Clemson Spring Game: Rosters Breakdown
When Clemson kicks off the Orange and White Game on Saturday, we'll get our first look at the Garrett Riley era on offense. Cade Klubnik is now unquestionably the guy at quarterback, and the team has taken this spring practice as an opportunity to get him as comfortable as possible in the new system.
With that reasoning in mind, head coach Dabo Swinney elected to go with first-team and second-team units, instead of splitting up the talent at every position evenly between the two teams. The first-team offense will be on the white team with the second-team defense, while the first-team defense will lead the orange team with the second-team offense. So, we'll get a pseudo first look at what we could see these units look like this fall.
So, what can we infer from these rosters? See the rosters here. Probably not a ton. (Will Shipley is technically on the second-team offense. We all know that's not the case) Dabo Swinney said as much, mentioning that the only reason the team is going with the format this year is the rash of injuries they've faced. Defensive tackles coach Nick Eason will be the head coach for the Orange team while running backs coach CJ Spiller will head up the White team. With that said, there are still a few fun notes we can take from these units.
- Peter Woods is rolling with the first-team defense. The No. 1 ranked defensive lineman in the 2023 class per ESPN, Woods has had a great spring. He'll be paired up with Tyler Davis on the interior of the defensive line. This just continues his trend toward a lot of playing time this fall.
- Antonio Williams and Jake Briningstool paired with Cade Klubnik. Clemson is without a good amount of their top pass catchers, but that's presented an opportunity for some other guys to step up. Fresh off of a Freshmen All-American season, Williams will get a look as Clemson's WR1 on Saturday. As for Briningstool, the former 4-star prospect hauled in 4 touchdowns last year, and will now get his shot to be TE1 for the Tigers with the departure of Davis Allen.
- Christopher Vizzina and Paul Tyson paired together. Cade Klubnik will quarterback the white team along with Trent Pearman, while Vizzina and Tyson will be behind center for the orange. Now, Clemson puts their quarterbacks in non-contact purple jerseys for the spring game and therefore can use them on either of the teams, but if they stick to the rosters, two things will happen: A) Cade Klubnik is going to get a ton of snaps. B) Chris Vizzina and Paul Tyson will get equal opportunities to prove themselves as the backup quarterback.
How to Watch Clemson's Orange vs White Spring Game
- Gameday: Saturday, April 15th, 2023
- Game time: 1:00 pm ET
- TV: ACCNX
- Location: Memorial Stadium (Clemson, South Carolina)
- Live stream: Watch ESPN
- Commentators: Roy Philpott, Eric Mac Lain, Taylor Tannenbaum
- Listen: ClemsonTigers.com (Don Munson, Tim Bourret)
