Practice Observations: More on the freshmen offensive players |
CLEMSON – Three days of spring practice are in the books, and that’s given us about 15 periods to take a look at the midyear enrollees who are participating.
I told someone earlier that I can’t remember three better weather days than we’ve had to the start of this camp, with temperatures the first few hovering around 80 with sunny skies. That warmth put a little extra spring in everybody’s step. It’s tough to get a read on a freshman after just one practice (I remember when one writer opined after Deshaun Watson’s first practice that he thought the kid was a tad overrated), but three, including one in shells, can start to give you an idea. Of course, it will take the entire spring and the scrimmages to get a better read, and many of these guys will take a jump after summer conditioning. But three practices is what we have to date, so let’s take a look at some of our offensive freshman observations. *Noble Johnson already looks the part. How much? Our own Crump saw the No. 3 and the build and identified Johnson as Xavier Thomas in one of the photos from yesterday. With so many of Clemson’s receivers out this spring, Johnson has drawn plenty of early attention from wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham. Johnson has held his own going up against some of the Tigers’ older and more physical corners, but there is still work to be done on getting off jams at the line of scrimmage and the hand-fighting that occurs once the ball is in the air. Despite his size (he’s listed at 6-3, 205) he gets in and out of his breaks with the agility of a smaller wide receiver. Clemson has been missing that big receiver (in the mold of Tee Higgins or Mike Williams) on the outside that can make plays, and there was hope that Adam Randall could be that guy, and he still might be. But watch Johnson and you see the potential. *OT Zack Owens is a big human being. He’s easy to spot, even amongst all of the other offensive linemen, with his 6-7, 375-pound frame. I was quickly impressed at how well he moves despite the bulk. His kick-slide looks natural and he gets into a pass pro set with ease. I want to see him in a run-blocking setting. Watching his high school film you see him swallow opponents and he obviously has that knockdown power. How will he do against a Tyler Davis or Ruke Orhorhoro? *OL Ian Reed was with the team in Miami for Orange Bowl prep. Another big guy who moves well for his size. He looks like he can play either side of the line. He bounced around like a veteran both days I watched the offensive line. Owens has the bigger punch because of his size, but Reed is quick off the ball and uses his feet to his advantage. A lot to like. *OL Harris Sewell is another Texan, and he’s out of that storied Permian program. Watch him and it’s evident that he has the size to play all across the line but he simply looks the part of an interior lineman. He also has a bit of a mean streak. It looks, at first blush, as if Clemson hit on all three of these linemen. *Quarterback Christopher Vizzina, or CV as everyone calls him, has a pretty throwing motion. I was watching him Wednesday and the word that popped into my head was “economic.” It’s compact and there isn’t a lot of wasted motion, and he throws the deep ball with a lot of accuracy. We watched him throw across his body more than once to hit something on the back side of the field and those throws were accurate as well. If you watch him and see his size, he screams “pocket quarterback,” but then you watch him run and realize he’s deceptive, a lot like Trevor Lawrence. Perhaps the best thing I saw from him happened Tuesday night after practice. A youngster, maybe 10 or 11, approached him with a Sharpie and a football and asked Vizzina to sign it. Vizzina made a big deal about the names already on the ball, asked him where he wanted him to sign, asked the youngster where he lived and took a genuine interest in the interaction. You don’t always see that in younger players, especially one that is supposed to still be in high school. The youngster was beaming as he walked away. 
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