Tiger Board Logo

Donor's Den General Leaderboards TNET coins™ POTD Hall of Fame Map FAQ
GIVE AN AWARD
Use your TNET coins™ to grant this post a special award!

W
50
Big Brain
90
Love it!
100
Cheers
100
Helpful
100
Made Me Smile
100
Great Idea!
150
Mind Blown
150
Caring
200
Flammable
200
Hear ye, hear ye
200
Bravo
250
Nom Nom Nom
250
Take My Coins
500
Ooo, Shiny!
700
Treasured Post!
1000

YOUR BALANCE
Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati
storage This topic has been archived - replies are not allowed.
Archives - Tiger Boards Archive
add New Topic
Replies: 18
| visibility 3

Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 2:16 PM

Is 5-star Hunter Johnson Clemson’s Deshaun Watson replacement? And how soon?
Clemson’s next QB (whoever he is) has massive shoes to fill.

by Ian Boyd@Ian_A_Boyd Feb 9, 2017, 8:00am EST

The Clemson Tigers have now achieved the pinnacle of college football triumph in winning a national title over a supremely hyped and respected foe. Now they reach the hardest stage of climbing to the top: staying there.

It doesn’t appear to matter who’s back on defense in a given year for Clemson, but as it happens, the Tigers return many of the key players from yet another brilliant unit in 2016. But on offense, they lose running back Wayne Gallman, receivers Artavis Scott and Mike Williams, tight end Jordan Leggett, and all-world quarterback Deshaun Watson. That’s nearly every key offensive skill component from their two-year Playoff run and takedown of Alabama in the 2017 title game.

Clemson didn’t sign a big 2017 recruiting class, but it did sign some excellent prospects. The Tiger offense might need them next season.

How much has really been lost?
Watson, Leggett and Williams each provided distinctive advantages for the Tigers that are really hard to replace. Leggett was a big, mobile asset that allowed Clemson to vacillate between spread and power run formations, and who was a can’t-miss target running routes in the seams. Williams was another can’t-miss target outside the hash marks who made it difficult to handle Clemson’s inside passing and run game due to the threat he posed if left alone with a cornerback.

And of course, Watson was the straw that stirred the drink. In addition to being highly effective as a pocket passer, Watson negated some of the challenges of building good pass protection units at the college level with his scrambling ability, and he also allowed the Tigers to run a variety of option and QB run plays that were a trump card when Clemson wanted to run the ball. His diverse skill set unlocked potential up and down the roster, making the Tigers a difficult team to package and call defenses against. Just ask Nick Saban.

What has been lost, then, is not only a cast of players with multiple seasons of repetitions working together, but also some unique and physically dominant talents. The chances of just plugging in another Deshaun Watson in 2017 are next to zero.

What’s next for the Clemson O?
Clemson has a few quarterbacks on campus now vying for the role of “Watson replacement.” The leading contender is former three-star recruit Kelly Bryant, who has yet to demonstrate anything close to the passing chops of Watson. The next is redshirt freshman-to-be Zerrick Cooper. Cooper is a former four-star himself, who also has some questions about his accuracy and passing acumen, along with less mobility than Bryant.

Then there’s the chance that five-star early enrollee freshman Hunter Johnson comes in and takes the job like Jalen Hurts did at Alabama this past season. The reason Johnson is rated as a five-star recruit is his skill at exactly what Bryant and Cooper have failed to show excellence in: throwing accuracy.

With only Hunter Renfrow and the offensive line returning, there’s no established identity for the next Clemson offense to assume. There isn’t a dominant skill athlete returning from the title team who needs to be featured, nor is there an established QB. What Clemson does have is a highly skilled possession WR (Renfrow) and an OL that was solid in pass protection but rather average in the run game.

Now the Clemson offensive staff has to determine whether it has skill players rising up who are ready to be prominent components of the team’s identity, if the OL can be developed to become a more fearsome run blocking unit, or whether it should just choose the best all-around QB and build from there.

If the Tigers determine that the passing game needs to be the primary focus, they may choose to roll with Johnson. If they determine that he’s the best all-around QB, then obviously they’ll make that same decision.

He’ll have a lot of competition, though, and only more in the future. Four-star Chase Brice is joining Johnson in the 2017 class, and 2018’s current No. 1 overall prospect, QB Trevor Lawrence, is verbally committed to the Tigers, too.

Johnson is a top-flight prospect for a reason.
Johnson was a three-year starter at Brownsburg, in Indiana. He went 15-15 over those three years, with a run at the state title as a senior that fell short in the first round of the tournament. His team was largely built around his skills as a passer, and it was schematically similar to the 2015 Bama team that beat Clemson for the title.

His rating comes largely from his supreme mechanics and ability to throw lasers into windows outside of the hash marks. The ability to throw the perfect pass to big targets was how Clemson took down Alabama, and you can find examples of Johnson doing it from his sophomore year on.

When Johnson has a clear read on the defense, he can put a ball in the perfect spot to either beat coverage (like at the 0:46 mark in the above video) or turn upfield and pick up yards after the catch (see 1:13). It’s rare to see a high school player with such well-developed throwing mechanics and accuracy combined with arm strength to allow him to utilize those skills to threaten so much of the field.

However, that world-beating accuracy also rears its head in some of the decision-making on the part of Johnson. He threw 12 picks in both his junior and senior seasons and compiled the following stats in his three years of high school signal-calling:

Neither the yardage numbers nor the INT rate would be elite or particularly impressive against college defenses, as you can see from comparison. The interception issue could be a result of Johnson leaning too heavily on his ability to beat coverage with accuracy and thus taking ill-advised shots. Watson sometimes did that, too, after all.

Indeed, the first shot of Johnson’s senior film features him throwing a corner route despite the cornerback sinking deep with the route and the flat route consequently being left wide open. He beats the cornerback with a well-placed ball for a TD, and the fight song rolls. But obviously, you can end up throwing a few picks at the high school level doing that and a good deal more trying to beat Florida State’s DBs.

Then there’s the Clemson run game, which is loaded with spread-option concepts that include QB pass or keep/run reads, as well as some single-wing runs the Tigers used for Watson. At 6’2 and about 200 pounds, Johnson isn’t currently built to carry the ball as often as Watson did, but he could still be a major boon to the Clemson run game in a few ways.

You can find some examples of Johnson running the old-school triple-option as well as some zone-read in high school and doing it quite well. He ran a remarkably quick 4.09 in the shuttle with a 4.73 in the 40-yard dash, which both indicate some serious speed to reach the open field and then chew up grass.

As he gains weight, he could be highly capable in some of the same power runs that Clemson used to spring Watson. Itern the meantime, he should be the kind of player that defenses have to game-plan for on the zone-read taking the edge.

Where he can really tear things up, though, is in the run-pass option game. Brownsburg loved to attach pass options to its runs and watch opponents try to handle its inside run plays while trying to cover up passing windows to the flats and keeping their safeties over the top:

It’s not terribly common for high school defenses to determine that the threat of a quick pass to the flat is a greater threat for the outside LB to worry about than getting up front to provide numbers against the run. But that’s the calculation that Johnson’s opponents regularly made due to his accuracy on those quick pass reads.

If you’re hitting them with accuracy, the RPO constraint is the most deadly for the spread run game, because you force defenses to determine if they want to deal with a guy that can score getting the ball in space, or having enough numbers to “stop the run!” as every DC emphatically stresses at every practice and press conference.

Johnson has a chance to contribute quickly.
If he can use spring practice and the coming offseason to master the reads of the Clemson offense, his throwing ability might provide the best foundation for the 2017 Clemson offense of any QB on campus. If not, Clemson may still have snagged a player who can help it eventually recreate its national championship formula.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/2/9/14461272/hunter-johnson-clemson-qb-deshaun-watson-2017

2024 orange level memberbadge-donor-15yr.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Best Is The Standard


Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 2:53 PM

So according to this guy all we have coming back at Wideout is Hunter Renfrow!? LOL! Boy is he and everyone else gonna be shocked.

2024 white level member flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 3:13 PM

Yep

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Well he was referring to returning production - guys that


Feb 9, 2017, 5:00 PM [ in reply to Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati ]

were actually significant contributors from our title team. He failed to mention Deon Cain, but other than that he is correct. Guys like Powell, Overton, Higgins, and Rodgers have a lot of potential but haven't actually done anything on the field yet.

I'm hoping Ray Ray can step in and do some of the things that Scott did for us, but he needs to work on his ball security to say the least. So far i would say he's been a mixed bag.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

as good a description as could be done... +1


Feb 9, 2017, 3:19 PM

"And of course, Watson was the straw that stirred the drink. In addition to being highly effective as a pocket passer, Watson negated some of the challenges of building good pass protection units at the college level with his scrambling ability, and he also allowed the Tigers to run a variety of option and QB run plays that were a trump card when Clemson wanted to run the ball. His diverse skill set unlocked potential up and down the roster, making the Tigers a difficult team to package and call defenses against. Just ask Nick Saban.

What has been lost, then, is not only a cast of players with multiple seasons of repetitions working together, but also some unique and physically dominant talents. The chances of just plugging in another Deshaun Watson in 2017 are next to zero."

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 3:32 PM

I literally stopped reading at, "With only Hunter Renfrow and the offensive line returning, there’s no established identity for the next Clemson offense to assume."

I guess this guy doesn't watch a lot of Clemson football. Ray-Ray, Diondre, Deon, Trevion & Cornell all say hi Ian!

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

I'll give you Cain. Aside from that i don't think the rest


Feb 9, 2017, 5:02 PM

merit much mention as returning production from the title team. Ray-Ray has been a mixed back, Thompson has done almost nothing, and the rest, despite being really talented, haven't played a meaningful snap for us yet.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: I'll give you Cain. Aside from that i don't think the rest


Feb 9, 2017, 5:37 PM

There's a huge difference between not getting a lot of snaps and being short of talent though. Saying "with only Hunter Renfrow coming back" is a terribly ignorant way of describing our receiver corps, particularly with the redshirts coming in & the likes of Amari / Tee coming in this summer.

Tavien Feaster may not have had the freshman campaign we had all hoped for but surmising that we won't have a run game this next year because of it? Foolish. I think any team in the country would be ecstatic to have Fuller, Feaster, Etienne & Choice in their stable. And if the OL can run block like they pass-protected last year, there's a chance we may be a deeper, more-balanced offense than ever before in 2017!

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

He said there's no established identity which is 100% correct.


Feb 9, 2017, 6:07 PM

He's not saying we have nothing coming back at all, he's saying we have almost nothing from last year's team that we need to feature and build around. It's a blank canvas.

That's how I took it.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

And you're going to sleep on guys like...


Feb 9, 2017, 8:05 PM [ in reply to I'll give you Cain. Aside from that i don't think the rest ]

Overton, Powell, Ray Ray, TJ Chase, Chalk, Milan Richard, Fuller, not to mention the talent coming in? If you think we are hurting for weapons next season, you're nuts. These guys have been waiting for a chance to get out on the field with Cain and Renfrow.

We are LOADED. The only real concern is at QB, and that's an issue of experience, not talent. Plug and play QB's like DW4 just don't come along that often. THAT'S where the rebuilding will likely cost us a few games. I look to 2018 for another ACC championship and CFP run.

badge-donor-10yr.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying we don't have a returning


Feb 9, 2017, 8:13 PM

cornerstone piece that will be the focal point of our offense next year. That was the point the author was making. If Mikeep Williams is coming back next year our offense is centered around him. We don't have anyone like that coming back on offense so everything is open to change.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Only Hunter Renfrow returning and the OL?


Feb 9, 2017, 3:51 PM

Someone forgot to tell Cain, McCloud, Thompson, Powell, Overton, Feaster and Fuller about that.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Only Hunter Renfrow returning and the OL?


Feb 9, 2017, 3:56 PM

This writer is a member of the fake news gang.Its a shame that
we have those kind of people giving us info.

military_donation.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Isn't Renfro the only returning starter other than O line?


Feb 9, 2017, 6:57 PM

I think that's what the author is driving at.

His point is technically correct, but does not paint the full picture.

We have lots of returning experience on offense, but very few returning "starters".

badge-donor-15yr.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 3:58 PM

"There isn’t a dominant skill athlete returning from the title team who needs to be featured"

If you can read this statement and not think D. Cain then you obviously do not follow Clemson football.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

null


Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 4:05 PM

More concerned about some o-line, DB And special team players. We shoul be great at QB and receivers provided the protection holds up. We are QB and receiver U, don't you know!

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 4:22 PM

Yes. Hopefully he wins the starting role this year, and then has Zerrick Cooper as backup and KB 3rd. I didn't infer from article that only Hunter was coming back.

badge-donor-05yr.jpg2016_pickem_champ.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Can 5-star Johnson be Clemson’s Deshaun replacement?(SB Nati


Feb 9, 2017, 5:58 PM

This guy makes it sound like Johnson is the only legitimate starter at qb. Cooper and Bryant both have a realistic shot at being ahead of Johnson exiting fall camp. This guy clearly hasn't done his homework

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Maybe we'll see a lot of Hunter to Hunter... *nm


Feb 9, 2017, 6:12 PM

nm

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Replies: 18
| visibility 3
Archives - Tiger Boards Archive
add New Topic