Clemson Tigers Release Highly-Anticipated Depth Chart For Georgia Game

The Clemson Tigers finally released their depth chart for the season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

Clemson football Head Coach Dabo Swinney speaks during a press conference at the Smart Family Media Center in Clemson, S.C. Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Clemson plays University of Georgia at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia Saturday, August 31 at noon. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

True to their word, the No. 14 Clemson Tigers never released an official depth chart in advance of Saturday’s game with the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs.

Before the game, Clemson provided its game notes and announced it would wait until gameday to provide its depth chart. Georgia referred media to the Bulldogs’ game notes for help. Their game notes didn’t have a depth chart.

But, on Saturday morning, the suspense had to end. Flip cards had to be printed. Graphics had to be built for the game broadcast, which starts at noon eastern on ABC.

Clemson, finally, has a depth chart for the AFLAC Classic, set for Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as posted by The State on Saturday morning.

As promised, Clemson football’s initial depth chart for the 2024 season is available here in the press box

Of note: true freshman Bryant Wesco Jr. is a co-starter at one of the outside WR spots. True frosh T.J. Moore a co-backup at other outside WR spot pic.twitter.com/N6epowk8ME

— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) August 31, 2024

Clemson and Georgia fans now have a sense of how the Tigers will be aligned for Saturday’s game.

Some positions were never in question. Cade Klubnik was going to top the depth chart at quarterback. Same went for running Phil Mafah. On defense, Barrett Carter was going to top his position and the same went for defensive back R.J. Mickens.

There were other positions where Clemson likely wanted to play a little gamesmanship with and keep the Bulldogs in suspense for as long as possible.

The teams have changed a lot since they last met in 2021 in Charlotte. Georgia won that game, 10-3. Both teams have likely studied last year’s game film and the Tigers, aside from what it lost to the NFL and to the transfer portal in the offseason, haven’t changed much from a year ago.

This is a series that Georgia has long dominated, including a 28-game stretch from 1907-73 in which the Bulldogs went 24-2-2 against the Tigers. Georgia has a 43-18-4 record in a rivalry that dates back to 1897.

Clemson is coming off a 9-4 season that saw it win its final five games of last season, including a bowl victory. But the Tigers missed the College Football Playoff for the third straight season, an eternity for a program that made six appearances in the CFP in the former four-team playoff, including two national championships.

Georgia has lost two games in three years, with one of those losses coming in the SEC title game to Alabama and one that kept it out of the CFP for the third straight season. The Bulldogs won the 2021 and 2022 national titles and are the favorites to take the title this season.  

While the Tigers and Bulldogs are not playing every year like they used to, other matchups are scheduled. Clemson will host Georgia in 2029 and 2033 while Georgia will host Clemson in 2030 and 2032.