Fr.	**** (6.0)
Jayron Kearse	S	6'4, 205	Fr.	**** (5.8)
Jadar Johnson	FS	6'1, 180	Fr.	*** (5.7)

8. The secondary is … we'll see

When the Oklahoma defense was at its best under Venables, the Sooners had the pieces to oscillate seamlessly between a competent 4-3 and an almost even more competent nickel look. To combat the spread offense, you almost have to have a good nickel formation, which was a problem for Clemson last year: The Tigers really seemed to only have about four trustworthy (and healthy) defensive backs. Three are now gone, and while sophomore safety Travis Blanks could at some point turn into something pretty special and corner Martin Jenkins returns after missing 2012, the depth here is not what it needs to be.

The same, really, could be said of a linebacking corps that features two former five-star recruits and two incoming four-etar freshmen but suffered quite a few breakdowns last year.

If former star recruits begin to act like it in 2013 -- if Stephone Anthony and Tony Steward can make some plays to offset the loss of weak side linebacker Jonathan Willard, and if one or two of the freshman DB trio of Mackensie Alexander (slowed by injury in fall camp), big Jayron Kearse (a potential Tony Jefferson type capable of oscillating between safety and third linebacker) and Jadar Johnson can crack the two-deep, then the Clemson defense's ceiling gets exponentially higher. But those are some hefty ifs.

Special Teams

Punter	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Punts	Avg	TB	FC	I20	FC/I20 Ratio
Spencer Benton			48	39.2	1	0	15	31.3%
Bradley Pinion	6'6, 230	So.	9	39.4	0	0	3	33.3%

Kicker	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Kickoffs	Avg	TB	TB%
Spencer Benton			70	0	32	45.7%
Bradley Pinion	6'6, 230	So.	26	0	18	69.2%

Place-Kicker	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	PAT	FG (0-39)	Pct	FG (40+)	Pct
Chandler Catanzaro	6'2, 195	Sr.	57-59	13-13	100.0%	5-6	83.3%
Spencer Benton			2-2	0-0	N/A	1-3	33.3%

Returner	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2013 Year	Returns	Avg.	TD
Sammy Watkins	KR	6'1, 205	Jr.	13	19.8	0
Martavis Bryant	KR	6'5, 200	Jr.	10	21.0	0
Andre Ellington	KR			8	22.3	0
Adam Humphries	PR	5'11, 190	Jr.	18	4.8	0

Category	Rk
Special Teams F/+	26
Net Punting	59
Net Kickoffs	27
Touchback Pct	17
Field Goal Pct	9
Kick Returns Avg	82
Punt Returns Avg	109

9. Sammy Watkins vs. Sammy Watkins' limit

As with Miami's Duke Johnson, the DAT Rule is in place for Sammy Watkins this year.

I've said a bunch of times that you never wanna know the limit on carries your [star] can have, because that means they're hurt.

Despite last season's issues, Sammy Watkins is Clemson's best receiver and kick returner; and he might be the best punt returner, too. He averaged 25.0 yards per kick return in 2011, and his "Okay, let's stop f***ing around here" kick return against Maryland that year looked disturbingly easy. But he's only helpful if he's full speed, and the more touches he gets, the less likely he is to be full-speed all season. It's a balancing act.

Regardless, it's exciting that Clemson's special teams unit improved despite Watkins' return struggles last year. Watkins and place-kicker Chandler Catanzaro are a lovely special teams combo, and Bradley Pinton might be a solid full-timer in punts and kickoffs.

2013 Schedule & Projection Factors

2013 Schedule
Date	Opponent	Proj. Rk
31-Aug	Georgia	9
7-Sep	S.C. State	NR
19-Sep	at N.C. State	61
28-Sep	Wake Forest	81
5-Oct	at Syracuse	54
12-Oct	Boston College	69
19-Oct	Florida State	19
26-Oct	at Maryland	83
2-Nov	at Virginia	71
14-Nov	Georgia Tech	32
23-Nov	The Citadel	NR
30-Nov	at South Carolina	14

Five-Year F/+ Rk	21
Two-Year Recruiting Rk	15
TO Margin/Adj. TO Margin*	+2 / +1.9
TO Luck/Game	0.1
Approx. Ret. Starters (Off. / Def.)	13 (7, 6)
Yds/Pt Margin**	-3.5

10. What a perfect time for this schedule

Clemson's going to be good. I'm not sure the Tigers will be No. 8 good, but this schedule sets up perfectly. Georgia comes to town in the opener, and Florida State visits seven weeks later. Yes, there are plenty of tricky road trips ripe for Clemsoning, if this team is capable of such a thing (N.C. State, Syracuse, and a Maryland-Virginia combo right after the FSU game), but even if the Tigers are only a top-15 team, instead of top-10, they'll have a decent shot at being 11-0 heading into the South Carolina game.

I'm talking Clemson up and hedging at the same time, aren't I? I can't agree to top-10, but I think last year's late improvement suggests 20th is too conservative. I'll split the difference and say Clemson should come in around No. 13-15, and if the Tigers get past a good Georgia team (one that will very much test the back seven) in the opener, that Clemson-FSU game is going to get a level of hype rarely reserved for an ACC contest.

I love Dabo Swinney's roster management, and I'm curious to see how Clemson develops in the future. The Tigers will almost certainly be without Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins in 2014, but their line play could be extraordinary, and the running back corps and secondary could quickly become pretty strong, too, if some youngsters click. Swinney is building for the long haul, but he does have himself one hell of an opportunity in 2013, even if the odds of disappointment are unfairly high because of the preseason ranking.