Midseason Recap: Clemson Superlatives

Surprise players, big impacts and improved numbers are reasons why No. 4 Clemson is 6-0 halfway through the 2022 campaign.

Jason Priester/All Clemson

No. 4 Clemson is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the ACC in the first half of the 2022 season. 

There are a lot of reasons for the Tigers' success thus far. Here's a look at midseason superlatives for a team that's in prime position for a return to the ACC title game heading into their final league road game of the year on Saturday at Florida State:

Midseason MVP: DJ Uiagalelei 

This is an easy one. What Uiagalelei has done in the first six games has made Clemson a bonafide College Football Playoff contender and made last year's struggles an afterthought. Uiagalelei is completing 63.9% of his passes for 1,462 yards and 14 touchdowns. He's thrown just two interceptions and rushed for 311 yards and three more scores. His newfound confidence has become infectious throughout the team.

Biggest defensive impact: Barrett Carter

A real positionless player, Carter has lined up at the line of scrimmage and blitzed. He's dropped back into coverage and defended receivers and tight ends. He's chased down ball carriers the rare times they've gotten to the next level. He's second on the team with 29 tackles and fifth with 3.5 tackles for a loss. His versatility has allowed DC Wes Goodwin to get creative with how he uses the rest of his players. 

Biggest offensive impact: Davis Allen 

Players and coaches rave about what Allen has brought to this offense in 2022. He's a reliable target in the passing game with 15 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those scores came in the critical win at Wake Forest, including the go-ahead score in double OT. Allen's also on of the best blockers Clemson's had in the Dabo Swinney era, and he lines up all over the field. Defenses have to find him and account for him on each snap. That's opened up several things in the playbook. 

Most improved: Marcus Tate

Swinney said the play of Tate, the starting left guard, from his freshman season of 2021 until now is "night and day." At times last year, he was a liability, but Clemson was so short on bodies that he had to learn to play at this level. Now, he's one of the most consistent blockers the Tigers have, and all those trials have paid off. Tate's going to be a big part of this offense for quite a while, and his big improvement has helped Clemson's front protect Uiagalelei and not have to worry about constant shakeups. 

Top freshman: Antonio Williams

Nobody on the team has more catches (22) than Williams, who didn't even join the team until the summer. Missing spring ball didn't hurt his progression, and he's turned into the starting slot receiver. Many people expected Adam Randall to be the breakout freshman of 2022, but Williams has made a big play in seemingly every game this season. He's ultra competitive and has great instincts for a young player. That's why he's made a huge impact. 

Glue guy: KJ Henry

This defensive end is doing it all. Not only is he one of the best pressure producers in the country, Henry's also become an instrumental leader on this talented front. He's a face-of-the-program kind of guy, and while Xavier Thomas and Bryan Bresee were out and Myles Murphy was playing through some inconsistencies, Henry has held this defensive line together. He's tied for the team lead in tackles for a loss with 5.5. This is why he came back to Clemson for one more year, and he's making the most of it. 

FBS leaders in QB pressures over the past two weeks:

🐘 Will Anderson Jr - 16
🐅 K.J. Henry - 16 pic.twitter.com/34v7OyB1AC

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 12, 2022

Most reliable: Will Shipley

Before the season began, there was one known Alpha on offense: Shipley. He's lived up to that through the first six games. He's third in the ACC with eight rushing touchdowns, and he had three consecutive games with two scores in each while the offense found its footing. He's money from inside the 10-yard line and plays with incredible effort on every carry. Knowing what they're going to get out of him each week has greatly helped the Tigers prepare and grow. 

Best coaching job: Brandon Streeter

There are several candidates for this one as Kyle Richardson and Thomas Austin have brought something important to the tight end and offensive line rooms, respectively. But Streeter has been the one to bring it all together in his first season as Clemson's offensive coordinator. He'll routinely praise the staff for their contributions in game planning each week. However, Streeter has the pressure of calling plays and making adjustments on Saturdays, and based on the Tigers averaging 39.3 points per game in the first half, he's doing a nice job. 

Primed for big second half: Xavier Thomas

If six plays against Boston College is any indication of what Thomas can bring to this defense, it's going to be a really difficult second half of the year for opposing quarterbacks. He produced four pressures, two sacks and two forced fumbles in his season debut. And that's while still nursing a surgically-repaired foot that forced him to the opposite side of the line that he's used to, but when Clemson needs somebody to go all out on third down and hunt the QB, he's the guy they're going to turn to more times than not. 

Best play: Bootleg to put NC State away

This was a Swinney special. The head coach went with his gut, knew the Wolfpack defense was going to sell out on the run on a key third down deep in their own territory. So Swinney told Phil Mafah to sell that he took a handoff from Uiagalelei, while the QB snuck out to the left side of the field and run unabated to the end zone for a touchdown that put the Tigers up 30-13 in their top-15 matchup. 

Best victory: Wake Forest

There's no doubt which game meant the most. If the Tigers don't find a way to hit big play after big play and then get one huge defensive stop in double overtime, the mood of this season is vastly different. Instead of sitting high in the AP Top 25 and in the driver's seat of the ACC Atlantic, they'd be playing with the pressure of having to win out and hope Wake Forest drops a couple of games. But Clemson won the game and proved it could win a shootout and rely on its offense. That's worth a ton. 

Most impressive stat: Red-zone conversions

Clemson's been really good or solid in several categories this season, including third-down conversions on offense and rushing yards allowed on defense, but the efficiency inside the 20-yard line is the reason why the Tigers are putting so many more points on the scoreboard this year. They are one of four teams in FBS to have a 100% conversion rate in the red zone. Clemson has scored on all 32 attempts, and it's produced the third-most touchdowns in the red zone as well. 

Most disappointing stat: Passing defense

The Tigers rank 95th nationally in passing yards per game allowed. Giving up 256 yards per game has not set well with this unit. Much of those yards came against Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest. The Tigers have been better of late, and lack of health and bodies has certainly played a major role, but who would've thought at this point of the year that Clemson would've allowed 25 passing plays of 20+ yards, second-most in the ACC?

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