Things will get really heated for the defending national champions on Tuesday as Clemson puts on full pads for the first time this summer. This will mark Day 5 of fall training camp for the Tigers as they continue to look at the big picture stuff – effort, attitude, body language and the tempo of practice.

Clemson practiced on Monday afternoon behind the new Allen Reeves Football Complex after getting Sunday off. According to the program’s Instagram account, it also got back wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who they showed catching passes in practice. McCloud was wearing a cast the first three days of camp after injuring his wrist in the summer and was limited in practice, including no pass catching.

So far, through the first few days of practice, the Clemson coaches have been very pleased with what they have seen from their players.

“These guys have been very efficient,” co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. “You are just trying to eliminate any guys that are slowing the group down. Kind of what we talked about, energy vampires that are kind of high maintenance guys that are not giving effort. But really, we don’t have that and a big part of that is the culture Coach (Dabo) Swinney has really worked hard and our leaders have really worked hard to create.”

One thing Scott has noticed, especially on offense, is how the standard has not changed. Despite losing key players like Deshaun Watson, Wayne Gallman, Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett, Artavis Scott and Jay Guillermo, the players returning expect to produce the same results those six did when they were at Clemson.

“As we go, obviously, there will be a lot of evaluation and execution and all of that stuff, but right now the first week of fall camp is kind of about setting the standard, setting the tempo of practice, the expectations and being sure … we have three groups (that can play).”

–Above photo: Clemson players get after it in practice this past spring as running back Tavien Feaster runs by them during Paw Drills. Clemson will go to full pads for the first time this summer on Tuesday. (Photo by Robert MacRae)

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