Wednesday January 28, 2009

Tajh Boyd

Tajh Boyd
At 5:00 PM yesterday in Hampton, VA four-star quarterback Tajh Boyd did what others have done in recent years. He sat down in front of a microphone and surprisingly chose Clemson over bigger names in the college football world.

So how did Clemson’s staff pull this off? What does his commitment mean to this recruiting class? What does it mean for this program?

How Did the Staff Pull This Off?
Tajh Boyd committed to West Virginia over the summer. This fall he backed off and committed to Tennessee but when the new staff came in his plans to go to Knoxville fell through.

So Boyd was in mid-December and still looking around for his school. He took visits to Oregon and Ohio State and had almost closed the door on his recruiting. Boyd’s stock soared after a solid week of practice and a terrific game at the Army All-American game. He was open to taking one last official visit and talked to several programs about that subject but Clemson eventually won out for the final trip.

At first Boyd thought about coming in for the Tigers’ big banquet weekend but he had to catch up on some school and still had not completely committed to taking a fifth visit. Clemson’s Billy Napier and Danny Pearman had started to invest more phone time and in-home visits with the family and eventually convinced Boyd to visit Tigertown.

The official visit went extremely well. Boyd spent some time with the other prospects and enjoyed his host Brandon Maye. C.J. Spiller was an important part of the trip as the two bonded. But the big advantage Clemson received once they got Boyd on campus was his face time with Dabo Swinney. The head coach of the Tigers made Boyd the main focus and spent quality time with the quarterback. The two played horse on the basketball court and Dabo said if he beat Boyd then he had to sign with the Tigers. Boyd was impressed when Dabo beat the visitor. They played pool with the same bet and Dabo won yet again.

I think this was critical. Boyd never got the warm fuzzy feeling with Jim Tressel and Ohio State. He had a great relationship with Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, so the Tigers and Ducks quickly became the two favorites. It was the personal relationships that set the two schools apart.

I would credit Danny Pearman for his patience in the recruiting of Boyd and Billy Napier for his attention to detail. Clemson commitments called Boyd and the entire program became involved and invested in the process.

I have said it many times but recruiting is about relationships. Pearman had one for a while with Boyd. Dabo made a quick impression and gained Boyd’s trust very quickly. Again, I think this is a huge key today. The player-coach relationship is essential in recruiting but it is becoming much more important on the field as well. I think one of Dabo’s big strengths is his ability to communicate with players and gain their trust. He gained Spiller’s trust when he recruited him out of high school, when he recruited him in the Florida transfer ordeal and again in the NFL draft inquiry.

Lombardi did not shoot hoops with Bart Starr. Bear Bryant did not have Ken Stabler and Joe Namath over for dinner often. However, today you have to gain the player’s trust and you have to have a tighter relationship with players. Players have to feel connected to their coach and this is a major strength of Dabo’s.

What Does Boyd Mean for This Class?
Tajh Boyd is one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He could have gone to almost any school in America. Clemson has done well in recruiting in recent years but no Tiger commitment has played in a national all-star game the way Boyd played in the Army All-American game.

Boyd joins four star commitments like Bryce McNeal, Leon Mackey and Jonathan Meeks as players who really had little interest in Clemson until late in the process.

Since Dabo was named the head coach Clemson has had 21 official visitors. They have offered 20 of those official visitors. Of the 20 offered by the Tigers 12 have committed to Clemson, one to Auburn, one to Ohio State, one to Tennessee, one to West Virginia and one to South Carolina. Of those five who have committed elsewhere, only one came into his Clemson visit uncommitted. The other four were already committed to the other schools and only Jonathan Scott has committed to another school after visiting Clemson. Three players have not committed yet.

There are a couple of things to point out here. First, Clemson’s numbers will be down. The season was such a disappointment and there was so much uncertainty on the recruiting trail since September. Second, this staff has decided not to take any fall back prospects from their B list. Third, on the players they have targeted since Dabo has taken over, they have done an excellent job with.

What Does Boyd Mean for This Program?
Boyd gives Clemson three highly rated signal callers. Willy Korn, Kyle Parker and Tajh Boyd were all nationally recruited quarterbacks but all three have some issues before we can count this as a strength of the program. Korn is coming off of two shoulder surgeries, Parker has an elite baseball background and Boyd is having ACL surgery today.

This insures the staff that they will have competition at the position for the next few seasons. Competition will only make each player better and make the productivity better for the position and the offense. Each player gives the Tigers something different but all three make the program better.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover-was born Wednesday, January 14 several weeks pre-mature and was 2 lbs. 15 ounces. She is doing well but like all pre-mature babies she will have to get through several issues over the next few weeks.

Mrs. Kathleen Bowers

Larry in Naples, FL. Larry is currently being kept sedated in ICU and has acute pancreatitis. Larry is going to be transferred this week to Shands in Gainesville, FL for surgery on his pancreas. The doctors are saying that there is a 40% mortality rate with this surgery and if successful, there will still be a very long recovery. Larry is a great guy and a wonderful husband/father. Larry is 32 years old.

RTG-Pawsitive Tiger

Kaitlyn L-4 year old girl in TN who has seizures and a brain lesion that may be a slow-growing tumor. She will likely have a biopsy in February.

Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter)

Sandy Wright

Jo Ann Bachman

Frank Taylor

Kenneth Bryant

Pruitt Martin

Got igers and his family

David Rowland

Leonard Gillespie and his family

Jim S

Christine Hepfer

Daniel Rosborough-4-year old Inman, SC who will have a kidney transplant 1/14/09 in Charleston

Special Prayer Request from Peggy Lesley at Brookwood Church .

I am starting a signing for my son's best friend who has cancer (Hodgkin's Lymphoma). He is 11 years old and is not doing well at all. He was diagnosed with this cancer 2 weeks ago and the tumor is next to his jugular vein and entwined in it...has moved his wind pipe over a inch making it hard for him to breathe. The tumor is the size of a large eggplant and is sitting right above his heart. This little boy needs all the prayer he can get. I would like you to sign this and pass it on to as many people as you can. Once we get to a thousand people can you please send this back to me at: 1volsgirl@bellsouth.net When I get the 1000 people that have signed it...I am going to print this up for my sons best friend and show him how many people care and how many people are praying for him to get better. If you have a heart at all, you will all do this for me. I love this child as though he is my own and we really need all the prayers!

Thanks,
Peggy

Amy Murphey - diagnosed with ALS, pray for healing

Jack Huffman

Nancy Winkler

Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan

Ronnie Queen

Creighton McCallum