Clemson lineman looking for continuity in O-line

Tate is looking for continuity out of the offensive line.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Sat Oct 21 11:15:05 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Clemson's offensive line has dealt with significant injuries threatening their continuity this season. Junior offensive lineman Marcus Tate, going into his third season, explained why continuity is so important for an O-line.

“You want to have that continuity as an offensive line and be able to know what your players are doing right next to you without having to really pay attention to what he’s doing,” Tate said.

Clemson is No. 51 in the FBS in passing offense, averaging 249.2 passing yards per game. With the running back duo of Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, it was expected that Clemson might have one of the best rushing games in the country. This also has not come to fruition since the Tigers are No. 30 in the FBS in rushing offense. However, as Tate describes, it is not all gloom and doom.

“A big thing I think we’re doing really well is protecting the quarterback. I think we’ve really protected the quarterback well this year,” Tate said. “We obviously got areas to improve, especially in the run game with technique and stuff. But I think we’re doing that. We’re attacking practice with a right mindset every day, and I think we’re hungrier as we get into this part of the season.”

Protecting the quarterback could also be improved since the Tigers are allowing an average of 1.5 sacks per game, No. 32 in the FBS.

Given the injuries and the inconsistent performance by the offense this season, Clemson’s game versus Miami on Saturday (8 p.m./ACC Network) will, in all likelihood, eliminate them from contention for the ACC Championship if they are not victorious. Even with that on the land, Tate argues that Coach Swinney’s philosophy of a one-game season is still the mindset of the players on the team.

“Even if we were undefeated, I think we’d play the game the same way. Even if we were already eliminated, I still think we’d play the game the same way. It’s a one-game season for us,” Tate said. “We just got to focus on winning this game. No other game is more important than the one that we’re playing this week.”

Second-year quarterback Cade Klubnik has certainly struggled in the first six weeks of the season. The air raid offense that offensive coordinator Garrett Riley brought to Clemson was thought to be something that Klubnik would benefit from. Instead, he is No. 47 in passing touchdowns in the FBS with 11, which is one shy of quarterback Chandler Morris over at Riley’s former school and also three less than where Uiagalelei was at this point last season. Still, Tate and the rest of the offense see improvements from Klubnik every game.

“He’s just continued to stand there, stay poised. I think he makes a lot of exceptional plays that you just don’t (see) everybody make,” Tate said. “He’s improving each game, and that’s one thing, you got to appreciate a player that does that.”