Clemson, staff get to work

CLEMSON, S.C. - New offensive coordinator Rob Spence stood behind his five Clemson passers, watching centers snap the ball to quarterbacks again and again.

"It better be right," Spence barked, "we had all summer to get this squared away. I'm not going to be real patient when it comes to the snap."

There's no time for patience now with the Sept. 3 opener against Texas A&M less than a month away.

Spence and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning began their hands-on work for real as the Tigers opened fall practice Friday night. The two were hired this past winter with the mandate to rev up their units and bring more on-field pizazz to Clemson.

Spence took over for former North Carolina State coach Mike O'Cain, who ran the offense this past year. Koenning replaced John Lovett, who was the defensive coordinator the past three seasons.

As practice began, Spence called out signals to the quarterbacks, who took turns yelling out the necessary call.

Charlie Whitehurst, a lanky, strong senior, rolled up under center Dustin Fry and shouted out, "Right, yankees west, right yankees west," before grabbing the snap and pulling back in pass formation.

Spence earned a reputation for super-powered offenses during the past four seasons at Toledo. The Rockets went 9-3, helped by an attack that averaged more than 474 yards and 35 points a game.

Clemson didn't come close to those numbers last season.

Koenning also dug in to his job. He squatted close to defensive backs and linebackers, showing them the proper arm technique to shed blockers as they moved past the line of scrimmage.

Koenning helped Troy's defense to several top 10 national rankings last season, including pass efficiency defense (sixth), rushing defense (eighth) and scoring defense (10th).