Clemson’s Sean Pollard spoke with the media after Day 7 of fall camp Friday.

The Tigers’ center was excited about how the Clemson offense is coming together. With a veteran offensive line and lots of playmakers, Pollard is eager to get his opportunity to take on his new role this fall.

Pollard on how freshmen players are integrating into the offense

“Everybody is working well. One thing that I can say about this team is that we might be young, but everybody is competitive. Everybody wants to do the right thing and wants to be the best they can be, and you can see it on our practice field. If you don’t show up on this practice field, I don’t care if it’s an old or young guy, you’re going to get exposed because there’s some really good players here. Guys come in and they are forced to be great and pushed up. Even though we are a small senior class, we’ve been there, we’ve been through the wars and we’ve been through all the battles, so they can see that and take that time to listen to us and learn.”

Pollard on moving to center

“It’s fun. I’m not as lost as I was last year and now that I know the basic stuff, I’m in the playbook all the time learning more and getting more of the coach’s trust each and every day. The big thing is just going out there and performing, so the coaches know they can trust me. I really enjoy it and it has been one of my best years so far. I’ve had a positive outlook on everything, and I said in the spring—new position, new Sean. That’s kind of how I’ve been striving and working everything every day, one play at a time, to be the best I can be for this team.”

Pollard on freshman Hunter Rayburn

“He’s doing well and has been having a good camp. He is still getting there mentally at the center position, but has been doing really well at snapping, which is usually one of the hardest things for someone to learn right away, but he’s doing well. He just has to get to the little things a little more. He’s got the big picture and he knows what he’s doing most of the time, so just a little more technique stuff.”

Pollard on offensive tackle Jordan McFadden

“You can definitely tell he’s been in the playbook and he cares. Some guys who come off of a redshirt year, it can be overwhelming for them, but he wants to be great. He’s one of the most athletic offensive linemen we have, so where some of us flaw in athletic ability, he strives in that. Once he puts everything together, he’s still young, but he’s been battling for those first team reps.”

Pollard on weight coming into the fall camp

“During last season I was about 326, during the spring I was about 330, and for the big weigh-in I was about 302. After spring, I decided I needed to be a little bit lighter. I looked at myself in the mirror and was just like, ‘You’re not who you need to be, you don’t look healthy’, so I went to our assistant strength and conditioning Coach Paul Hogan, director of nutrition Paul Harrington, and our chef and explained how I needed to put more muscle on and lose this weight to where I would feel better in general. I think I dropped 25 pounds of fat and gained about 20 pounds of muscle throughout the summer. I feel a lot better and camp is going a lot easier because I just feel better and overall healthier.”