Swinney says Garrett Shrader creates problems with his running ability

Clemson got some hits on Shrader last season, but he did help lead a team with a lead in Death Valley going into the fourth quarter.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Sep 29 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Garrett Shrader is a big quarterback who presents problems with his legs and his arm, and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney knows his Tigers will have their hands full with the 6-4, 225-pounder Saturday.

Clemson (2-2 overall, 0-2 ACC) travels to Syracuse (4-0, 0-0) for a noon kickoff against the Orange this Saturday, and Swinney said that Shrader is the focus of the Syracuse offense. In a 35-20 victory at Purdue a few weeks ago, Shrader ran 25 times for 195 yards and four touchdowns.

“Well, the two big plays in the Purdue game, he just takes off. He just gets back, they're in man coverage. They got him. One time, they actually have him,” Swinney said. “But we have plenty of tape where we had him, too, (last year), and we don't have him. He's a big, strong kid, and he's just got a great feel. He's fast. He's faster than he is quick, but yet he's very elusive. He's just slippery in the pocket. Even though he's not a quick twitch guy, but you let him get outside, he's gone. I mean, he can really run. But he's just got a good feel for stepping up, pushing out one way or another.”

Against the Boilermakers, Shrader ran for touchdowns of one, three, 28 and 35 yards.

“But you look at those two big plays in the Purdue game that led to the two touchdowns, he’s just scrambling around. The next thing you know, he's outside, and there he goes,” Swinney said. “One went for a first down and then a score. The other one was a 35-yard touchdown. But they do a lot of designed runs, too. I mean, he is their leading rusher. So they're going to run a lot of speed option with him. They certainly run some zone-read stuff, but they run a lot of midline where they actually read the d-tackle, and they do it in different ways.

“The true power read, where they'll read the d-tackle. If the d-tackle is chasing, he'll pull it. They also will run what we call the reverse power read, if you will, where the back is coming, everybody's blocking that way, and he'll read the d-tackle. If the d-tackle goes to the back, then he's running out the backside. He's basically the running back. They do a lot of different things that challenge you.”

The Syracuse offensive line isn’t big, so the offense is designed with misdirection in mind.

“You have to be careful. They run a lot of swaps and swap boots, which creates conflict for your linebackers,” Swinney said. “You have to be careful not to over-squeeze at defensive end. Everything's designed through this quarterback. Ball's in his hands, and he makes it go for sure because he's making a lot of decisions, whether it be through the RPO game or his run game decisions that he's making, whether he's running it, giving it, and then his creativity scrambling the ball and his ability to break tackles. Then what doesn't get mentioned about him, because you look at all these stats, what doesn't get mentioned about him is he can throw the football.

“I mean, he is a confident thrower. He will flat-out let it rip. You don't hear as much about that with him, but he's a good thrower and creates a lot of problems. He's made some big throws and scramble situations. I think it was Western Michigan maybe. Same thing, scrambles around. Next thing you know, the DB’s eyes go to the backfield, they lose their guy. He throws it, and it's about an 80-something-yard touchdown pass. You have to have great discipline in your scramble coverage. What I mean by that is you have to stay with your guy. You got to let everybody else do their job, and you rally late if he crosses the line of scrimmage. But as long as he's behind that line of scrimmage, you better cover your guy.”