Wednesday March 11, 2009

Spring Observations

Spring Impressions
When Dabo Swinney said he was bringing change to Clemson football he was not kidding. I remember spring football being 45 degrees and windy. Last night I broke a sweat in the 70 degree perfection that greeted the Tigers. Dabo must be like Coach Ford who used to control the weather when he was the head man in Clemson.

Here are a few things I noticed in the two hours I was out there Tuesday night:

*The time on the field. Tommy Bowden was known for having his teams out on the practice field three or three and a half hours. Dabo usually goes around two hours but the intensity is higher. Jimmy Buffett sings a song where he talks about living and dying in three-quarters time. Dabo’s practice philosophy is to get out there, get your work down and get off of the field.

*The pace. Everything at practice is faster than before. Then players run to the next drill faster. The coaches move faster. There is a sense of urgency.

Speaking of a sense of urgency, the offense is moving faster in their no huddle. It reminds me of the days of Rich Rodriguez. The most impressive thing about Rich Rod in his Clemson days was that sense of urgency. When he was here every game was crucial. Every practice was do or die. Every play was the most important play.

In my opinion the sense of urgency left the program when Rodriguez left. Bowden became more “big picture” oriented. Now that sense of urgency seems to be back.

*The coaching is intense but I always thought it was intense under Bowden. That was not a problem in my opinion. I guess the news here is that there is no drop off in intensity. The new coaches are impressive.

*Willy Korn-The one thing I went to see Tuesday night was Korn. I wanted to see his arm strength. I had heard negative news going into the last couple of weeks but Korn told me Friday that he was feeling better. I was pleasantly surprised with his recovery. Korn’s arm strength is not an issue at this time. He looked good. His delivery looked a little different from the old days but nothing major. I thought he looked terrific on his deep throws. He does not have the zip that Kyle Parker does but no Clemson quarterback since….maybe….Billy Luckie has had that kind of arm.

*Kyle Parker-I was also interested in Parker on his special baseball-football double header. He struggled once again in baseball but his throwing in football did not seem to notice. Parker showed his incredible arm strength Tuesday. His throws just have more zip. Parker is not as accurate right now with his deep throws but his other throws looked terrific.

*C.J. Spiller-I did not watch Spiller as much Tuesday because I wanted to get a look at the other players that I had not seen as much from. However, it was just nice seeing him out there again. There was a time where I thought he might have played his last down for the Tigers but he just looks good in orange and white. Oh yeah, Spiller can flat out go!

*Jamie Harper-Compared to Spiller and Ellington, Harper looks huge. Compared to the fall, Harper looked like a melted candle. He looks so much better. He is able to cut better and come out of his cuts faster. His ankle looks like it is 100% for the first time since August.

*Andre Ellington-Here is one of the top three or four most impressive performers I noticed Tuesday. He has so many of the same skills as Spiller. Ellington has exceptional quickness. He also catches the ball extremely well. He is as athletic as any player we saw last night.

*Jaron Brown-This was perhaps the most impressive performance of the evening. Brown was able to grab our attention by doing the single hardest thing a wide out is asked to do and that is to adjust to the football in the air, especially the deep ball. The best I have ever seen in a Clemson uniform was Rod Gardner. Brown has some of the same skill in that he is able to adjust his body in the air and judge the deep ball based upon trajectory and distance. Brown out positions the defensive back and wins the battle. He was able to consistently win what soccer players refer to as the 50-50 ball. Brown caused some of the defensive backs to get chewed out by Swinney and staff because he made them look bad.

*Marquan Jones-At times he looked smooth and others he looked inconsistent.

*Dwayne Allen-Same deal. He looked brilliant at times and lost at others.

*Rendrick Taylor-I don’t think I have ever seen Taylor when I was not impressed by his physical presence. He looks comfortable at tight end.

*Offensive line-I did not spend too much time over there but they looked athletic and fit.

*Jarvis Jenkins and Brandon Thompson-The pair looks like what Clemson was playing with the 1980s.

*Brandon Maye-You could tell he has bulked up and he moves around with confidence this spring. I think he is one of the new leaders of the defense.

*Man coverage-I have not seen that much man-to-man coverage at a Clemson practice since Reggie Herring. It was nice to see athletic corners matching up with wide outs and forcing the action.

*The Yellow Jerseys-Limited in action were Da’Quan Bowers, Byron Maxwell, Spencer Adams and Rickey Sapp.

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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, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, 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, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Ronnie Queen, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm,Vincent Lee.