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Rex Brown

Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker (11) barks out signals to the offense during the Tigers' game against TCU last month at Memorial Stadium in Clemson.

CLEMSON — Since he was just 2 when the sitcom “Growing Pains” was canceled in 1992, Kyle Parker probably doesn’t remember much, if anything, about the show.

Clemson’s redshirt freshman quarterback doesn’t need to watch the reruns to make sense of the show’s title, though. Right now, he’s going through some growing pains of his own on the gridiron.

After throwing for 465 yards and five touchdowns in his first two career starts, earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors for his performance against then-No. 15 Georgia Tech in the latter of those contests, Parker looked like nothing short of a freshman phenom.

In the three games since, however, he’s looked more like, well, a freshman quarterback.

The Tigers (2-3, 1-2 ACC) have lost two of those three ball games entering Saturday’s ACC Atlantic tilt with division-leading Wake Forest (4-2, 2-1), and Parker has been picked off three times without throwing a touchdown pass across that stretch.

“It’s definitely kind of bitter,” Parker said this week. “We know we’re better than we’ve been playing, and that’s the biggest thing, and we know we’ve worked harder than what we’ve got right now. We know we deserve to have a little bit better record than 2-3. But that’s just the way it is, and I think we just need to go out there and work hard and I think we can still turn this thing around.”

Making the team’s recent struggles considerably more difficult to swallow, according to Parker, is that he and the offense have had multiple chances inside opposing territory to tie or win the game in the fourth quarter of each of their three losses.

“If you look back at the games that we’ve played, the games have kind of fallen on my shoulders at the end and there are things that I could’ve done to help us win. … I’ve got to be able to go out there and lead our team and be able to win games,” he said.

And while Parker said he was prepared for a bit of a learning curve in his first season playing major college football, he openly admits the onus of leadership that comes with the role of starting quarterback can be a difficult responsibility for a younger player on a frustrated team to handle.

“It is a little tough knowing your place and just knowing what to say and when to say it, but I think especially this last week I’ve made some strides there, and we’re starting to get this thing on the right track,” Parker said.

And while Parker is a redshirt, not a true, freshman, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney has said that, prior to backup quarterback Willy Korn’s shoulder injury late last season, his workload at practice was light, to say the least.

“He came out to a few practices,” Swinney said last month, “but he stood around over there and drank some Gatorade. He wasn’t in meetings.”

Offensive coordinator Billy Napier said because of that, not only does Parker have no first-hand experience with the day-to-day preparation needed to get ready for an opponent, he’s never really even watched someone else do it.

“I think he’s figuring out the preparation part of this thing, during the week, is really critical,” Napier said. “I’ve seen a change in his focus and attitude and attempt to do extra during the week, because he’s saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got to get ready to go.’ So, I think that’s part of him being a redshirt freshman.”

Napier also was quick to point out that there was plenty of blame to go around for the offense’s recent struggles and that Parker, in reality, was making major strides in his decision-making.

“I think it’s a thing where he’ll improve each week,” Napier said. “It won’t take him an offseason to get to where he can be a good quarterback. At times, he’s played really well and made some plays and been productive. It’s just a matter of playing consistent winning football, managing the game and the more better decision he makes, the better we’ll be.”

And Parker admits that he’s only recently realized the need to improve his focus and attention to detail during the week leading up to a game in order to play his best on Saturdays.

“I think at times I’ve played really good and at times I’ve played pretty poor,” Parker said. “The biggest thing I’m just trying to work on is to be more consistent.”

And while Swinney admits that he expected Parker to have some bumps in the road, like any rookie quarterback, he said he’s been very pleased with his playmaking ability and aggressive mentality.

“He certainly has made some mistakes, but he’s certainly not the reason we’re 2-3, I’ll tell you that,” the Tiger coach said. “He’s giving us an opportunity to win.”

And with Clemson set to face a Demon Deacon defense that ranks third in the ACC against the run but 10th against the pass, Swinney said Parker’s performance will be crucial.

“I think it’s going to be a big game for Kyle Parker,” Swinney said.

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Time set for Halloween Day game. Clemson’s home game against Coastal Carolina on Oct. 31 will kick off at 1:30 p.m. and will be shown on the Internet at ESPN360.com, the school announced Thursday.

Freeman to start. After Thursday’s practice, Swinney announced that redshirt freshman Dalton Freeman will start at center against Wake Forest over Mason Cloy, who has started each of the first five games at the position. Cloy is still expected to draw significant work both at center and right guard.

Cooper out. Junior linebacker Scotty Cooper will miss Saturday’s game while recovering from a concussion suffered at Maryland. Sophomore Daniel Andrews will move up to second-team SAM linebacker behind starter Kevin Alexander.