Clemson has questions to answer during spring football practice

It’s football time again.

Clemson gets back on the field Wednesday for the start of spring practice and a first step toward a return to the College Football Playoffs.

The Tigers were 10-3 last season with a bowl victory, 6-2 in the ACC, but failed to reach the conference title game and the playoffs for the first time in six years. They have a new offensive coordinator in Brandon Streeter and new defensive coordinators in Wes Goodwin and Mickey Conn. Goodwin, who has never been a position coach, will be calling the plays.

There are other important questions that coaches need to address this spring. Here are four of those:

How good is freshman Cade Klubnik?

Clemson has the No. 1-ranked quarterback recruit in the country, and he graduated early from high school to join the Tigers in January.

Speculation is that Klubnik might be able to push returning starter D.J. Uiagalelei ahead or even to the side. Uiagalelei struggled for much of last season as the sophomore heir apparent to Trevor Lawrence was never challenged for his job because the Tigers simply didn’t have anybody better. Behind him were Taisun Phommachanh (in the transfer portal since December) as well as former walk-ons Hunter Helms and Billy Wiles. Former Clemson backup Hunter Johnson has returned as a grad student, but he was initially just interested in coaching.

Klubnik (6-foot-2, 185) was player of the year in Texas and guided his team to three consecutive state championships. It would be surprising if he is able to pull anywhere near Uiagalelei this spring or become a serious threat to start by the Sept. 5 season-opener at Georgia Tech. Just moving into the No. 2 job would be an accomplishment. But all that is possible.

Uiagalelei (6-5, 250) has apparently lost considerable weight during the offseason to add maneuverability. There have been glowing reviews of how he has looked at a couple of quarterback camps. He seems motivated, whether or not by the arrival of Klubnik, to finally reach potential. If the freshman is as good as advertised, Uiagalelei might not get as many chances to fail next season.

Fallen stars: Fallen stars: Clemson football had high hopes for these 4-star players who left

Who can be quarterback of defense?

James Skalski played middle linebacker at Clemson for six years and was a defensive coach on the field, vocal and inspirational leader, for the past three.

What happens without him is not yet clear. The two players who were behind Skalski on the depth chart, Jake Venables and Kane Patterson, are also gone. So is Baylon Spector, who played beside Skalski and had some of the same leadership traits.

Trenton Simpson is the team’s best returning linebacker. He was the third-leading tackler behind Skalski and Spector. Simpson, a junior, is at his best on the strong edge. The backups across all three spots were cross-trained, so it could be any of them taking charge in the middle.

Clemson has other possibilities among the seasoned veterans. Keith Maguire filled in for an injured Skalski during the Cheez-It Bowl against Iowa State and had six tackles. LaVonta Bentley filled in for Spector against Georgia Tech and was named ACC defensive player of the week. Maguire and Bentley are both fourth-year juniors.

Sophomores Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter are talented but both seem too inexperienced for the Skalski role and better suited on the outside anyway.

Who plugs holes at guard and center?

Clemson played musical chairs at left guard and center last season and the only clear answer to both, Hunter Rayburn, was forced to end his playing career earlier this month because of a neck injury.

The Tigers changed the left guard six times with four players and had three different centers. Mason Trotter, a junior from Dorman High School, recovered from a broken hand suffered in preseason to start seven games. He’s somewhat undersized at 285 pounds but an overachiever who could take that position full-time. Third-year sophomore Trent Howard was Trotter’s backup in the regular-season finale after Rayburn went to guard.

Clemson needs sophomore Marcus Tate (6-5, 325) to separate himself at left guard and he could be able to do that after an up-and-down rookie year. He started immediately but was benched twice before ending up there again by the end of the regular season.

The Tigers are set at left tackle with senior Jordan McFadden (Dorman) and right tackle with junior Walker Parks as well as senior Will Putnam at right guard.

Depth is full of unproven talent. Second-year freshman Dietrick Pennington played four snaps last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The Tigers have four-star signees Collin Sadler and Blake Miller already in camp and their progress is much-needed. John Williams played seven snaps in 2020 as a freshman and missed all of last season because of injury. Tristan Leigh and Ryan Linthicum combined for 27 snaps last season, only playing against South Carolina State and UConn.

Related: Clemson football offensive line has holes with 'Putty' Hunter Rayburn's career ending early

How do Tigers replace NFL corners?

With Andrew Booth Jr. and Mario Goodrich off to NFL, Clemson will have new starters at cornerback.

Booth left early because he is a projected first-round draft pick in April and Goodrich played so well last season that he bumped his stock up into a third-round possibility. Sheridan Jones will take one starting spot. Despite the NFL talent in front of him, Jones forced his way in there for more than 400 snaps with an interception and four pass break-ups.

The other starter and second-line depth will take shape this spring with returning players in junior Fred Davis and sophomore Nate Wiggins leading the way. Neither had much action last season, however. Junior Malcom Greene has carved out a role as the nickel back or extra linebacker.

Clemson has a couple of four-star freshmen already on campus, and they could both make immediate impacts. Jaedyn Lukus from Mauldin High and Toriano Pride from St. Louis were consensus top 50 national recruits ranked fifth and sixth at cornerback, respectively, by 247Sports. Lukus (6-2, 185) was a five-star by some evaluations. Pride (5-11, 185) had offers from Alabama and Ohio State.

Read More: Andrew Booth's NFL draft projections too high for him to return to Clemson

Also: Clemson's Mario Goodrich, Cheez-It Bowl MVP, example why Dabo Swinney dislikes transfer portal

IMPORTANT DATES

March 16: Scrimmage

March 17: Pro Day

March 20-26: Spring break, no practice

March 30: Scrimmage

April 9: Orange and White Game

Todd Shanesy writes about Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY network. Please subscribe to read all the coverage.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football needs to answer questions during spring practice