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Dabo Swinney's biggest Clemson football spring practice issues, including RB1 competition
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- Dabo Swinney's biggest Clemson football spring practice issues, including RB1 competition
CLEMSON — Clemson football won the ACC championship and reached the CFP last year despite facing multiple issues.
The Tigers earned their 13th 10-win season under coach Dabo Swinney in 2024 despite needing Syracuse to upset Miami in the final week of the regular season to push them to the conference title game and making a walk-off field goal in the ACC championship to make the College Football Playoff.
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Clemson has greater expectations for the 2025 season and must improve in a variety of areas to make it back to the CFP. Here are four issues Clemson must address this spring and the rest of the offseason:
Will hiring Tom Allen from Penn State help run defense?
Clemson was 50th in the nation in scoring defense (23.4 points) and 69th in total defense (374.1 yards) last season. Its biggest flaw was the run defense, allowing 160.6 yards per game (84th). Its inability to stop the run contributed to Swinney hiring Tom Allen from Penn State to replace former defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin .
Under Allen, the Nittany Lions were No. 8 in the nation in scoring defense (16.5 points) and No. 7 in total defense (294.8 yards) in FBS last year. Most significant, Penn State was ninth against the run, allowing 101.9 yards.
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Clemson has a talented defense filled with future NFL draftees, like defensive lineman T.J. Parker and defensive tackle Peter Woods , and it hopes Allen is the man who can return the Tigers ' defense back to prominence starting this spring.
Finding who replaces Phil Mafah at running back
Clemson lost six starters from last season, meaning there are open spots available. They are likely fill-ins expected for some positions, including linebacker and defensive tackle, but other positions will battle in the spring .
One key battle is for No. 1 running back with Phil Mafah departing. Jay Haynes, Keith Adams Jr., Jarvis Green , David Eziomume, wide receiver Adam Randall and 2025 signee Gideon Davidson will vie for that spot.
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Another is free safety with R.J. Mickens going pro. Tyler Venables, Kylon Griffin and Ricardo Jones eye that role. The last starting position battle will be at left guard with Harris Sewell and Collin Sadler battling for Marcus Tate's former position.
MORE: Five Clemson football players Dabo Swinney will watch closely during spring practice
Receiver rotation behind Antonio Williams , Bryant Wesco, TJ Moore
Clemson had a similar problem last spring when wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore joined the group. Both emerged in the offseason to carve out a role in the 2024 season. With both returning alongside Antonio Williams, they will likely lead Clemson's wide-receiver unit.
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Still, Clemson boasts depth behind them with Tyler Brown , Cole Turner and transfer Tristan Smith , who has one year of eligibility remaining. Swinney and his staff must figure out whether Williams, Wesco and Moore will dominate receiver snaps similar to last season, or will Brown, Turner and Smith play meaningful snaps.
Fix blocked kicks problem. Clemson led nation with 8
Clemson tied for the FBS lead in blocked kicks allowed with eight. The Tigers had seven field goals blocked and one point-after-attempt deflected.
Last offseason, kicking was an issue, so Clemson signed Nolan Hauser . Now, it must shore up its field-goal protection this spring by building solid habits that can pay dividends when the season starts.
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Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney: Clemson football spring practice 2025 top issues
