Clemson lineman expecting a fight against the Irish

This is Walker Parks' second game at Notre Dame in his career.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Nov 04 17:00:07 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Walker Parks loves the down-and-dirty part of playing on the offensive line, and that’s one of the reasons he is looking forward to playing at Notre Dame Saturday night – he knows it’s going to be a fight from start to finish.

Parks, the Tigers’ starting right tackle, and his teammates take on Notre Dame at 7:30 pm Saturday night (NBC) in Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish defeated Syracuse last Saturday, and Clemson defeated Syracuse two weeks ago before taking last week off.

Parks watched what Notre Dame did to the Orange and was impressed.

“Defense looked good. I thought they had a really good game. I watched film. I watched them all season. I have gone over the Ohio State game,” Parks said. “I haven’t been able to break down all of it yet. Interior, they have some good guys. They have a couple guys that I played in 2020 as a freshman the last time I played them. They have twitchy guys and big bodies too. You’ll get a mix of everything. They have experienced defensive ends too. I’m trying to think. They have some linebackers.

“(JD) Bertrand is a smart body and he’s all over the place. I think he leads the team in tackles. You got to watch out for him. (Marist) Liufau is a big Samoan linebacker. He fits the holes really well on gap schemes. I pull a lot on counter so I have to be ready for that. He is a really hard hitter. He’s knocked a few dudes on their butt. They looked good vs. Syracuse. I think they’ve looked good all season.”

In other words, Parks expects a fight from the 5-3 Irish.

Their record doesn’t reflect the team they are,” he said. “They are a really good team and it’s going to be a fight on Saturday. I think they are playing better. Going into Syracuse is very hard. That’s definitely the worst game I’ve ever played. I talked about that last year. I think it was a lack of preparation. Playing in that dome and how loud it is there, it’s insanely ridiculous. Anybody who has been there knows how loud it is. You can’t hear yourself think. Being able to go in that environment and play well, they have a confidence boost. We’re going to get everyone’s best shot. They’ve started playing better.

“I know they lost a couple of games but that doesn’t matter. We lost a few games last year and we were still a dominant team. You can’t count anyone out based on previous performances. They are coming off a good road win and they’ll be ready, but so will we.”

Parks remembers the last time Clemson visited Notre Dame – the Irish pulled off the upset in a 47-40 double-overtime victory. That memory of the Notre Dame fans rushing the field is not one Parks loves.

“I can’t wait. I love it. I think Notre Dame is a cool place. I actually went on a couple visits throughout high school. Cool place, cool atmosphere,” he said. “Last time we were there was Covid so you didn’t get the full experience, but it’s a really cool spot. We’re looking for a different outcome this year. It’s not a good feeling losing in double overtime and having them rush the field and put cameras in your face. Definitely working for a different outcome this year.”

Parks said he knows the Clemson offensive line will have its hands full with the Notre Dame front seven.

“I don’t think their record really reflects the team they have. They have a really good front,” he said. “Some of the defensive tackles, they’ve got Smith, he’s a bigger guy and he’ll try and bully you, (Jayson) Ademilola, who is a jump around guy, he has an arsenal of moves, he can go gap to gap, he’ll make you look stupid if you’re not ready. The backups are good too. (Isaiah) Foskey, I watched a good bit on him and I went against him my freshman year in South Bend and in the ACC championship. He’s a veteran, he’s been around. He’s got a good toolkit. He’s got moves and experience. We’ll have some opportunities to throw the ball but we have to take care of business up front. They walk the linebackers down in different packages. They twist and slant a bit and bring pressure inside, so we’ll have to be ready.

"It’ll be a battle Saturday night to protect each other’s quarterbacks.”