Parker’s shoulders as strong as his right arm

We’ll have a story on Saturday about the work-in-progress that is redshirt freshman QB Kyle Parker, but found one of his comments today rather interesting.

A lot has been made since the bye week (post Maryland debacle) about Parker “taking ownership” of the product by putting extra time in with film study after practices as well as taking diligent notes during position meetings. OC Billy Napier has talked about Parker growing up, seeing as he wasn’t afforded the luxury of even seeing how this game-week preparation process went last year because he was a scout-teamer. 

In that respect, the staff reworked some of Napier’s organizational duties so he could spend more time devoted to Parker and the QBs.

There were so many interwoven reasons why Clemson started off 2-3 with all three losses coming because of late-game shortcomings. 

And while Parker wasn’t the all-encompassing problem — far from it — it’s clear Napier believed he was the solution.

Said Parker:  

The biggest thing both of us realized is the games we were losing, it was because I was in position to make the plays to win the game. Whenever you have a freshman quarterback coming into the season, you don’t want him to have to make all the plays to win the game, but that was what was happening.

So a lot of people realized we were going to have to start stepping up and making some throws, or we weren’t going to win.

Ever since then, we’ve been putting the work in and realizing pretty much how I play, that’s what our results will be.

That’s a lot for any college kid to shoulder, much less embrace. But judging by his ability to rebound from mistakes at Miami, you can see the coaches are impressed with his moxie and leadership potential.

On to Napier’s interview with reporters:

 Q: This looks like a defense that will give you the opportunity to do something.

A: Well, obviously they’ve had some injuries. They’ve played some younger players. But at the same time, they’re still Florida State. They’re still very capable of playing good defense.

A lot of the guys we’ve recruited in the past are playing for them. In particular, the injuries to Budd Thacker and Dekoda Watson were a setback for them from a leadership standpoint. But I think those guys will be back this week. They’ll be ready to go.

When they’ve needed stops, they’ve made stops to win here of late.

Statistically they have given up some yards and some points, so I think all that is good to look at on paper. But Saturday night, there will be a good football team on the other sideline, and our guys will have to be prepared to play.

Q: When you looked back at last year’s game during the offseason, how much did you say, man, if Chris Hairston would have just stayed healthy?

A: We started fast and had some trouble protecting after that. We had four sacks after that, so that impacted the down and distance, and they were able to get some key stops on third down.

You know, but that was then, this is now. Really it’s all irrelevant.

Q: You’ve talked lately about Kyle Parker working to be more accountable. Is there a play that sticks out where he made a throw or read lately that he wouldn’t have made earlier this year?

A: There was an example in the Coastal game where we had an illegal motion take place. He was knowledgeable enough to get those guys back set. He pointed at the back to go in motion and Jacoby – we have a similar play where Jacoby motions – and the two guys motioned at the same time. And he had enough poise to tell Jacoby to stop and tell the back to get set so we didn’t have illegal motion.

That was good. That’s one of those things you cover maybe once or twice. He remembered and had enough football knowledge and IQ to realize what he could do to fix that problem. So that was good to see.

Q: By your measure, how did you do against Coastal?

A: We were more productive. Obviously we played Coastal Carolina.

I think the thing we did against Miami that allowed us to be successful was we did a good job on second-and-long of getting back to third-and-manageable and making some plays.

I think our kids understand the value of a good physical run that keeps you second-and-6 – as we talk about in inside drill, a Nasty 4, if that makes sense.

As Kyle grows up, we talk to him about managing down and distance. Knowing when to throw it away, knowing when not to take a sack, knowing when to check the ball down, knowing when to take a shot, those kinds of things.

There’s no question we’ve been able to keep people off balance. I think a lot of that has to do with the quarterback play.

As he’s grown up, we’ve been able to give him more decisions to be made on down-and-distance and not been as vanilla.

As he’s come along, we’ve come along. Always felt like that was how it was going to go. So hopefully he will continue to progress this week, and a lot of it has had to do with him learning how to prepare. He’s got a pretty good feel for that, and the message to players is your preparation is going to determine how you play Saturday.

Everybody’s going to be excited to play the game Saturday. That’s not the problem. Where we can make a difference is in our meetings, on the field, and in our corrections and installation. Then polishing up the small details as we get closer to the game.

Q: How much did the Coastal game help the young receivers?

A: It’s good for their confidence. Obviously they were really good players coming in here. For some of them, maybe it was their first play at the college level that was a reminder, hey, you were a pretty good player when you came here.

That’s obviously the value of being experienced. And players that have played a couple of years, when they make their significant improvement, between their first and second years of experience. That, more than anything, reminds them, “Hey, I’m a talented guy. I can do this.” And they can go from there.

Q: Do you sense Mickey Andrews has tried several new things this year, trying to find something that works, even playing some zone?

A: They’ve always played some zone coverage to complement their man.

More than anything, it’s been trying to do things to create some pressure. Obviously the injuries have caused some problems for them and they’re a little bit younger than they’ve been. So that being said, he’s a good football coach and he’s in that battle we’re all in, trying to be successful and give kids a chance to compete and create an advantage.

These are all things he’s probably done over the years. He’s just pulling from his bag of tricks, I guess you could say, to give his kids a chance to make some stops on Saturdays.

Q: Chris Hairston said he wasn’t real happy with how you guys weren’t able to impose your will on them up front early. What was your take?

A: Just some fire-zones that gave us some trouble. Think we had some guys that probably didn’t get fitted up as well as they could on the second level. I think he’s right on there. We can improve.

I think those guys did a good job of making some adjustments and getting clued it. But for the most part, it’s just guys doing their job. Bottom line, it comes down to preparation. You’re going to play how you prepare.

Q: After eight games, as a first-year coordinator, how much more comfortable are you now as a play-caller.

A: Oh, yeah. There’s no question, in particular, our first year as a staff, just getting things grooved in and getting a routine. Managing the time as a group, getting the most out of your practice opportunities, each week trying to put fires out – that’s part of the transition.

Q: Can you get “in the zone” as a play-caller where things are just going well?

A: I think a lot has to do with your plan throughout the week. If you have a really good handle on them – and everything is pretty calculated – that’s when you get into where you feel like you’re in that chess match, to some degree.

When you’re a little less prepared or less certain, that’s when it’s not like that. But that’s one of those deals where you’re not thinking about much else. You’re in the game, going to the next play, it’s all about that down. Managing the game, down and distance, making sure the right guys are touching the ball.

A lot of it comes back to the work you do during the week, no doubt. It’s a compilation of all the guys (coaches) coming together and trying to put together a good plan. It’s a combination of studying their defense and using what personnel you have to move the ball. That’s the joy of coaching, and it’s fun, there ain’t no doubt about that. But it’s not fun when you’re not prepared. We’ve done that.

That’s the message. We want to be in those locker rooms like at Miami, not Maryland. To do that, to make it fun, then hey, get your butt ready to play. And then let’s go cut it loose.