Football season is here, and Clemson is about to find out what Chad Morris can do with this offense a second time around.
The Tigers are set to get back in the building as a full team on Wednesday, then take the practice field for the first time on Thursday afternoon. There will be a brief media viewing, giving the first real look at a unit that enters August camp with plenty of curiosity around it.
Morris is back with Clemson for the first time since he left after the 2014 season, and the timing matters. In three years under Garrett Riley, Clemson finished below 30 points per game in both 2023 and 2025, while the 2024 team that reached the College Football Playoff averaged 34.7 points per game. The Tigers are hoping the return of Morris can help restore the kind of production that once made this offense a national problem.
That hope is rooted in what Clemson got the last time Morris ran the show. All four of his offenses averaged at least 30 points per game during his previous stint, and Dabo Swinney is clearly looking for some of that old spark from the 2012-2013 run when Morris and quarterbacks coach Tajh Boyd helped light up college football with tempo and aggressive downfield throwing.
This version of Clemson doesn’t have DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, but it does have proven weapons on the outside in Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore. The ingredients aren’t identical, and the offense probably won’t look exactly the same 15 years later, but Morris is bringing back a lot of the same ideas.
At the heart of it, his job is the same one he had before: fix the process, clean up the execution, and get Clemson’s offense operating the way Swinney believes it can.
In Other News...
Clemson Just Lost O-Line Depth Before Camp Even Began
Clemsons offensive line room took a hit before camp even got going, as Danny Stein is no longer part of the active roster after joining the Tigers this summer as a walk-on transfer from Furman. Stein was expected to provide depth as a backup and scout team player, the kind of role that matters over the course of a long season even if it never grabs much attention.
Instead, Stein will stay with the program in an off-field capacity while continuing to pursue his degree, giving Clemson one less body in the trenches but keeping him around the team environment. For a position group that can never really have enough depth, it is an early reminder that the margins on the offensive line can change quickly before a snap of fall camp is even taken. [Read more 🡒]
Dabo Swinney Enters Clemson Camp With Pressure Fans Can Feel
Clemson opens camp carrying a different kind of heat around Dabo Swinney, with the program coming off a 7-6 season in 2023, its first year without double-digit wins since 2010. Swinney is back for his 18th season, but the questions around him are louder than they have been in years, especially with betting markets setting modest expectations and the Tigers trying to reset under a new-look offense led by returning coordinator Chad Morris.
A big part of that reset starts at quarterback, where Christopher Vizzina appears to have the inside track and freshman Tait Reynolds is applying pressure in camp. The job battle adds another layer to a season already defined by scrutiny, because Clemson does not need a miracle to calm things down so much as a solid rebound and a clearer identity, with the real line between relief and real concern still sitting out there as the schedule unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Fall Camp Opens With One Brutal Loss And New Depth Questions
Fall camp opened with the kind of roster news no program wants to deliver, as Dabo Swinney went through a batch of injury updates that immediately changed the conversation around Clemsons early depth chart. The Tigers are already dealing with a few players working back into shape, including running back Peyton Streko after surgery and quarterback Chris Denson while he sits in a no-contact period with a hamstring injury, though Swinney said Denson is progressing well.
The more significant blow came on the defensive line and in the trenches, where Clemson will have to find answers sooner than expected. Swinney said defensive tackle Hevin Brown-Shuler is responding well to treatment, and true freshman offensive lineman Adam Guthrie has had surgery on a torn meniscus after also dealing with a lingering high school injury, leaving the Tigers with more depth questions to sort through as camp gets underway. [Read more 🡒]