Here is a scouting report on No. 5-ranked Clemson, who hosts No. 10-ranked NC State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC.
Five Clemson players to watch
Senior defensive tackle Tyler Davis
Clemson’s defense just seems better when he’s on the field, but that has been a mixed bag the last three years, including missing last year's loss at NC State. The 6-1, 290-pounder has seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks (both against Wake Forest) in two games this season. He has played in 32 games in four years, accumulating 87 tackles, 19.5 tackels for loss and 11.5 sacks. Davis was a Rivals.com four-star prospect out of Apopka (Fla.) Wekiva High in the class of 2019.
Senior kicker B.T. Potter
Potter has made all seven field-goal attempts this season with a long of 52 yards, and all 19 extra-point attempts. He is 60 of 78 on field goals in his career, with eight that were at least 50 yards, and he has 204-of-205 on extra points. Potter was a Rivals.com three-star kicker out of Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe High in the class of 2018.
Sophomore running back Will Shipley
Shipley has rushed 52 times for 353 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry this season. He also has six catches for 43 yards this season. The 5-11, 205-pounder has topped 100 yards twice, including 20 carries for 104 yards and a score against Wake Forest last Saturday. The former NC State recruiting target was a Rivals.com four-star prospect out of Matthews (N.C.) Weddington High.
Junior weakside linebacker Trenton Simpson
The 6-3, 240-pound Simpson looked like a future Division I running back or linebacker in college while playing for Charlotte Mallard Creek. Settling on linebacker was definitely the right choice. He has a team-high 26 tackles and one forced fumble in four games this season. Simpson has 119 career tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in 25 career games. Simpson was a Rivals.com five-star prospect out of Mallard Creek in the class of 2020.
Junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei
Uiagalelei has answered the critics through the first four games. He has gone 83-of-129 passing for 1,033 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception, plus 41 carries for 169 yards and a score. The 6-4, 235-pounder lit up Wake Forest for 371 passing yards and five touchdowns, plus rushed 14 times for 52 yards. Uiagalelei was a Rivals.com five-star prospect out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco in the class of 2020.
What to watch for from Clemson
1. DJ Uiagalelei playing more at ease. Uiagalelei is back to looking comfortable and he has more weapons around him with the emergence of tight ends Jake Briningstool and Davis Allen, true freshman slot receiver Antonio Williams and sophomore receiver Beaux Collins.
It’s only been four games, but Uiagalelei is completing 64.3 percent of his passes and has 10 touchdowns and one interception. Last year, he completed 55.6 percent and had nine passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Uiagalelei’s stats are more in line with what he did in 2020, when he filled in for Trevor Lawrence and threw for a combined 781 yards and four touchdowns, plus two rushing scores in back-to-back games against Boston College and at Notre Dame.
2. Secondary is in flux: Clemson played without preseason All-ACC sophomore strong safety Andrew Mukuba, senior cornerback Sheridan Jones and junior nickel Malcolm Greene.
It’s too early to know if any of them will play against NC State for sure, but the Tigers under former NC State defensive backs coach coach Mike Reed got torched by Wake Forest last week. Mukuba had 47 tackles and seven passes defended in 13 games last year, Jones had 20 stops and an interception and Greene chipped in 12 tackles.
Louisiana Tech quarterback Parker McNeil went 23-fo-42 passing for 311 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions Sept. 17. Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman went 20-of-29 passing for 337 yards and six touchdowns. WFU went after touted freshman Toriano Pride Jr., sophomore Nate Wiggins and junior Fred Davis II.
3. Expect a lot of Will Shipley. Clemson sophomore running back Will Shipley was expecting to get some help this season, but it hasn’t happened through the first four games.
Clemson was hoping junior Kobe Pace and sophomore Phil Mafah would form a rotation with Shipley, but that arrangement is very much a work in progress. Mafah hasn’t rushed for more than 30 yards in a game this season, and Pace had a season-high 25 against Furman.
Shipley hasn’t been too much of a workhorse either, but that shows the trust in Uiagalelei. Shipley carried the ball 32 times in the first three games, and then stepped it up to 20 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. New year, new game plan. It is easy to say why doesn’t NC State use the same offensive game plan as a year ago in the 27-21 double-overtime victory Sept. 25, 2021, in Carter-Finley Stadium. Now, part of that might ring true with a veteran returning Wolfpack defense, but the Tigers offense is much different. However, so is NC State’s when looking back.
NC State didn’t complete a pass longer than 22 yards a year ago, but then Super Senior wide receiver Emeka Emezie worked underneath for 14 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Running backs Ricky Person and Zonovan Knight combined for 44 carries for 170 yards, and they are both gone.
NC State redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary does return and he went 32-of-44 passing for 238 yards and four scores in the win. Junior wide receiver Devin Carter had five catches for 54 yards and two scores, and senior wide receiver Thayer Thomas added five receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown last year.
2. NC State’s defense will need to rise up. Take out the two overtime periods and NC State held Clemson to 14 points last year. It proved to be a wake-up call for Clemson offense, who made changes later in the season.
NC State will need to control the line of scrimmage and it starts with senior nose tackle Cory Durden, who had his breakout game with the Wolfpack against the Tigers last year. Durden, a Florida State graduate transfer, wrecked havoc in replacing a then injured C.J. Clark at nose tackle. He had six tackles and 1.5 sacks in his first career NC State start.
NC State’s front seven is healthy and has been terrific in stopping the run game this season. The Wolfpack are a little banged up at nickel in the secondary, but have plenty of experience at all three levels of the defense.
3. Test the Clemson secondary deep. Wake Forest tested Clemson’s injury-riddled secondary on numerous deep balls, and it wasn’t pretty. Clemson either gave up the reception or were called for a pass interference penalty in numerous cases.
NC State has some deep threats, but won’t go deep as often as the Wake Forest trio of A.T. Perry, Donovan Greene and Jahmal Banks, who are all between 6-2 and 6-5. Clemson finished with 10 penalties for 120 yards overall, with a good chunk coming on passing plays.
NC State has some perimeter speed, but might rely more on the short controlled passing game against the Tigers. Even so, going up top to 6-3 Devin Carter makes sense, and the Wolfpack typically like to take a shot downfield with sophomore speedster Anthony Smith.
Three numbers of note
8 Consecutive games that Clemson has finished even or positive in turnover margin dating back to last year. The Tigers haven't lost the turnover margin battle since at Louisville on Nov. 6, 2021.
33 Wins for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney against teams from the state of North Carolina, going 33-3. He's won 26 of the last 27 meetings since 2012, with NC State's big double-overtime victory the lone defeat during that stretch. The Wake Forest game was his 190th career game at Clemson, and he'll tie former North Carolina and Wake Forest coach Bill Dooley for third all-time as an ACC coach this upcoming Saturday.
277 Yards in the 2019 NCHSAA 3A state title game for Matthews (N.C.) Weddington running back Will Shipley in a 34-14 win over Sanford (N.C.) Lee County High at Carter-Finley Stadium. Shipley rushed 26 times for 256 yards and four scores, and caught one pass for seven yards. The rest of the team combined for 17 yards.
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