Matt Bockhorst was one of many people close to the team who bought into the offseason optimism about Garrett Riley and Cade Klubnik helping transform the mindset of not just the offense but the entire program.

There was an air of rejuvenation and confidence that was palpable when Bockhorst made a trip to Clemson to watch an August scrimmage.

Very little of that materialized under the lights in Clemson's nightmarish season-opening 28-7 loss at Duke on Monday night.

The litany of critical gaffes on both sides of the ball has many people questioning the mental makeup of this program, and Bockhorst is one of them.

"They're on their heels now," he said. "I think they're all rolling into the football facility today questioning everything about the preparation they've done for the last nine months. Like: 'Are we fraudsters just acting like we deserve to be here?' ...

"If they didn't have an edge before, they better get one soon. Otherwise we've got really big problems."

Bockhorst was an offensive lineman for Clemson from 2017 to 2021.