CLEMSON — Last week was spent hearing Clemson coaches rave over freshman tailback Tavien Feaster, and fans reading and reporting about Feaster salivating over the Spartanburg product’s potential.
It seems the coaching staff wants to pump the brakes on that storyline, following a couple of scrimmages the second week of fall camp.
After some constructive criticism Wednesday following team drills, head coach Dabo Swinney was more pointed in his review of Feaster after Saturday’s formal scrimmage at Memorial Stadium.
“Feaster, right now, he just doesn’t play fast enough,” Swinney said. “We all know this guy is an absolute jet; he’s a finesse player right now. We’ll get that out of him. He’s got a gear that not many people have, but he runs in fourth gear, and we know he’s got that fifth gear. He makes some 20-yard-runs that ought to be 50-yarders. He’s just kind of a cruiser right now.”
On Wednesday, Swinney had said similar things about Feaster regarding playing in a higher gear and “cruising” on the field. Feaster should be in the rotation this year, but if he’s not starting and averaging 50 snaps per game, coaches would like to see his full potential on every play he gets.
“He’s not doing bad, he’s fine. We just know he’s playing at 65 miles an hour and he’s an above-the-speed-limit guy. He’s got a lot more under than the engine than we’re getting right now. When he’s in there, he needs to be electric. When he touches it, people (should be) holding their breath.”
As a true freshman, Feaster will not be made available to reporters to speak for himself until he plays in a game this fall.
Other backs
Meanwhile, Swinney gushed over returning starter Wayne Gallman: “He’s been as good a guy as we’ve had in camp. His effort is tremendous. His drive every single day is an inspiration to his teammates.”
According to scrimmage stats provided, second-stringer Adam Choice had two 65-yard runs and three touchdowns, though Swinney said his pass protection “has got to be a little more complete.”
No stealing
In Sports Illustrated’s college football preview this week, an anonymous opposing coach was quoted as saying “defensive coordinator Brent Venables does a great job, but he’s late getting his calls in. That’s because they’re probably as good as anybody at stealing signs, and Venables is waiting to see your offensive call.”
Venables was unaware of the comments until Saturday’s media session, and was skeptical of the topic. He said he wasn’t even sure it’s true the Tigers typically call in defensive plays later than other teams.
Even so, to the idea of stealing signs, that would seem a harsh way of saying the defense is reading the offensive formation before settling on a call.
“We’re making sure they’re not stealing mine,” Venables said. “If I give it out quick, they have a diagnosis.
“If I got their plays, (they) haven’t done a very good job.”
No Renfrow
Starting wide receiver Hunter Renfrow skipped Saturday’s scrimmage with a strained hamstring, joining cornerback Marcus Edmond and linebacker Jalen Williams with that malady.
“We all know he’s a good player,” Swinney said. “Probably could have gone today, but we held him.”
