Tuesday July 28, 2009

The Last Scholarship; Year Two; Drayton

The Last Scholarship
I have seen a lot of remarks on both sides of the fence from Clemson and South Carolina fans about some commitments the Tigers and Gamecocks have taken in recent weeks. Some try to spin it as negative that some of their commitments don’t have bigger offers or more stars from rivals or scout.com. The sunshine pumpers spin it to trust the coaches and their evaluations.

I have not seen most of the guys committed to both schools so far this season and even Dabo and Spurrier themselves can’t tell you for sure how good each commitment will be.

At South Carolina the fans will use Sydney Rice as their example of a two-star prospect that turned into a superstar as their man made for spin. At Clemson, Levon Kirkland is usually the guy that made it despite not receiving a lot of attention from recruiting services. Both had limited offers but both went on to the NFL after brilliant college careers.

However, on my radio show this morning and in a phone conversation last night I was reminded of another terrific example of the no-named guy who made it big.

Rick Stockstill was recruiting Patrick Sapp out of Jacksonville, FL and he was having to beat the major college football powers for Sapp’s signature. Sapp enjoyed an excellent career at Clemson and later played in the NFL himself but the throw in to the deal was the real story here. Brian Dawkins came to Clemson very late in the process.

Stockstill said, “Dawk did not have a lot of offers and at the end some other dropped him too. Florida pulled out late because of another player they signed. So the Friday night before signing day I took Coach Hatfield down to watch Dawk play a high school basketball game/ Believe me, Dawk was not a basketball player. He was an awful shooter. Couldn’t even make a lay-up. But Brian played terrific defense and played really hard.”

“I had been pushing Brian in our recruiting meetings so we decided to bring him in for an official visit the last weekend before signing day. He came in on that Saturday and we offered on Sunday. It was basically just us and Louisville, where his brother was playing,” Stock added.

“I tell our players here (Middle Tennessee) all of the time about Dawk. I have been in coaching for 27 years and he was the most focused student-athlete I have ever been around. He did nothing except school work and football. That is all he was focused on. He never got distracted. He was either in the classroom, study hall, the weight room or the practice fields all of the time. When he came here he ran about a 4.6 forty and on pro day four years later he ran a sub 4.4. The guy just worked his tail off to improve.”

Stockstill said there was never any doubt about Dawkins and his character or work ethic so he is never surprised by anything Dawkins has been able to accomplish.

When Stockstill left Clemson he had signed the school’s all-time leading rusher (Raymond Priester), passer (Woody Dantzler) and receiver (Rod Gardner) but perhaps the best player he ever signed is Dawkins, who has played in more Pro Bowls (7) than any former Clemson player.

So this September 5 will be a special time in Tigertown. Stockstill will be on the opposing sidelines in Death Valley for the first time as a head coach and Dawkins will be honored at halftime as one of the inductees in the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame for the Class of 2009.

I would like to have as many five-star players as possible. C.J. Spiller was a five star and he worked out well. I think Da’Quan Bowers will work out well for the Tigers also and he was a five star. The reason Southern Cal, Texas, Florida and Ohio State are national powers because they sign five star type football players. However, I am glad the Tigers took a chance on a no-name out of Jacksonville in February of 1992.

Year Two
I am working on a blog detailing coaching careers and how important year two can be. In the SEC media event last week Georgia head coach Mark Richt said Arkansas scares him because Bobby Petrino is going into year two at Arkansas. Richt pointed out how year two is a good barometer for a coach because he has had time to figure out some things that plagued the program and has had some time to make changes. Richt pointed out how he won the SEC in his second year at Georgia and how Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have been successful in year two.

The only thing I can’t figure out is what year this is for Dabo. Is this his first year or does his familiarity and the interim status from a year ago count as year one?

Drayton Melton Update
I just wanted to give a quick update on Drayton Melton. He is doing well at the Children’s Hospital at MUSC in Charleston. Drayton has been sitting up some and has even taken a few steps. The 11-year old has even had some solid food in the past couple of days. His family is very appreciative of everything and the generosity of so many who have helped.

I have received several e-mails from readers wanting to help. You can go by any BB&T branch to make a donation to the Drayton Melton Fund or online at paypal.com with the account entitled meltonfamilyfund@gmail.com. Thanks.

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, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), 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, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene.