Tony Elliott sees progress in the offense, but mistakes lead to continued struggles

Uiagalelei is hit on the sidelines during the game.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Oct 31 15:00:07 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Tony Elliott sees progress in his offense, but he knows more work has to be done.

The Clemson offense put together a solid first half with 248 total yards and 17 points but struggled in the second half with just 129 total yards and a late Will Shipley touchdown. The Tigers averaged seven yards per rush on 20 attempts in the first half, but they tallied just 2.1 yards per carry on 23 attempts in the second half.

“In the first half all but maybe one or two (drives) we had the opportunity to score points. BT (Potter, who missed three field goals) is going to bounce back,” Elliott said. “We love BT. He’s carried us this season. So we had a couple of opportunities where we were in position but didn’t finish. The biggest disappointment was the lack of consistency in the second half. I think that when we had a little mix-up and had to shuffle upfront, it threw off the timing and the rhythm just a little bit. But we were able to settle back in.”

Elliott thinks the late drive – going down the field to score the winning points – and the first half are things to build on.

"Definitely, I think the combination of the first half and when our backs were against the wall, to be able to score a touchdown to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game,” he said. “Those are going to be the things we really harp on. The guys are playing hard. Guys are playing banged up. I’m proud of Put (Will Putnam). Putnam is one of the toughest young men we have. He was playing on an ankle and came out for a little while but sucked it up.

“Shipley was battling, he’s coming off of his injury and he’s continuing to work through that. Obviously, 25 carries, you’re going to have other bumps and bruises.”

The mistakes, however, are still playing a huge role in the struggles of the offense.

"So there’s a lot of positives, but there’s still a lot of things we can clean up,” Elliott said. “We’ve got to get better on third down, we’ve got to eliminate the TFLs, we can’t give up sacks, we’ve got to make sure from a protection standpoint we’re giving our quarterback enough time. But there’s definitely enough positives to say, 'This is what we’re capable of.’ I think the guys are continuing to believe and they needed to have that success in the first half and that success there at the end of the game."

He did like the heart his players showed despite the adversity.

"I think some of the big runs, the yards after-contact or the plays that show the heart of this team, the heart of this offense,” he said. “All year long we’ve been saying they’ve got the will to win, now they just got to learn how to win. I thought some of the back-shoulder throws to Justyn Ross is what we needed to complete. We put the ball in the air and guys drew pass-interference calls. The play to Davis Allen-- we took a shot and threw a fade there to Davis Allen who made a big play. So those are some of the plays that stood out. Just guys finding a way to make a play. DJ (Uiagalelei) put the ball where it needed to be. Him and J Ross made some adjustments to be able to make those plays."