Thursday July 30, 2009

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks
Recruiting has been at the forefront of the news with Clemson football over the last week as the Tigers are expected to get their sixth commitment in seven days today with the addition of Darius Robinson. The Atlanta, GA cornerback should pick Clemson today after earlier favoring Miami.

The Tigers should have 14 commitments after today and are expected to sign about 23 or 24 players in the Class of 2010 in February. While no one knows exactly how any of the commitments will develop once they get on campus, we do know where the best opportunities will be for them early in their college careers.

Here is a breakdown of how urgent the need by position is in this class:

Quarterback
Clemson has four quarterbacks on scholarship and all four will have eligibility left after this season. The depth is spread out and if Tajh Boyd redshirts this season the Tigers will enter the 2010 season with a senior (Michael Wade), a junior (Willy Korn), a sophomore (Kyle Parker) and a freshman (Boyd). At this point I do not see Clemson making quarterback a priority for this class.

Running Back
Like the quarterback position, Clemson has spread its talent out at running back especially if McDowell red-shirts. They would have a junior (Jamie Harper), a sophomore (Andre Ellington) and a freshman (Rod McDowell) in 2010. Unlike the quarterback position, the Tigers lose their star after this season when Spiller moves on to the NFL. Clemson does not have any current commitments here but would love to take a couple of backs in this class. They do have a commitment from one of the South’s top backs for the class of 2011 (Marlin Lane).

Wide Receiver
The Tigers only lose Jacoby Ford after this season but the numbers are down for this young and unproven group. Terrence Ashe and Xavier Dye will be seniors next season and the younger wide outs have not proven their value in the field yet, so there should be opportunities here. Martavis Bryant is the top rated wide out committed so far and athletes like DeAndre Hopkins and Joe Craig could get their first looks at wide out. This should turn into one of the strongest positions for early playing time out of this recruiting class when you match the talent with the opportunities.

Tight End
The Tigers lose two seniors here this season in Michael Palmer and Durrell Barry. Dwayne Allen is the future star here but depth is needed and Sam Cooper’s commitment came at a good time for this position. I think the staff may still take a look at one more tight end if they can find the right guy.

Offensive Line
The numbers are pretty good heading into the 2009 campaign with 16 scholarship offensive linemen on campus. The Tigers lose Thomas Austin, Jamarcus Grant, Corey Lambert and Barry Humphries so the staff would like to sign four more to replace the seniors. Kalon Davis, David Beasley and Reid Webster are the three linemen committed to the Tigers and one more could be added before signing day. It is difficult to make an immediate impact on the offensive line but there are opportunities here.

Defensive End
Clemson loses Ricky Sapp and Kevin Alexander after this season so the staff would like to sign a couple of defensive ends in this class. There is also a chance that Da’Quan Bowers could jump to the NFL after the 2010 season so another chance at early playing time for this class. Corey Crawford is the first defensive end commitment but the staff is hunting at least one more here.

Defensive Tackle
The Tigers have not hit on any defensive tackles in this class and the prospects are not promising in terms of quality or quantity in this class at this position. There are two pieces of good news here though. First, the Tigers don’t lose anyone after this season. Also, they are primed to have a great defensive tackle class in 2011 and already have a commitment from DeShaun Williams. They lead for other top tackles in the same class as well.

Linebacker
Clemson loses Kavell Conner from this class but also lost Stanley Hunter for his career with his medical condition. There needs to be a talent upgrade with this unit. Early playing time for the Class of 2010 will depend on how freshmen like Corico Hawkins and Quandon Christian work out. Jake Nicolopulos, Rickey Chaney and any other linebacker commitments should expect a decent shot at early playing time.

Safety
Sadat Chambers is the only senior here but DeAndre McDaniel will be a senior next season. The rest of the safeties are freshmen and a lot of the opportunities from the next class will depend on the development of the four freshmen (Spencer Adams, Rashard Hall, Carlton Lewis and Jonathan Meeks). Clemson has commitments from two safeties (Bashaud Breeland and Desmond Brown) that could play corner also.

Cornerback
Opportunities are out there for the cornerbacks considering Clemson because both starters (Chris Chancellor and Crezdon Butler) are seniors. Next year’s starters (Marcus Gilchrist and Byron Maxwell) will be seniors in 2010. Martin Jenkins committed this week and Darius Robinson should go down today. If the Tigers grab Garry Peters next week then they could be finished at corner where these freshmen will have early opportunities.

Punter/Placekicker
The Tigers are young at both kicking positions so I don’t see a scholarship offer to any special teams players with this class.

In summary, Clemson already has more commitments with the class of 2010 than they had signees in the previous class. I could see about 24 signees in the upcoming class with the best chances at immediate playing time coming at wide receiver and in the secondary.

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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.
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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, the Hutto family.