This isn't new. Clemson has been accused of stealing signals before. Still, whenever an opposing coach makes such a heavy allegation, it's worthy of attention.
In Sports Illustrated's Clemson preview last August, an unnamed opposing coach said Tigers' defensive coordinator Brent Venabales is able to get his calls in late because they steal signals from the offense.
"Defensive coordinator Brent Venables does a great job, but he’s late getting his calls in. That’s because they’re probably as good as anybody at stealing signals, and Venables is waiting to see your offensive call. And because they’re so multiple on defense, they’re prone to being out of position. They’ll line up late, and you can get a guy running free.”
Clemson declined to comment.
In November, former head coach Tommy Bowden admitted his teams did it during his tenure from 1999-2008, specifically referencing South Carolina.
"I remember when Charlie Strong was at South Carolina, we got when he was going to blitz,” Bowden said. “It helps with your calls. You send a little blitz-protected pass in there."
And now it's coming up again, this time again with the current regime. In Athlon Sports' 2017 College Football Preview magazine, an unnamed ACC assistant coach said they do it and no one wants to admit it.
"They'll steal your signals. People don't want to talk about it, but the teams that gave them fits were NC State and Pitt, because they huddled."
Clemson beat North Carolina State but lost to Pitt, their only defeat of the season. For what's it worth, their defense yielded an average of 29.5 points and 430.5 yards in those two games. In the other seven game against ACC teams, they gave up 19.3 points and 321 yards.
