Post-FSU Offensive Line Participation

Prior to the FSU game, we told you that we would be interested to see how the Clemson offensive line performed against the FSU defensive front. All in all, we played well enough there, especially when you consider all the concerns we had. In the end, the participation numbers played out about as we expected (very similar to the Auburn numbers). I'll keep this quick and dirty. The statistics came directly from the CUAD website. As you see below, Clemson had a very tight rotation last Saturday night.

The only real difference between this picture and the Auburn game is that Clemson substituted Kalon Davis in at guard against FSU. Otherwise, the starters essentially all played the entire game. We discussed the importance of getting some of the young bucks some playing time and the above chart shows why. If we have any issues up front with injury, Clemson will struggle to play guys the staff is really comfortable playing. I can guarantee you if the staff was more comfortable with other OL, they would have at least done some substitution. 80 plays in a football game is a lot of action. The overall numbers are shown below. As we previously discussed, getting big leads against the likes of Boston College, Wake Forest, and Duke to allow our staff to substitute in these younger players is so very important. Keep these substitution patterns and issues in mind when you watch Clemson play the rest of this year. Also keep in mind that we are setting up for future seasons as well, and desperately need to build quality depth up front.