Freshmen will be Counted on when Clemson takes on No. 1 Georgia

CLEMSON — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney named Nolan Hauser as the Tigers’ starting kicker for Saturday’s game against No. 1 Georgia this past Tuesday. However, the freshman will not be the only true freshman they will be counting on in the Aflac Kickoff Classic (Noon, ABC) from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Swinney said there are some guys that are on the bubble, and with the four-game redshirt rule, they do not have to decide on some players at the moment.

“The obvious guys, we all know,” he said. “I think we talked enough about [Bryant] Wesco and T.J. Moore. Those guys are going to play all year. I think Easy E (David Eziomume) is another guy we are going to need throughout the year.”

On the defensive side of the football, Swinney mentioned linebacker Sammy Brown is on the Tigers’ two-deep depth chart and will play a lot on special teams, as will a few other freshmen.

“We have a few guys that may play in this game, but they are still on the bubble of how we play out the long term of a season,” Swinney said.

On the offensive line, Swinney says they will be able to count on Elyjah Thurmon (6-4, 290) and Mason Wade (6-5, 290), who he says are coming along.

“We have ten or eleven guys [on the offensive line] that we think are very functional for us,” Swinney said.

Thurmon was rated as a four-star offensive lineman by a majority of the recruiting services coming out of high school. He was listed on On3 as the nation’s 13th-best interior lineman and the 30th-best prospect in Georgia.

Wade ranked as the 11th-best and 15th-best prospect in the state of Virginia by Rivals and On3, respectively. He also was rated among the top 35 recruits in Virginia by 247Sports (No. 27) and ESPN (No. 31).