At Florida State there are players who are not satisfied with the protocols and communication that is being administered to them as they try and combat against contracting COVID-19. Syracuse players have refused to practice on several occasions unless they see some improvement in the way things are being handle with testing and things of that sort.

However, at Clemson, the Tigers had their first scrimmage on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, and since mid-June, the team has had just a couple of players test positive for the coronavirus. Clemson players say they can’t worry about what is happening at other schools right now, all they can do is control what they can control.

“I can’t really control all of things,” running back Travis Etienne said. “We can’t really focus on everyone else. We really have to focus on ourselves right now and we have to make sure we are taking the right precautions and protocols to keep ourselves healthy.

“We can only wish and pray that other schools are doing the same things.”

Making the right decisions. This past week more than 70 percent of Clemson University students returned to the city of Clemson as they get ready to start school, which begins with online classes only on Wednesday until mid-September when students are allowed back on campus.

It is a different dynamic now for Clemson’s student-athletes, who have basically had the campus and town to themselves since June 1. How will they react to the students being back in town when it comes to being socially safe and doing the things they need to do in order to not contract the COVID-19 virus?

“At the end of the day, we have to protect ourselves and be locked in this season,” Etienne said. “It is going to be a different year and a different kind of experience this year. We are just going to have to focus on the team and our craft and protect each other.

“We really cannot be out here just trying to jeopardize what we want as a team. We are definitely going to have to take sacrifices for the team. At the end of the day, that is how it is going to have to be.”

No social media for Etienne. Though a lot of players at Clemson like the fact they can continue to post and communicate on Twitter this year as they attempt to build their brand through social media, Etienne is not one of them.

In fact, Clemson’s all-time leading rusher got off social media earlier this summer so he could get away from all the negative talk, clear his head and get himself focused on the things he can control.

“I was just kind of focusing on myself and just kind of avoiding the media and just really honing on myself and trying to get better each and every day,” he said. “For me, it was developing life skills that I can routinely have each and every day. That was just me getting away from social media and getting away from all this stuff and just kind of locking myself in with me and my teammates and my immediate family.

“I was totally off all social media,” he continued. “I was around my family, so I did not really need social media. All the guys had my number so when they called or facetimed, I always answered, so there was no need for social media.”

On Friday, Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas, who will redshirt this year due to the complications he had after catching COVID-19 prior to returning to Clemson, signed off on Twitter and said he will be off for a little while.

Clemson’s seniors voted last week not to have the Tigers’ annual social media ban, which the 2011 seniors first began.

He’s a dog. Clemson offensive tackle Jordan McFadden, who is expected to be the Tigers’ new right tackle this season, had high praise for freshman defensive end Myles Murphy.

“He’s a dog. I got to go against him in the spring a good bit and he’s not a regular freshman,” McFadden said. “Physically Myles Murphy is already a really good player and he’s only going to get better… Myles Murphy is going to be a dog.”

Speaking of scrimmage. As mentioned, the Tigers held their first scrimmage of the camp on Saturday. McFadden explained why the scrimmage was so important.

“At practice, the coaches are right behind you, so they can kind of guide you through things like plays and such and such,” he said. “But in the scrimmage (today), they’re going to be away and everything’s going to be full speed, live.

“It’s just a matter of each player showing what you can do, especially some of those freshmen offensive linemen, showing the coaches that they can be trusted, that they know exactly what to do, they know how to do it and physically that they can do it. So, I think that’s very important, especially for this offensive line.”

Talking about the offensive line. McFadden said freshman offensive lineman Walter Parks has really been a beast in practice to this point.

“Walker Parks is physically a very — I don’t know the right word — for a freshman, he’s pretty good physically,” McFadden said. “He’s very strong, he’s athletic.”

–photo courtesy Clemson Athletic Communications 

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