Tigers' offensive line source of concern during scrimmage

CLEMSON — At some point in the 2008 season, Tommy Bowden thinks his offensive line will mesh and become an even better group than last year's line.

He's just not sure when that point will come. And with Clemson's season opener against Alabama getting closer every day, the more uncomfortable this uncertainty becomes.

"I like the talent," Bowden said of his line, which is missing four starters from last year. "We feel real good about their ability. It's just the experience."

Or the lack thereof. The 10-man two-deep has a total of 16 career starts from players at their current positions. And center Thomas Austin has 12 of them. Tackles Cory Lambert and Chris Hairston have one start apiece, and that's only because the guys in front of them were being disciplined in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Bowden viewed Monday's scrimmage at Memorial Stadium as evidence of the shakiness up front. The first-team line didn't get much work after the first drive, but the second-team unit struggled as Bowden and offensive line coach Brad Scott got a long look at the Tigers' depth.

Second-team quarterback Willy Korn had little time to throw with defensive linemen regularly in his face. When he did get passes off, several were tipped at the line. Also, some first-down runs were stuffed for no gain or lost yardage.

In fairness to the offensive line, Clemson's defensive front has a decided advantage because it's older and much more experienced. But that didn't make Korn feel much better after the scrimmage.

"When it's first-and-10 and you run the football, you don't expect to lose yards. And that happened a couple of times today," he said. "That'll kill some drives when you're in second-and-15 and the defense knows you're going to throw the ball."

Said Bowden: "I wanted to try more field goals, but we went backwards and got out of field goal range."

Offensive coordinator Rob Spence said he loved the way his first-team line played on the first drive, which ended with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cullen Harper to Aaron Kelly. He said he was hesitant to render a judgment on the backups because there were so many substitutions taking place.

"When you start mixing and matching and playing with the chemistry, then you're going to have issues," he said. "But I'm very, very pleased with the first group."

The first group consists of Lambert and Hairston at tackle, and Austin at center. The two guard spots are drawing the most attention, with David Smith and Mason Cloy getting the first-team reps at the moment. Both are redshirt freshmen.

At one point, Cloy jumped offsides and was pulled to the sideline to do up-downs. At another, Smith was responsible for a sack.

"David Smith was a little late on one pass protection," Bowden said. "Was he late off the ball because he was indecisive on who to block? He's a smart guy, so we can teach him who to block. If that's a reason for penetration, that's one thing. If it's another, that's something else we'll look at."

Bowden says a firm judgment on his line will come only after coaches sit down for some film review following the conclusion of spring practice. The spring game is Saturday at 1 p.m.

But as of now, the coach seems genuinely skeptical of his line's ability to handle a load of responsibilities in the Aug. 30 opener against Alabama in Atlanta.

"The whole offense will really be determined by what they can handle," he said.

This and that

Freshman Da'Quan Bowers has moved ahead of Andre Branch to second-team defensive end behind Kevin Alexander ... Freshman Stanley Hunter has moved to weak-side linebacker, and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning says he's a serious contender for the starting spot occupied by junior Kavell Conner ... Receiver Marquan Jones, another freshman early enrollee, had seven catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns ... Defensive starters Rashaad Jackson and Chris Clemons missed the scrimmage because of class ... Jeremy Campbell has moved back to strong-side linebacker from the weak side ... Chris Chancellor intercepted a pass by Harper ... The Tigers scrimmage again Wednesday.

Reach Larry Williams at lwilliams@postandcourier.com and check out the new Clemson blog at www.charleston.net/blogs/tiger_tracks/