Fall camp notebook: Brice’s progression has coaches even more confident

Everyone knows what Trevor Lawrence can do with the football. He is without a doubt the most talented quarterback in the ACC and many will say in the country as well.

However, Clemson does not have just one quarterback. Ever since his heroic moments in leading the Tigers’ to a come-from-behind victory over Syracuse last September, Brice has continued to get better and better.

Brice is having an outstanding fall camp and can make all the throws Lawrence can, according to co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott.

“He is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the ACC. He just happens to play behind Trevor Lawrence,” Scott said. “The separation last year between Trevor and Chase might have been a little bit bigger of a gap but Brice has come up a little bit closer to where Trevor is at and you don’t see a very big drop off with either of those guys in there.”

Here are some more notes we gathered from Clemson’s fall camp on offense following Saturday’s scrimmage at Death Valley.

*Scott said the offensive line gave up too many sacks and too many tackles for loss in the scrimmage. He said they were not consistent enough on where they want them to be.

*Freshman tight end Jaelyn Lay has been banged up a little bit and has not been able to practice the last few days. Fellow freshman Davis Allen is also still out with an injured foot. There is no word on Lay’s injury.

*Wide receiver Diondre Overton has played as well as any wideout in the first eight practices. He is playing really confident. He is really fast. He has done a good job in the slot.

*Wide receiver Cornell Powell made a couple of big plays in the scrimmage. He was the guy who really stood out in the scrimmage, according to Scott.

*Freshman wideout Joseph Ngata had a good scrimmage and he continues to get better. Scott says they have moved him around from the boundary position and the field position. He has done a good job picking all of that up.

*Freshman receiver Frank Ladson (knee) did not play in the scrimmage. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said he has some soreness in his knee. They don’t think it is anything to worry about. They are going to shut him down for a little bit and let it rest. He said he will be available for the season opener against Georgia Tech in a couple of weeks.

*Running back Travis Etienne looks better than he has looked since he has been at Clemson.

*Running back Darien Rencher will be a major factor for the Tigers this year. Scott said the former walk-on does not get a lot of credit. He is a hard worker and is a very consistent guy. From their depth and where he is at, he is going to be a guy they will count on this year. Scott compared Rencher to Hunter Renfrow.

*Scott says freshmen running backs Chez Mellusi and Michel Dukes have shown flashes here and there in camp, but they are hitting the wall a little bit, so it has been a little bit tough lately on them.

*Running back Lyn-J Dixon has done a really good job. However, Scott says he had issues with his consistency of getting his assignments down. He has been explosive though with his runs.

*Wide receiver Will Swinney has really improved and is now on the wide receiver depth chart. Scott said Swinney now knows how to use his skill set and has won a lot of the one-on-one battles with some of the defensive starters.

*Tee Higgins was full speed in the scrimmage. They took it easy with him for a couple of days because someone stepped on his foot in an earlier practice. He continued to work hard in individual drills. Scott said Higgins is primed to have his best year.