ACC Football

Justin Foster is returning to Clemson. 

The defensive end, who gave up football last year after developing long-haul syndrome following a COVID-19 diagnosis, has decided to rejoin the Tigers for his final year of eligibility in the 2021 season. 

"[Head coach Dabo Swinney] said if you're feeling better, even if you're not 100 percent, you can start working with the team and we'll build you up from there," he told ESPN's T.J. Quinn. "He said, 'You don't have to play 60 snaps a game; you'll just do what you can do.'"

"It's not often you get a call from a great player that you think is gone and he says he's coming back, so just a great thing," Swinney added in a statement. "First of all, just really excited for Justin that he is feeling better with his health and his ability to train like he wants to train. And it's great for Clemson because that gives us seven guys that have started back on our defensive line."

Foster had COVID-19 in June and initially only had mild symptoms, though in the months that followed he dealt with "chronic fatigue and had debilitating breathing problems when he attempted to work out," per Quinn. 

While Foster had asthma and allergies, both had been manageable up to that point. After his coronavirus diagnosis, however, that changed.

"Every day you wake up wheezing and you wake up tired and you just think this is never going to get better," he said.

Foster missed the 2020 season and announced in February that he was calling it quits on football. But as his condition improved, he had second thoughts. 

"I was totally against everything with football. I just didn't want to be around it," he said Wednesday. "I know I was at peace with [not playing], but as I was getting better, I knew if I did get better in the next couple of months there would be some regret if I didn't at least attempt it."

For Foster, things began to turn after he received the COVID-19 vaccine. He also went to the Duke University post-COVID practice in April where he received treatment and medication for his long-haul syndrome.  

“The doctor was positive on me recovering in the near future," Turner noted in the team's statement. "In the next month or two, she thought I’d recover enough to compete at the college level, and she motivated me and said that if I wanted to play again, she’d encourage me to and support me and she would do the best she could to get me back healthy. She believed that I will be healthy and, for me, that was a big stepping stone."

In his first three seasons with the team (2017-19), Foster posted 60 tackles (18.5 for loss), seven sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. If he's able to return to full health, his return should provide a major boost for Clemson's defense.

And it may also be the continuation of a potentially long football career for Foster, who was considered an NFL prospect before his condition.

Coming off a 10-win campaign and an appearance in the College Football Playoff last season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter 2021 with a lot of questions. 

Saturday's Blue-Gold Game was the first step toward finding answers. The Blue squad came out on top 17-3 thanks to a potential breakout performance by true freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner. 

Quarterback is one of the marquee positions that head coach Brian Kelly will be keeping an eye on. Ian Book, a fourth-round draft pick by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, was the Irish's starter for the past three seasons. 

Buchner enrolled in school early after committing to the Fighting Irish in 2019. The Californian is a 4-star recruit and the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the 2021 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. 

Jack Coan is a new addition to Notre Dame's roster after transferring from Wisconsin in January. Drew Pyne was a 4-star recruit coming out of Connecticut last year.  

Both offenses started slow in this game, with neither quarterback lighting up the defense. The score was 3-3 at halftime. 

Despite some sluggishness from both quarterbacks, The Athletic's Pete Sampson did note that Coan's ability to move on the pocket could serve him well in the competition moving forward:

Coming out of the intermission, the Blue team put together its best drive of the game when Buchner stepped in. He went 3-of-3 for 68 yards and capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run to help give Blue a 10-3 lead. 

After the Gold team missed out on an opportunity to tie the score after driving down the field, Buchner once again took the reins of the Blue offense. He hooked up with senior wideout Braden Lenzy twice, including on a deep pass that was stopped just short of the goal line. 

Leo Albano capped off the drive with a touchdown that helped put the Blue up 17-3 early in the fourth quarter. 

Coming into the game, Coan and Pyne were expected to be the top options at quarterback. That could still be the case, but Kelly now has a third player to take a look at over the next four months. 

Lenzy's connection with Buchner was also a positive sign for the offense. Notre Dame's receivers really struggled in 2020 without Chase Claypool. Javon McKinley was the only player on the team with more than 450 receiving yards last season. 

The offensive line is also going to need a makeover because four of the five starters from last season are no longer with the Irish, with Liam Eichenberg, Aaron Banks and Robert Hainsey being drafted in the first three three rounds. Jarrett Patterson was the starting center in 2020, but there's speculation about him possibly being moved to left tackle. 

One area of the team that was strong last year and looks like it will be again in 2021 is the defense. The Fighting Irish ranked 14th in FBS with 19.7 points allowed per game last year.

The defenses for the Blue and Gold teams played well on Saturday. Defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, who had a career-high 5.5 tackles for loss last season, was a disruptive force for the Gold defense. 

If Notre Dame has an elite defense and a dynamic playmaker at quarterback, Kelly could become the first head coach in program history with five consecutive 10-win seasons. 

The Irish will open the 2021 regular season on Sept. 5 at Florida State. 

HEIGHT: 6'4 3/8"

WEIGHT: 259 lbs

POSITIVES

—Hand placement is a positive for him, and his ability to win with his hands in general is his biggest selling point.

—His balance can make up for his lack of bend after winning with his hands.

—Dip and rip moves are not always present because of how he plays hand games, but he has flashed the ability to do so when he is not playing with a high pad level.

—Already comes from a college system built for him to focus around being a half-man schematically, which is what he will be doing in the NFL.

—Has a high football IQ and does a great job of reading the backfield before committing to a path of action.

—Plays assignment football instead of over-penetrating when left unblocked on the back side.

—One blocker is not enough to stop him in the pursuit of the ball.

—An effort player who might make the most impact as a slow churner to the slide side of pass protections.

NEGATIVES

—Overall athleticism is not above average for a contributing edge-rusher at the NFL level.

—Foot speed could be an issue for him in turning pressure into sacks.

—Developing explosion off the ball will be crucial to his upside as a professional.

—For his length, he is a finesse player who uses his hands to swipe free more than he delivers blows and resets the line of scrimmage.

2020 STATISTICS

34 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 pass deflections, 1 fumble recovery, 3 forced fumbles

NOTES

—Had a season-ending ACL injury in 2019 training camp.

—Started all but seven games of his college career, not including his injury-ravaged 2019 season and his redshirt year.

—Declared for the NFL draft before Pittsburgh played its final game of the year on the road against Georgia Tech.

OVERALL

Weaver is a quality pass-rusher who at worst will immediately contribute in a three-man rotation on the edge. How teams will view his upside will depend on how much they believe he can add onto his hand-technique-based skill set by developing more explosion with his first step. That will be the difference between Weaver maxing out as a Derek Barnett type of player, a fine pass-rusher, and a Chandler Jones, a perennial Pro Bowler with advanced hand fighting as his primary method to victory.

GRADE: 7.8/10 (Round 2)

OVERALL RANK: 40/300

POSITION RANK: EDGE3

PRO COMPARISON: Derek Barnett

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda

Before the Notre Dame Fighting Irish can think of a return to the College Football Playoff, they need to name a replacement for Ian Book.

Book was a three-year starter at quarterback and could be selected Friday or Saturday during the 2021 NFL draft.

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has two main options to choose from to replace Book, and Saturday's Spring Game should help the decision-making process.

The Irish will go with either Drew Pyne or Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan. Freshman Tyler Buchner is not in the picture for the starting gig, but he will have plenty of eyes on him when he hits the gridiron Saturday.

Top Storylines

Which Player Wins Quarterback Battle? 

Pyne and Coan are the primary candidates to win the job Book occupied for three full seasons.

The two signal-callers come with differing levels of experience. Pyne is a sophomore, and Coan is a graduate transfer from Wisconsin.

Coan has the edge in collegiate snaps, but if Pyne shines enough during the buildup to the season, Notre Dame could opt to build around him for the next few years. Both players will have a chance to impress in offensive coordinator Tommy Rees' system Saturday, but a decision likely will not be made off one spring exhibition.

Neither player will face significant pressure from the defensive line, and the contest will be more about developing chemistry at a slightly faster speed than practice.

Even if a decision will not be made, it will still be worth watching how Coan's experience and Pyne's time learning under Book translate to the offense.

What Does Marcus Freeman's Defense Look Like? 

Notre Dame lost defensive coordinator Clark Lea to Vanderbilt and replaced him with Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman.

Freeman's unit was one of the best in the FBS, and it helped the Bearcats earn a New Year's Six berth in 2020. Cincinnati opened that campaign by holding its first seven opponents to 20 points or fewer, and it limited Georgia to 24 points in its Peach Bowl loss.

We will not see the full defensive scheme at play Saturday, but we will get a chance to see some of the basic concepts Freeman is installing.

Freeman's most difficult task is replacing linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who slipped to the second day of the NFL draft. Owusu-Koramoah was the heart of the Irish defense. He won the Butkus Award and ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

The unit may not look perfect from the start, but if Freeman gets the best out of it as the season progresses, he will continue to boost his rising coaching profile.

Top Prospects to Watch

Tyler Buchner, QB 

Buchner likely will not play a role in the quarterback battle since Pyne has been around the program for a year and Coan is coming in as a grad transfer.

But the freshman signal-caller could be the most intriguing player to watch Saturday because of the restrictions that Kelly has lifted when it comes to him facing pressure.

Buchner did not play high school football in the fall in California, and he joined the program as an early arrival. Kelly said he will not have a red jersey on for the first half of the Spring Game, per SB Nation's Joshua Vowles.

"We're probably going to let Tyler Buchner in the first half not have a red jersey on," Kelly said. "He hasn't played in a year, so we're going to use the first half to allow him to really be part of this game without a red jersey. If he's in there, we'll see a little bit about his escapability."

Buchner was the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the class of 2021 behind Oklahoma's Caleb Williams and Georgia's Brock Vandagriff, per 247 Sports.

His freshman season should be mostly about development, but because he has not played in more than a year, there will be plenty of eyes on his pocket presence and arm in his adjusted spring role.

Michael Mayer, TE

Michael Mayer is the most exciting returnee to watch on Notre Dame's roster.

The tight end has potential to be a menace to college football defenses in the same way Florida's Kyle Pitts tortured SEC defenses.

Mayer had 42 catches for 450 yards and two scores in 2020, but that was just a peek at his potential, as Rees noted, per 247Sports' Tom Loy:

"I think he's really only scratching the surface and last year was only a brief glimpse of how good this kid can be. There's something to say about the way he works, the tenacity he plays with, the edge he plays with. Obviously he's extremely talented, but there is a reason why he's a great player."

Mayer is worth watching to see how he has morphed his body after a full year of working through Notre Dame's strength program.

If he lives up to his potential, Mayer could have a Rob Gronkowski- or Pitts-like impact on the Irish, and he could end up as their most dangerous offensive weapon for the next two years.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne will stay teammates after the Jacksonville Jaguars took the ex-Tiger backfield duo with the first and 25th overall selections in the 2021 NFL draft, respectively. 

Clemson Assistant Athletic Director for Football Communications Ross Taylor posted the historical fact on Thursday following the Jaguars' second first-round selection: 

The Jags opted to pick a pair of decorated college superstars to open head coach Urban Meyer's era in Jacksonville. Lawrence has been a no-brainer No. 1 overall pick for a long time, so that didn't come as a surprise. The Jags' choice of Etienne was, however, especially with the team returning a breakout star running back in James Robinson (1,414 yards from scrimmage, 10 touchdowns) last year. 

However, Etienne is exceptional in his own right, finishing his Clemson tenure with 6,107 yards from scrimmage and 78 touchdowns over four seasons. With Lawrence and Etienne together, Clemson made the College Football Playoff each year from 2018-2020, reaching the championship game twice and winning it once.

Lawrence and Etienne will hope to replicate college championship success in the pros. They have a tall task ahead of them joining a team that went 1-15 last year, but adding the Clemson duo is a good start for Jacksonville as it looks to make significant improvements in 2021.

A Florida State University task force voting against recommending a name change to Doak Campbell Stadium on Wednesday.

According to Byron Dobson of the Tallahassee Democrat, the presidential task force focusing on anti-racism, equity and inclusion voted against the measure by a 12-7 margin.

FSU was a segregated school under Campbell's presidency from 1941 to 1957.

The measure to potentially move Campbell's name from the football stadium was moved to the presidential task force after the Historical Legacy Subcommittee had a 3-3 deadlock in its vote.

While the task force did not recommend removing Campbell's name, it did recommend that the athletic department move forward with "high-profile" recognition of Black and underrepresented minority student athletes at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Per Dobson, Historical Legacy Subcommittee chief Maxine Jones researched Campbell's past actions after former Florida State linebacker Kendrick Scott created a petition to remove Campbell's name from the stadium last year.

Jones found that Campbell made decisions in lockstep with segregationism.

Campbell discouraged both support for desegregation in the campus newspaper and social protests involving students from FSU and Florida A&M, which is a historically Black university.

Jones did note, however, that Campbell had a good relationship with Florida A&M presidents William Gray and George Gore, and that he was appointed to be part of a race relations advisory committee by Gov. LeRoy Collins.

Florida State's football stadium has been known as Doak Campbell Stadium since opening in 1950, and it has played host to three teams that went on to win national championships.

Since 2004, the stadium has been referred to as Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in full as a means of honoring legendary coach Bobby Bowden, who won 304 games and two national titles during his 34 seasons at FSU.

Trevor Lawrence is reportedly targeting training camp for his return from offseason surgery to his non-throwing shoulder.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said Sunday on SportsCenter that Lawrence has been throwing footballs "for a couple weeks now" as he recovers from February surgery on his left labrum.

The Clemson product will be the No. 1 pick in this month's NFL draft, joining a Jacksonville Jaguars franchise that has not produced a Pro Bowl quarterback since David Garrard in 2009. Mark Brunell is the closest thing Jacksonville ever had to a legitimate star at the position since the franchise's inception in 1995.

Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who will be making the leap to the NFL after a wildly successful college career, is essentially banking his pro career on Lawrence being a star. Meyer could have taken the University of Texas coaching job and likely rode off into the sunset as one of the most successful college coaches of the modern era. Fowler said his decision to join the Jaguars was based in large part by a desire to coach Lawrence, one of the most complete quarterback prospects in recent memory.

While Lawrence's shoulder injury may keep him from full practice for the time being, that may not matter much. Players for 18 teams have released statements saying they will not participate in voluntary offseason workouts in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other safety concerns.

The Jaguars are not one of those teams, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted Jacksonville players may wind up reporting because of several players having bonuses tied to offseason workouts.

However, Lawrence should not find himself at any competitive disadvantage in comparison to most other rookies this season.

Former Miami football head coach Randy Shannon is joining Florida State as a senior defensive analyst, per an FSU announcement Monday.

"Randy Shannon is a tremendous addition to our staff," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. Norvell added:

"I have all the respect in the world for the person and coach Randy Shannon is. His unique perspective will be valuable to [defensive coordinator Adam] Fuller and the rest of our defensive staff, while his relationships in Miami and throughout the state of Florida will be a great benefit for our entire program."

Shannon, 55, was most recently UCF's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Shannon has spent the majority of his coaching career in Florida.

He coached at Miami from 1991 to 1997 and then 2001 to 2010, with a three-year stint on the Miami Dolphins staff in between.

He was the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator during the team's undefeated 2001 national championship season and took over as head coach in 2007. Shannon went 28-22 in four campaigns.

Since then, he has coached on the TCU, Arkansas, Florida and UCF staffs. He was Florida's defensive coordinator in 2017 and took over as the Gators' interim head coach for their final four games, going 1-3.

He joined UCF in 2018 as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Shannon briefly took over as the team's interim head coach in January 2021, when head coach Josh Heupel left for Tennessee, but ex-Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was hired in February and brought in a new staff.

Shannon will look to help turn around an FSU program that went 3-6 during Norvell's first year as head coach. Florida State's defense ranked 107th out of 127 FBS squads.

Saturday's spring game marked the start of a new era for Clemson football, as it was the program's first time without Trevor Lawrence on the roster since the 2017 season. 

After being shut out for the first three quarters, the White team scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to steal a 14-13 win. 

Freshman running back Phil Mafah had the go-ahead score on a five-yard run with 1:58 remaining. 

DJ Uiagalelei was sacked twice on the Orange's ensuing possession. On 4th-and-16, the sophomore quarterback had Joseph Ngata open deep down the field, but the wideout was unable to corral the pass. 

Lawrence, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, had one of the most successful college careers of any quarterback in recent memory. He led the Tigers to a 34-2 record in 36 starts and won three consecutive ACC titles. 

Despite losing a generational talent at quarterback and star running back Travis Etienne from the offense, head coach Dabo Swinney and his staff do such a good job of stockpiling elite players at every position that expectations remain high in 2021. 

One of the biggest reasons to be optimistic is Uiagalelei. Lawrence's replacement at quarterback was rated a 5-star prospect and No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2020 freshman class by 247Sports' composite rankings. 

When Lawrence was unavailable for two games last season due to COVID-19, Uiagalelei showed tremendous potential, passing for 781 yards, four touchdowns and completing 59 of 85 attempts in starts against Boston College and Notre Dame. He also ran in two scores while guiding the team to a 1-1 record.

Uiagalelei led the Orange on an eight-play, 73-yard scoring drive to start the game that was capped off with a touchdown pass to true freshman receiver Beaux Collins:

Uiagalelei and Collins were high school teammates for three years at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California. The early returns suggest that built-in chemistry could translate well at the college level. 

After that quick scoring drive, the defenses on both sides settled in to shut things down. 

Sophomore safety R.J. Mickens made an outstanding play on the ball in the second quarter to come down with the interception on Taisun Phommachanh's pass. 

Cornerback Andrew Booth was able to one-up Mickens with this one-handed interception late in the first half:

The White team offense was having all sorts of problems in the first half, though neither side was on point after that first drive. 

Even though points were generally hard to come by, Uiagalelei did pull off a dazzling throw with this completion to Ngata in the third quarter:

The White team finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter when Phommachanh hit Ajou Ajou in the corner of the end zone: 

Phommachanh did suffer a left leg injury late in the fourth quarter as he was trying to put the White team ahead. 

Hunter Helms replaced Phommachanh with less than three minutes remaining with his team on 1st-and-goal and trailing 13-7. Mafah scored on a handoff two plays later to secure the win. 

ESPN's Mark Schlabach ranked Clemson as the No. 1 team in the nation heading into next season immediately following the College Football Playoff Championship Game in January.

One reason the offense may have struggled in this game is because Clemson generally has a strong defense. That wasn't often the case last season, particularly in the 49-28 Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State. 

The Tigers really struggled up front against the Buckeyes, allowing Trey Sermon to run for 193 yards on 31 carries. That doesn't even take into account Justin Fields' 385 yards and six touchdowns through the air. 

It was difficult to get a full read on how much better Clemson's defensive line could be in this game with defenders unable to really attack the quarterback

Head coach Dabo Swinney did tell ESPN's David M. Hale on Friday that he's optimistic about Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee being able to make an impact in their sophomore seasons. 

"We took a few bumps and bruises along the way, but Bryan Bresee is so much better than he was at any point last year. Myles Murphy, the same. It's a really good group of guys, and this thing's got a chance, if we stay healthy, to have the type of group that we've had around here and what we've come to be accustomed to."

Despite losing multiple key contributors from last year's squad, Clemson looks to be well-equipped to remain among the nation's elite programs in 2021. 

Uiagalelei's potential is sky-high. Wide receiver Justyn Ross, who missed all of last season due to a spine injury that required surgery, announced in January he is returning to school and hopes to be cleared to play at some point.

The defense is bringing back all 11 starters. It's also adding freshman linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and defensive tackle Payton Page as part of the 2021 recruiting class.