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Player Grades: Appalachian State @ Clemson

After a slow start, the Tigers cruised to a 41-10 victory over App St. See who did what against the Mountaineers

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

Wayne Gallman, Running Back, Sophomore, B-: Early on, the Wayne Train started out with a lackluster day, but a nice 23 yard touchdown in the second quarter helped the Tigers bust out a 31 point halftime lead. A frustrated Gallman trucked  the Mountaineer defensive back and stood over him in the end zone. Wayne finished the day with 80 yards on 15 touches.

Charone Peake, Wide Receiver, Graduate, A+: The worries of Clemson fans about the loss of Mike Williams are slightly eased after Peake's performance Saturday. Peake pulled down 86 yards on 4 catches and 2 touchdowns,  including a 59 yard bomb from Deshaun Watson before halftime.

Offensive Line, D+: 3 sacks for  App State during the game is probably the most telling stat for Clemson's offensive line. Deshaun Watson, Nick Shuessler, and Kelly Bryant were all under pressure various times throughout the game. This needs to be improved upon before the Tigers start conference play Thursday night. Another variable is thrown Clemson's way as Ryan Norton will be out with a knee injury against Louisville, giving Jay Guillermo the start at center.

Defense

Shaq Lawson, Defensive End, Junior, A: 3 tackles for loss for the star out of Central, and one sack. Lawson is establishing himself as a consistent defensive star for the Tigers. I look forward to seeing what he does against Louisville

Carlos Watkins, Defensive Tackle, RS Junior, A: Statistically, not a huge day for Watkins, but he had a huge play to spark the Tigers blowout victory. In the second quarter, Watkins ran back a tipped pass for a 15 yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 10-0. This fired up the crowd and gave Clemson momentum, and they never looked back.

Special Teams

Greg Huegel, Kicker, Freshman, B: A 2 for 3 day for the freshman, although on his first attempt he got 2 mulligans for misses thanks to offsides penalties on the Mountaineers. Definitely good to see his leg strength. I'm interested to see if Huegel establishes himself as the permanent starter against Louisville and during the bye week, or if Ammon Lakip returns and takes bag the job before Clemson's October 4th matchup with Notre Dame.