3^rd quarter

13:43: Allen targeted, but not open. Zach Brown is doing a very good job on him.

11:35: Allen open underneath on an out route for the 1^st.

11:01: Coples in on a sack, wiped out by a facemask by Kareem Martin.

7:26: Coples with a strip sack.

4:02: Allen doesn’t get his head around fast enough to catch the ball. This is the 2^nd time this has happened tonight.

3:45: Allen makes a nice vertical catch along the sideline.

3:37: Allen targeted when his quarterback is under pressure, Allen, the safety blanket, makes the catch. Mental lapse however as he hadthe first down, but ran backwards. Luckily it was only 1^st down. 2^nd and 1 now.

2:03: Allen getting targeted more, this time for about 5 or so yards in the red zone.

1:46: Allen wide open down the seam, touchdown.

4^th quarter

9:58: Clemson up 59-24 has pulled its starters, but I’m still interested in North Carolina’s defensive players.

0:00: Dwayne Allen is the consensus top tight end prospect in this weak tight end class with 33 catches for 432 yards and 5 touchdowns after this game. He had 6 catches for 51 yards and a touchdown tonight, but he really should have had more than that. He was targeted a lot and he had a few mental lapses and was overall covered well by North Carolina’s Zach Brown. Allen showed himself to be a decent blocker, but there’s room for improvement there. He’s 6-4 255 so he has the frame to be a blocker, he’s just not asked to block a lot in Clemson’s offense. He’s athletic enough to make up for his average to below average blocking ability and he still figures to be the first tight end off the board, but I’d say 2^nd round rather than 1^st round.

Zach Brown was the linebacker matched up with Allen for most of the game and he did a good job covering him. He’s a strong coverage linebacker, which makes up for the fact that he’s only 230 pounds. He’s also extremely athletic and makes plays all over the field. I’ve now seen two North Carolina games, spotlighting Brown in neither of them, and he’s still managed to impress me in both. He had 7 tackles, 2 sacks, and a pass deflection in this one. In 8 games, he has 52 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and a pick. He looks like a solid first rounder.

The other highly rated North Carolina defensive player, Quinton Coples, had another great game. He dominated when I last saw him against Louisville, but that was Louisville. Clemson is a bit of a tougher test as they played very well against Brandon Jenkins, a potential first round pick at defensive end. Coples had one sack and could have had 2 if it wasn’t for a facemask penalty against another play. He forced a fumble and once again help up well against the run, his specialty. He can play defensive end in both a 3-4 or a 4-3.

Another defensive player for North Carolina, Charles Brown, looked good early, making some plays, but Sammy Watkins was too much for him. Watkins had 8 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, which is actually a bad day for him, but Brown, an undersized cornerback, once again showed why he’s not much more than a late rounder.

The other spotlight in this game was Brandon Thompson. Thompson did a solid job against the run, but he wasn’t as dominant as he good have been against a decent, but not great North Carolina offensive front. I think he’s a little overrated. Jerel Worthy is better than him. Worthy has played better against better offensive lines and he’s a little bit more athletic. Thompson can be a solid 4-3 nose tackle and this isn’t a strong defensive tackle class, but he’s hardly the top 15 pick some say he is.