Snap Count Review: Clemson vs. Virginia Tech

The season debut of the infamous “Orange Britches” did not disappoint as the Tigers handily defeated the Hokies in a lopsided blowout, punching their ticket to the looming rematch against Notre Dame.

Snap counts at this point in the season are a helpful indicator of how things have trended over the season at each position group, so let’s look at where things stand after the final regular season game:

Virginia Tech chose to hold the ball as long as possible on their drives, leading to considerably lower snap counts and only 22 minutes of possession for the Clemson offense. It was a solid attempt to try to slow down the Tigers on offense, except for the whole preventing the Tigers from scoring part.

This game, despite the blowout score, didn’t allow for the usual level of substitutions on the offensive side of the ball. Most of the starters didn’t even clear fifty reps, and only two of the backups received more than ten snaps.

Miscellaneous notes:

• Darien Rencher with the 50-yard touchdown run on his one snap, you love to see it. Great moment for a great guy.

• Lyn-J Dixon and Chez Mellusi looked nice out there on their reps - it’s hard to tell how much the backups benefit from opposing defenses respecting the run less without ETN playing. Still, Dixon had a nice touchdown run and Mellusi ran hard.
• Trevor Lawrence played decently but had a couple “what happened there?” moments too. With the way Mac Jones and Kyle Trask are racking up numbers over in the SEC, Trevor needed a last push to keep voters’ attention, but unfortunately this wasn’t it.
• Will Swinney currently sitting at 123 snaps for the season, 13 more than Ajou Ajou.
• Cornell Powell came up just short of his fourth 100-yard receiving game at 90 yards, which would have been a Clemson first. His play late in the season has been critical for this offense, especially with how many receivers seem to be battling injuries.

For all the injuries and shuffling on defense this year, they have still become one of the better units in the country under Venables’ steady guidance. Virginia Tech was held to a season-low 131 rushing yards, and really only cleared 200 passing yards due to a flukey Hail Mary at the end of the first half. Given how Virginia Tech tried to really control the tempo and build long, slow drives to wear out both the defense and the clock, this unit performed excellently.

At corner, Goodrich and Kendrick locked things down with at least 50 snaps each. Andrew Booth was held out this game, and although Malcolm Greene started, he only tallied 18 reps.

The linebacker position is where where things get interesting. James Skalski and Jake Venables exited the game early due to injuries, opening the door for Kane Patterson and LaVonta Bentley to reach season-high snap counts. Trenton Simpson, a true freshman (just reminding everyone), led all linebackers in snaps.

It has been said on this site before, but for a true freshman to come into Venables’ linebacker system and be able to largely hold his own thus far is highly impressive. Simpson has 233 snaps on the year, the 4th-highest count for that position group.

Miscellaneous notes:

• Xavier Thomas matching his season-high snap count at 25 and clearing 100 on the season! Awesome to see him performing at this level again. Can’t imagine he would leave after such a stilted season but it will be interesting to see what the defensive end position looks like next season. Justin Foster unsurprisingly indicated he will be returning as well, which could lead to a log-jam at the position for 2021. Good problem to have!
• Skalski exiting after that first series hurts, but more for the matchup against Notre Dame than Virginia Tech. His status for that game is huge, as his absence was heavily felt against Book and the Irish offense. (Fortunately, it sounds like removing him from the game was precautionary.)
• Pinckney with the reeeeeeeach for the fumble recovery made me laugh. Great play from the veteran.

• Jake Venables is out for the year likely with his broken arm. It is unfortunate for the guy, but the silver lining was getting to see the younger players step up and play in his spot. LaVonta Bentley has looked great - more of him please!
• Really like how Joseph Charleston has emerged in the secondary to become a solid safety. His play alongside Nolan Turner’s steady work has been encouraging.
• Tyler Davis also breaking 100 reps on the season. It really is amazing how much of a difference he makes on the line.

This is a good defense. At full strength, this is an excellent defense. Time to buckle up and play championship football.