On October 13th, 2017, the Syracuse Orange defeated the #4 ranked Clemson Tigers in the Carrier Dome, delivering the Tigers their first loss following the 2016 national championship, and cementing the reputation of of second year head coach Dino Babers as the leader of a team that should never be overlooked. This was the first loss of the Kelly Bryant era – an era of somewhat muted dominance, where the athletic talent of the Tigers never failed to shine through, but the skill and overall cohesion was lacking; this was one of the first Etienne games, and while he was electric as always, scoring a phenomenal 52 yard touchdown that simply seemed too easy, a staple of Etienne’s skillset.
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=21015565
However, Etienne only had five carries all game, as he simply could not hold up consistently on passing downs and blocking situations. To give you an example of the dearth of talent (compared to the ridiculous standards set by today’s Tigers) on Clemson’s offense in 2017, let’s break down some statistics produced by the team.
| Pos | Name | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int |
| QB | Kelly Bryant | 262 | 398 | 65.8 | 2802 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 13 | 8 |
While an effective quarterback, and a phenomenal individual, it is clear that this was a drastic dip in quarterback production, at least from a passing perspective. Kelly B was electric at times, and I was always confident in his ability to dominante weak opponents, but it was pretty clear that the offensive staff was trying to shelter Kelly as much as possible, to limit the offense to fit his strengths and weaknesses. This is in clear contrast to how the offense evolved under Deshaun Watson before him, and Trevor Lawrence after; with both, the offensive co-coordinators Jeff Scott and Tony Elliot have been able to gradually expand the playbook, creating new and innovative looks, schemes, and options for the QB and unlocking new avenues for their offensive weapons to succeed. Under Bryant, the play calling had to instead be tamped down, in a sense locked to the limited avenues in which Bryant could succeed.
However, it is hard to rest the blame for the overall unproductive offensive season in 2017 squarely on the shoulders of Kelly Bryant. To further illustrate how far Clemson has come in terms of offensive talent since the ‘17 season, let’s look further into the season stats for that team.
First, the leading rushers on the 2017 team.
| Rk | Name | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 1 | Kelly Bryant | 192 | 665 | 3.5 | 11 |
| 2 | Travis Etienne | 107 | 766 | 7.2 | 13 |
| 3 | Tavien Feaster | 107 | 669 | 6.3 | 7 |
| 4 | Adam Choice | 67 | 326 | 4.9 | 6 |
Generally, having your quarterback as your far and away leader in rushing attempts is not a positive sign, unless we’re talking about Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald or a similar high-volume, high-production quarterback with a strong offensive line and a very limited RB/WR group. Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster are not what I would call “limited talents.” While I did mention Etienne’s struggles as a passing back, and while Feaster has not quite proven himself as the five star prospect he came into college as, (Feaster transferred to USC over the previous offseason, where he now splits carries with de facto starter Rico Dowdle) it is still pretty jarring to see just how drastic the dependence on Bryant’s running ability was. To be fair, Kelly Bryant is an effective runner, and the strategy of using him as almost a lead back certainly worked to an extent, as evidenced by his 11 touchdowns and Clemson’s third consecutive CFB playoff appearance. But it seemed clear to me at the time that the backs we had were underutilized, that the dependence on Kelly B’s rushing attack was too great – we needed to start cultivating our young backs if they were ever going to be truly successful. Thankfully, our runningback situation panned out pretty well despite the limited carries bestowed upon the group, but again, it calls into contrast just how weak the offensive talent was in comparison to this season, or the ‘16 season that preceded the one in discussion.
And to be fair, Kelly B was one hell of a rushing QB. Here’s an example – the first score of the Boston College game in 2017 (sorry for the poor angle)
Let’s take a look now at our receiving leaders in the 2017 season. Remember, this is a team that is perceived as the modern “Wide Receiver University,” (WRU for short) and for good reason too. Just consider the WR talent already in the NFL – DeAndre Hopkins, (who could easily be argued as the best receiver in the league right now) former #4 overall pick Sammy Watkins, newly paid Adam Humphries, (who hardly played at Clemson) recent #7 overall pick Mike Williams, rookie Hunter Renfrow, the now forgotten Martavis Bryant – even Deon Cain has shown promise as an NFL talent. Now consider the stats of our receiving leaders in 2017:
| Rk | Name | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 1 | Hunter Renfrow | 60 | 602 | 10.0 | 3 |
| 2 | Deon Cain | 58 | 734 | 12.7 | 6 |
| 3 | Ray-Ray McCloud | 49 | 503 | 10.3 | 1 |
| 4 | Amari Rodgers | 19 | 123 | 6.5 | 0 |
| 5 | Milan Richard | 18 | 210 | 11.7 | 1 |
| 6 | Tee Higgins | 17 | 345 | 20.3 | 2 |
| 7 | Diondre Overton | 14 | 178 | 12.7 | 0 |
| 8 | Tavien Feaster | 12 | 112 | 9.3 | 1 |
| 9 | Trevion Thompson | 11 | 94 | 8.5 | 0 |
| 10 | Cornell Powell | 8 | 57 | 7.1 | 1 |
I included the full top 10 in receptions because I think it is worthwhile to get the full picture of just how futile our WR squad was this season. Amari Rodgers and Tee Higgins were both true freshmen this year, hence the lack of integration into the offense – Clemson has been very hesitant to play true freshman receivers, with only Sammy Watkins and Justyn Ross really making an impact the second they stepped on campus. Deon Cain was the bonafide stud on this year’s team; last season he was 6th on the team in receptions with 38, but 3rd in yards with a pretty incredible 724 yards (meaning he was averaging 19 yards per catch) as well as 2nd on the team with 9 receiving touchdowns. Cain was a burner, a tremendous athlete who was a five star recruit coming into college. So often in that 2016 season, when the defense had keyed in on Mike Williams, or were worried about Wayne Gallman bursting through the defensive line, or Deshaun scrambling for a first down, would Deon Cain suddenly burst down the sideline and explode for a touchdown that completely opened up the field for the rest of the offense. Here’s an example of such a play in the 2016 matchup of #3 Louisville and #5 Clemson:
Unfortunately, he was not part of the 2016 national championship team; he and two others were sent home for reportedly failing drug tests prior to the semifinal game versus Oklahoma. Nonetheless, the sky was the limit for Cain coming into 2017, and although he would no longer have the benefit of one of the greatest QB’s to come through college in Deshaun Watson, he was now to be the featured receiver – Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett, and Artavis Scott had all moved on to the NFL, and the only other blue chip prospects on the roster were the true freshmen I mentioned earlier, Rodgers and Higgins.
So what exactly happened to Deon Cain in 2017? To be quite honest, I’m still not sure. There were entire games where he seemed to simply disappear, totaling three games with only three receptions, as well as another three games with a mere two receptions. Cain only totaled six touchdowns all season, all in separate games, two against the Citadel and Kent State. In the playoff game against the eventual champion Alabama, Cain caught six balls for 75 yards – a respectable performance, but simply one without much impact. It seemed clear after the 2017 season that Deon Cain was not the potential #1 option he had been pegged as, but an excellent #3 option that is able to break off explosive down the field TD’s when the top two options are able to draw the attention of the defense. Cain was drafted as such, going in the 6th round to the Indianapolis Colts. As I mentioned before, I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest to see Cain have a successful career in the NFL; he was always a guy with pro level athleticism, and while he had a few notable drops in his time with Clemson, he always had a knack for beating his guy down the field in man-to-man coverage, and generally had good enough hands to finish the play. But he was simply in the wrong situation in 2017, placed in the wrong role and being targeted by the wrong quarterback; for all of Kelly Bryant’s strengths, the deep ball was always seemed to be a struggle for him. And when Cain wasn’t able to fill in as a proper #1 WR, it meant that the focus turned to the guy who had thrived as the secondary or tertiary option the past couple of years – Hunter Renfrow. As disappointing as season it was for Cain, it was equally so for Renfrow, though the explanation is much simpler. Renfrow is a skilled slot receiver, able to find the pockets in the defense just large enough to fit a pass into. But as defenses realized they did not need to truly key in on Cain, they pressed harder on Renfrow, and made his life a living hell. Yes, he was able to put up 600 yards, but no longer was he the touchdown threat that torched Alabama in back-to-back championship games in 2015 and 2016. The entire Clemson offense was simply a star short. One Mike Williams, or prime Tee Higgins or Justyn Ross away from unlocking the role players on the roster.
When I opened a blank document in which to write this article, I originally intended to talk about the game this past weekend. I was going to briefly overview the loss in ‘17, the comeback win in ‘18, and use that as the launching grounds for my discussion on the ‘19 game. But I quickly realized I had a lot more to say on that 2017 Clemson team than I originally realized. Despite being a student at Clemson for two national championship victories, I value that ‘17 season as much as any other that I was a part of. Not because we won some games, not because we made a third consecutive playoff, not because we beat our rivals down south yet again – all of that was fun of course, but what really stuck with me was the tension. The struggle. The fight to win each and every game, half of which weren’t decided until far later into the match than one would have expected prior to the game. It resulted in some of the most memorable sports plays in my life. Kelly B and the Gang were my idols, the lovable squad of goofballs and jokesters. You may have noticed that throughout this entire piece, I never really mentioned the defense. That wasn’t particularly intentional, though I would say it is somewhat insightful in retrospect. Yes, all four of the star defensive linemen were on this team. In fact, it was after the 2017 season that three of the four (Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, and Austin Bryant) made the decision to return for their senior year to compete one last time for a national championship. Certainly there is a story to tell on that side of the ball. I’m sure you can imagine how much pressure was placed on the defense due to the down-tick in offensive production – so many games with scoreless first quarters. But 2017 wasn’t the story of Clemson’s incredibly iconic defensive four – their story was told much more eloquently in 2018. No, 2017 was the story of Kelly B, and Deon Cain, and Ray-Ray McCloud. The players who won’t go down in the history books. That season was about the players who will never see their names in the Clemson Tiger Ring of Honor. Because while they may not have won a title themselves, you can be damn sure they were the impetus for the title next season. Go ahead, say it if you want to. Tell me Kelly B is a coward for transferring schools, that he bailed on his team, that he is weak-minded and couldn’t handle being beat out. I don’t care. Kelly B put on a show in 2017, and he and the offense he captained may not have been the best, but they were Tigers, and they acted like it. The unity in that locker room was evident. The culture that Dabo Swinney has built at Clemson is contagious, it seeps into every crack and crevice on that campus. It embeds itself in your mind, infects the way you think. Kelly B and the Gang may not have been ground zero for the Tiger Fever this school has fallen prey to, but they were absolutely its pallbearers.
There’s an old Dabo quote floating around out there about the foundation of the culture at Clemson, and how it started not in 2016, but with the guys years before – with CJ Spiller, with Tahj Boyd, with Sammy Watkins, with Andre Ellington, with Adam Humphries – and yes, with Kelly Bryant. And Ray-Ray McCloud. And Adam Choice. These names may never end up hanging up in Death Valley, but I guarantee they will remain in the hearts and minds of diehard Clemson fans for eternity. Just as old shamans passed on tales of the history and heritage of a culture, we as Clemson fans have the responsibility to pass on the tales of the Clemson greats. As the years go on, and Clemson continues to add five star after five star, signing Trevor Lawrence, and DJ Uiagalelei, and Bryan Breese, bringing in what looks to be pretty easily the top recruiting class of 2020 – it is up to us to carry on the tales of Tigers past. Yes, cherish Trevor. Appreciate the greatness of Justyn Ross while we get to experience it. But the brand that is Clemson football has exploded the past few years, and exponentially so since this past dominant national championship over the Crimson Tide. We as Clemson fans must continue to pass down the legacy of the teams that came before this current iteration. Like anything in life, to truly appreciate what we are experiencing, we must always remember where we came from. For me, and for Clemson football fans, 2017 is our heritage. It is our history. And while I fully expect to look back years from now and see a crystal clear image of the playoff runs in both 2016 and 2018, I truly hope I never forget the season sandwiched in there. Kelly B and the Goon Squad will never be inscribed in plaques or carved as statues. So we must pass on their memory another way. I choose to do so in writing.
For those of you who bore with me to this point, I want to thank you for your patience and ability to read through an inordinate amount of rambling. This piece has been a joy to write, and I now feel the itch to write more and more about my Tigers in the coming weeks. I look forward to putting out more Clemson content that further contextualizes what this program has become. Growing up in Upstate South Carolina, watching little old rural Clemson turn into a national landmark has been a sight to behold. I know the football team isn’t going out there playing in pastures, but it is really difficult to picture the town of Clemson becoming the brand it is today. It has been such an extraordinary journey to follow, and after watching as a fan for a decade, I now wish to share the same story with whatever audience wants to hear it. I look forward to diving deeper into my research of the school, the team, and the players to produce the best Clemson football related content being published. Again, thanks y’all for reading, and I wish you the best with the rest of your day.
Well unless you’re a Gamecocks fan, in which case I hope your day is only slightly above average. Ha!
Hird It Here Sports 