OC Chad Morris weighs in on Clemson’s ACC-worst passing offense, Tait Reynolds

CLEMSON — Clemson football‘s passing offense, or lack thereof, has been the talk of the town recently.

It’s not for a good reason. The Tigers rank last in the ACC at 187.5 yards per game, and their two passing touchdowns are the fewest in the nation.

New offensive coordinator Chad Morris acknowledged there are growing pains that come with a freshman quarterback. Tait Reynolds will make only his fifth start when Clemson (4-2, 2-1 ACC) hosts Virginia Tech (5-2, 2-2) on Oct. 24 (7 p.m., ESPN).

But Morris believes the passing game’s struggles extend beyond Reynolds. He said having a freshman quarterback places added responsibility on the players around him.

"I’ve challenged all our guys," Morris said Oct. 21. "We do have a young quarterback, and he’s growing, and he’s doing some phenomenal things. We’ve got to help him. We’ve got to help this kid out, and that’s all positions.

"How can you do that? (It is) your awareness, your sense of urgency, your attention to details have got to raise, and that’s everybody. It’s from the coaches. That’s all of us."

Morris said one of the biggest signs of Reynolds’ development has been his ability to work through progressions. But he’s challenging him to do more, particularly wanting him to keep his eyes downfield when pressured rather than immediately looking to run. Morris said he even stopped Clemson’s practice on Oct. 20 to talk to Reynolds about that.

Morris said the more he develops that, the better his "internal clock" will be at knowing when to throw to a certain route or when to take off and run.

"Those are things that come with time, and those are things that come with experience," Morris said. "I think you’re seeing that."

MORE CLEMSON FOOTBALL: Dabo Swinney challenged Ashton Hampton to grow up. Now he’s Clemson’s top NFL prospect.

What Chad Morris said about TJ Moore after Dabo Swinney criticism

Morris said the timing between Reynolds and Clemson’s receivers is still "a work in progress."

He added that the Tigers’ receivers have to make more one-on-one plays to help Reynolds. Morris said inadequate ball placement sometimes plays a role, but there have been other times when the receiver failed.

"I think we’ve got to make plays when the opportunity’s there," Morris said. "I always talk about being in a situation of (a one-on-one chance), get the ball in the air, and now we’ve got to go make some plays."

Coach Dabo Swinney said Reynolds delivered several catchable balls that could have resulted in explosive plays or touchdowns vs Charleston Southern, but T.J. Moore failed to convert the opportunities. Swinney said it was Moore’s "worst game as a Tiger."

Moore couldn’t haul in a deep pass from Reynolds on Clemson’s third play of the game. Morris said Moore allowed that mistake to affect the rest of his afternoon.

"Had he caught the third play of the game last week, I think the way the game unfolded for him would have been completely different," Morris said.

Chad Morris says Clemson needs more big pass plays

Morris said Clemson hasn’t had enough explosive passing, which has extended drives longer than they need to be. The Tigers have recorded an ACC-worst 15 passing plays of 20 yards or more.

Those explosive plays could be especially important against a Hokies defense that is one of the ACC’s best units against the run.

"That’s one of the things we’re lacking," Morris said. "We’re having to go on 9-, 10-, 12-, 13-play drives, and that’s hard. And you deal with 18 third downs. That’s tough. We need some 3- or 4- or 5-play drives where somebody’s taking something to the house and making a guy miss in space."

Nick Coppola covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA Today Network. Email him at ncoppola@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @Nick_Coppola__ and like his Facebook page at Nick Coppola, Clemson Sports.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: OC Chad Morris weighs in on Clemson’s ACC-worst passing offense, Tait Reynolds

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.