CLEMSON — Aaron Kelly won’t sugarcoat it. That’s impossible.

Through five games, Clemson’s All-ACC receiver has 25 catches — best on the team. He has 253 yards — second only to teammate Jacoby Ford’s 261.

But after scoring 11 touchdowns in 2007, he has reached the end zone exactly zero times.

Zip. Zilch. Nada. The big doughnut.

And as much as the soft-spoken Kelly tries to put his best face forward, well, it isn’t easy.

“It has been a little disappointing,” Kelly said. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little frustrating.”

As much as anyone, Kelly is the poster boy for Clemson’s missing-in-action downfield passing game.

He’s on pace for 65 receptions and 657 receiving yards, well below his 2007 numbers — 88 receptions for 1,081 yards and 11 scores.

Nobody said sharing a football with Ford, James Davis and C.J. Spiller would be easy; Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said in August his players must put the team’s greater good before individual numbers.

A little sacrifice is fine, but this is getting ridiculous.

“Teamwork is very important. But you also have to look at yourself and be productive, and step up and say, ‘It’s time for me to make plays,’” Kelly said. “You can’t look at someone else to make the play. You’ve got to look at yourself and say, ‘I want to be the guy that makes the plays.’ That’s how I feel. I want to be able to make some plays and help this team win.”

He hasn’t had many chances to yet, largely because Clemson has toned down its passing offense to protect an inexperienced offensive line which has trudged through a rash of injuries. The Tigers will start their fifth different offensive line combination in six games Thursday at Wake Forest, and it could include junior Cory Lambert moving from right tackle to left guard.

“Nobody likes to throw downfield more than me, and I’m sure the fans like it, but you’ve got to look at where you’re at from an offensive line standpoint, what you’re doing for position changes and put an offense together that can move,” Bowden said. “You’re interested in making first downs and scoring, whether you run it, screen passes, draws, option or throwing downfield.”

That means throwing more short routes, bubble and tunnel screens and utilizing tight ends. Kelly averages 10.1 yards per catch, the lowest of his career, and tight end Michael Palmer has more touchdowns (two) than Ford and Kelly combined (one).

“There are some ways you can compensate for inexperience (on the line),” Bowden said. “One is surely to not go back there and hold the ball. The longer you hold it, the better chances technique and experience become a factor. So as the season goes, as (the line makes) progress, I think you can hold the ball longer. You’ve got to hold it longer for those guys to get downfield. But with the amount of injuries we’ve had, starting our fifth offensive line, it limits you a little bit.”

Two other factors have hampered Kelly: a trend towards more running in the red zone and defenses keying on him.

Davis and Spiller have combined for 10 touchdowns, and defenses are using more double-coverage on Kelly, leaving a safety over the top to shadow him inside the 20.

Take the first possession of last week’s loss to Maryland, for example. Clemson drove quickly down the field and faced third and two at the Terrapin 10.

Offensive coordinator Rob Spence called a one-receiver formation slant route (Kelly’s) based on film study which showed Maryland had a heavy tendency to blitz in similar situations.

Instead, they dropped back into zone coverage, and Harper threw the ball away.

“If the safety’s going to sit back there and play over the top and the linebacker’s scraping the bubble route, you don’t want to force a stupid play,” Harper said. “You throw out of bounds, kick a field goal.”

That was one of only “two or three times,” by Kelly’s careful calculations, that he has been targeted in the red zone.

“I do whatever the team wants me to do, to try and help them win,” he said. “Hopefully we can get some more production later on in the year.”

During the off week, Kelly, Harper and others worked on polishing their games, working on “timing, reads and different protections,” he said, mistakes which have plagued the offense.

“So when opportunities come, we can capitalize on them,” he said. “I think we’ve missed a lot of things fundamentally that have kind of hurt us as far as doing more things.”

Harper says the touchdown drought isn’t necessarily Kelly’s fault, either.

“I’m sure it is tough,” Harper said. “It’s got to be frustrating for him. He’s got to make the most of his opportunities when he gets the football. Aaron’s a great football player, he still comes out to practice and works hard. It’s not like he’s not the player he was last year, he’s just not quite getting the opportunities. He’s still a great player. That’s not going to change.”

Kelly just hopes his touchdown total changes — soon.

“I definitely miss being in the end zone,” he said. “That’s a big part of football, and hopefully I’ll be in there this week.”