As top-ranked Clemson heads into Saturday’s game at Wake Forest to open the 2020 football season, the Tigers know who will be starting on the offensive line. Jackson Carman will be starting at left tackle, followed my Matt Bockhorst at left guard, Cade Stewart at center, Will Putnam at right guard and Jordan McFadden at right tackle.
But as confident as the coaches are about who will be starting, the question of who will come in next has been the bigger issue. Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott gave the media a little more clarity on whom might be the second guys running in for the Tigers against the Demon Deacons on Saturday night.
“That is a tough question, but we will know that as we get closer to the game because we have so many young guys with the game plan pairing down, as opposed to the entire installation part during camp,” Elliott said. “But right now, the guys that you feel good about will, obviously, I have to say you feel good about Walter Parks being a guy that can go in there and function. You like where Walter Parks is at. You like where Hunter Rayburn was progressing to.”
Elliott did not indicate what he meant by “was progressing to” when he spoke about Rayburn, but he did make it sound like Rayburn will be available to play against Wake Forest.
“Again, that situation, just as any position, is just kind of been all over the place with the everyday things you having to battle through,” the Clemson coach said. “I definitely feel good about those guys. I like where Mitchell Mayes is progressing to. It gives us a lot of depth at tackle.
“Paul Tchio has really done a 180 since early on in camp. I think early, it was really, really fast for him, but you are starting to see him settle in at guard for us a little bit and trending in the right direction. So, those will probably be the guys right at the top of my head that I feel good about and I am sure Robbie [Caldwell] knows it in more detail, which guys might be able (to help), but that is just my perspective.”
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