Clemson’s final fall scrimmage Thursday officially marked the end of fall camp. The Tigers will use the weekend to refresh, as head coach Dabo Swinney put it, before implementing some game prep into their practices early next week. By the end of it, the Tigers’ sole focus will be on their season-opening clash with Georgia on Sept. 4.

That means final decisions regarding Clemson’s depth chart are looming.

“Next week, I think we’ll start honing in a little bit on our two-deep and threes that are kind of right there as well and get ready to go play,” Swinney said.

Some of those choices have already been made. Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei is entering his first season as the full-time starter; the defense, particularly up front, seems to be set with all but one regular starter back from last season; and with seniors at kicker (B.T. Potter), punter (Will Spiers), long snapper (Jack Maddux) and holder (Will Swinney), Swinney isn’t all that concerned with the Tigers’ special teams.

Perhaps the fiercest competition has been at three positions on the offensive side of the ball: receiver, running back and the offensive line, particularly at center as Clemson continues to work toward finding its best five linemen. Jordan McFadden (left tackle), Walker Parks (right tackle) and Will Putnam (right guard) are among them, but Swinney said there still hasn’t been much separation among the four contenders vying to replace Cade Stewart at center.

Those include Matt Bockhorst, who’s been cross-training at center and left guard. Bockhorst, Mason Trotter, Hunter Rayburn and redshirt freshman Trent Howard have all done some good things during camp but have also had their share of inconsistency, said Swinney, who didn’t rule out the possibility of the competition bleeding into game week.

“Anything could happen. We play two weeks from now,” Swinney said. “You’ve still got to go practice well. Nobody at this point is entitled to go be the starter. You’ve still got to go earn it every day, continue to earn it every day and perform well.”

With Travis Etienne off to the NFL, the race to take over the role as the Tigers’ featured back has been a close one between senior Lyn-J Dixon and sophomore Kobe Pace. And don’t forget about true freshman Will Shipley, who has impressed with blazing speed as well as his intangibles to the point that the five-star signee has also taken some first-team reps during camp.

If there’s a position that could challenge the defensive line as the deepest on the roster, it might be the receivers. Joseph Ngata, Frank Ladson Jr., E.J. Williams and Ajou Ajou all got their share of first-team reps during camp, and that was before the star of the bunch, Justyn Ross, returned to practice late last week after receiving full medical clearance and going through COVID-19 protocols. 

Ross could play outside or in the slot, but the rest of the rotation still needs to be sorted out, particularly with Ngata dealing with another injury. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound sophomore, who’s been battling a sore hamstring during the latter part of camp, was again held out Thursday, though Swinney said Ngata is “getting closer” to a return.

Ngata and Ladson missed time last season with injuries, so staying healthy will be critical to Clemson keeping some of its top playmakers out wide on the field this fall. But the Tigers have added some reinforcements with the arrivals of true freshmen Dacari Collins, Beaux Collins and Troy Stellato, who’ve flashed their playmaking ability at times.

Beaux Collins and Stellato have been slowed by injuries during camp, but Swinney said Stellato got some work in during Thursday’s scrimmage. Swinney said there are even a couple of walk-ons at the position that he’s confident in should they have to play.

“It’s a deep room,” Swinney said of the receivers. “A lot of competition, and that’s going to really serve us well as we go through the season. Very, very different from last year.”

Depth also needs to be solidified behind Bryan Bresee and Tyler Davis on the interior of the defensive line as well as at linebacker and in the secondary. The last two weeks have given Swinney and his staff plenty of reps and tape to evaluate as they get closer to making some of those determinations.

“A lot we can build on from both sides,” Swinney said. “Excited now to turn the page a little bit and start honing in on our personnel and get ready to start doing some game planning.”

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