Clemson safety R.J. Mickens spoke to the media on Friday after finishing up another week of spring practice.
With practice in full swing, Mickens reflected on the advantages of having a group of veterans in the safety room this season.
“It’s definitely ultra-competitive,” he said. “We have a lot of guys that put in work in the offseason, in the weight room, on the field. People coaching from the sidelines, so I think we’re going to be a really experienced, veteran group. A lot of guys are competing and definitely pushing everyone upwards, for sure.”
That competitive environment referenced by the senior has been pushing the Clemson defense to new heights during spring practice thus far.
Mickens emphasized that the Clemson defense is facing a fresh style of offense this spring under new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. Riley, who has brought a new flavor to the Clemson offense, is bringing a whole new playbook to practice, which has been a good challenge for the Clemson safeties.
“I love the stuff Coach Riley is doing,” he said. “It’s great stuff. There’s some exotic concepts that we haven’t seen. We might see one play that we saw Week 8, but it’s not something we’ve seen. It’s not the same common plays. He adds his own spice and flavor to his route concepts and a lot of crossing. He has a lot of different concepts, motions, all type of stuff. He’s doing great things over there. We’ve got the personnel over there to be really special.”
When it came down to what challenges the offense presents for the safeties, Mickens shared that the offense, simply put, is complex. The complexity of Clemson’s offense has pushed Clemson’s defense to adapt, which Mickens believes will prepare the team well for what’s to come in the fall.
“It’s a really fast offense,” he said. “They’re snapping the ball, getting up on the line of scrimmage really quick after each play. Routes are moving. Lots of option routes. They have two-way go’s, they’ve got over routes, all types of corner, they’ve got different — it’s a wide variety of things, so you don’t really know what you’re getting.
“They hide things really well and motion to stuff, so it’s a really complex offense. It’s really complex. I’m still trying to pick up on some tendencies. I really can’t see any. It’s hard to pick up on this offense, so it’s going to be really good for us in the fall.”
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