Peter Woods headlines ‘exceptional’ effort from freshmen in Clemson football spring game
After Harris Sewell logged a start at right guard and Stephiylan Green wreaked havoc in the backfield and Peter Woods played so well his head coach likened him midgame to Halley’s Comet (“Very rare”), it was only fair for another true freshman to finish things off.
And safety Khalil Barnes did just that, intercepting a pass on the left sideline and returning it 22 yards for a touchdown to lift the Orange team over the White team, 20-13, in Clemson football’s spring game Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Barnes’ pick six marked a win not only for his designated team but his program at large during the annual scrimmage. Amid a less than stellar showing for Clemson’s first-team offense — the unit that must improve the most if the Tigers want to truly compete for a national championship — a group of mid-year enrollees provided a tantalizing taste of the future.
Or maybe the not so distant future.
Clemson, the reigning ACC champion, won’t kick off the 2023 season until Sept. 5 against Duke. But 142 days ahead of that Labor Day opener, coach Dabo Swinney had no problem acknowledging that a good portion of this year’s January mid-year enrollees — a program-record 14 of them — could find themselves contributing sooner rather than later.
“Those mid-years have been exceptional,” he said.
Woods, a five-star defensive tackle recruit from Alabama, was the most hyped and the perhaps most visible Saturday with seven total tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a blocked extra point, which kept the game’s score at 13-13 late in the fourth quarter.
The nation’s former No. 33 overall recruit — who chose Clemson over in-state power Alabama last summer — played significant snaps for the Orange team, intentionally set up to feature most of the Tigers’ first-team defense, and didn’t let them go to waste.
He tied for the team lead in total tackles, tossed aside numerous blockers on run plays and chased down or corralled Klubnik — far from the world’s slowest quarterbacks — a few times on scrambles, more gliding than running despite his 6-foot-2, 300-pound frame.
Swinney, who earlier this spring said Woods had “no weaknesses,” reiterated postgame he thinks Woods has the talent to start — and play multiple positions — for a decorated defensive line that returns All-ACC talents Tyler Davis, Ruke Orhorhoro and Xavier Thomas.
“I think Peter can play anywhere,” Swinney said. “Literally. I think he can play end. I think he can play 5-technique. I think he can play 3-technique. I think he can play nose. … Mentally, he’s ready for that.”
And he was but the headliner. Two of his fellow January defensive line enrollees — Stephiylan Green and T.J. Parker — also played for the Orange team and helped limit Clemson’s first-team offense (as well as a few backups later in the game) to 4.1 yards per play and one touchdown.
Parker, a one-time Penn State commit before flipping to Clemson late in the cycle, had four tackles and a sack. Green, the No. 112 recruit nationally coming out of Georgia, was even more impactful with four tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry.
And that was just along the defensive line. Barnes was one of the more surprising standouts with one tackle for loss (an absolute thumping of wide receiver Hamp Greene on a busted bubble screen player), one pass breakup and the game-winning pick six.
Veteran safety Andrew Mukuba described Barnes, a four-star recruit from Georgia and one-time Wake Forest commit, as a “baller” who’s already in line to contribute as a true freshman.
“This whole spring every day he’s just been getting better, getting better, asking questions, doing all the little things,” Mukuba said. “Just seeing that reminds me a little of me my freshman year … I’m telling y’all right now, Khalil Barnes is gonna be a guy that helps us in the fall.”
Added linebacker Barrett Carter: “Those guys, I think it just ties back to how they prepare every day. I can speak about the whole group, but especially Khalil and Peter, they come into work every single day, they put in extra time in the film room and they’ve been working in the weight room, in the classroom. It all translates to the football field”
Among other members of the country’s No. 11 composite 2023 signing class, offensive lineman Sewell logged a start at right guard with regular starter Walker Parks sidelined with an ankle injury; wide receiver Noble Johnson caught two passes for 25 yards; and defensive back Shelton Lewis started for the second-team defense and recorded a pass breakup.
Even with hyped quarterback recruit Christopher Vizzina struggling (3-9 for nine yards and two interceptions, including Barnes’ game-winner), it wasn’t the worst debut for the youngest portion of a deep Clemson roster that returns 15 starters from last year’s 10-3 ACC champion team.
Heading into the summer, their coach said as much.
“Just an unbelievably close group and I’ve seen that carry into everything they’ve done this spring,” Swinney said. “They’re about their business. These guys came here to win a national championship, and I love that about them. … These are high-level dudes, but they’re high-level people. You can’t help but grab some enthusiasm from that.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2023 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Peter Woods headlines ‘exceptional’ effort from freshmen in Clemson football spring game."
