Position battles to watch in Clemson spring practice

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For established veterans and starters, spring practice is a time to hone their game, refine their skills, and delve deeper into the playbook. For those battling for a starting spot or a spot on the two-deep depth chart, spring is critical.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney returns a veteran and experienced squad in 2025, but that doesn’t mean that all of the spots are set. Let’s take a look at a few of those position battles that will start Friday with the initial spring practice.

RUNNING BACK

My guess is that Keith Adams runs out there first? But that’s just a guess. Adam Randall, David Eziomume, Jarvis Green, and Gideon Davidson will all get their shot to shine with Jay Haynes (ACL) on the shelf.

Randall is intriguing – following a huge kick return against SMU in the ACC Championship Game, the coaches moved Randall to running back to see if he could provide a spark. He ripped off a 41-yard run against Texas and provided 44 yards on four carries.

“He did some good stuff, man,” Swinney said on Randall after the move. “He is a natural, and that’s something that we want to try to grow this spring. We talked about maybe trying to transition him there and see if we can kind of rebrand him a little bit. Let’s see what he looks like as a 230-pound back that can fly and got ball skills. We’ll see how that works out for him.”

Eziomume redshirted in 2024, playing just 34 snaps and rushing 10 times for 68 yards. Davidson has the most upside (close to 7,500 career yards with a 10.53 average and 118 career touchdowns), and how well he pass-protects will dictate his playing time.

LEFT GUARD

Marcus Tate has moved on, leaving Collin Sadler and Harris Sewell to compete for this spot. Both Sadler and Sewell are versatile players and whoever is the odd man out will still play a lot. Sadler was injured last season and played in just two games, while Sewell started in three games last season, two at left guard and one at right guard.

TIGHT END

This room is a little crowded, with Olsen Patt-Henry looking to earn the starting spot. Patt-Henry has played for two seasons and enters 2025 with 12 career receptions for 163 yards in 335 offensive snaps over 20 career games (one start). His biggest contribution has been as a blocker in the running game, but he’s had a few bright moments in the pass game. Josh Sapp is a dependable veteran, while freshman Christian Bentancur has a ton of upside (he redshirted last season). Could Markus Dixon change positions (he played defensive end in high school)? The job is likely Patt-Henry’s to lose, but Bentancur and Sapp will push for playing time.

FREE SAFETY

R.J. Mickens was the dependable veteran, a player that recorded 229 tackles (13.5 for loss), seven interceptions, 15 pass breakups and a fumble recovery over 2,174 career snaps in 60 games (30 starts) from 2020-24. He became the 10th player in Clemson history to play 60 career games, joining James Skalski, Will Spiers, Will Swinney, B.T. Potter, Nolan Turner, Justin Mascoll, Xavier Thomas, Jalyn Phillips and Will Putnam.

Khalil Barnes will play one of the safety spots, but who starts opposite him will be one of the bigger defensive battles this spring. Tyler Venables is back for a sixth season and enters 2025 credited with 114 tackles (6.5 for loss), a sack, an interception and eight pass breakups in 876 defensive snaps over 50 games (three starts). Kylon Griffin started four games at strong safety last season and recorded 36 tackles and an interception. Ricardo Jones played in 12 games last season and is a future impact player.

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