O-Line's New Motto: 'Look good, Feel Good, Play Good'

CLEMSON — When Clemson held its annual weigh-in after players reported to camp this past Wednesday, it was obvious which group was the biggest winner of the off-season.

Clemson’s offensive linemen, as a collective group, reported to camp in their best shape in quite some time.

It’s obvious new offensive line coach Matt Luke had a plan to get his guys in better shape. It appears, by looking at the numbers, he wants a smaller and faster group of offensive linemen.

“Coach Luke has helped us with a lot of stuff,” left tackle Tristan Leigh said. “The mental side of playing on the offensive line, a lot of it is when you look good, you feel good, you play good. We took it upon ourselves, on the offensive line, when we take the field we want to feel good and be confident in our jerseys.”

Of the linemen who will likely be in the rotation this fall, six got smaller, including left guard Marcus Tate, who lost nine pounds. Tate went from 325 in the spring to 316 as he reported to camp.

Ian Reed dropped 18 pounds (325-297), while reserve center Harris Sewell dropped seven pounds (315-308). Leigh went from 315 to 309 pounds. Right guard Walker Parks lost six pounds (310-304).

“I think it is a testament to the work we have put in collectively,” Leigh said. “The work shows. I think our bodies look different and show how tight we are as a unit.”

However, do not think the Tigers getting a little trimmer on the offensive line means offensive coordinator Garrett Riley has changed his scheme.

“I would not say that, I just think we are taking our bodies very seriously and took a very dominating approach to this off-season,” Leigh said. “We want to be as dominant of a unit as we can be. How you look and what your body looks like is a big part of that.”