Monday August 03, 2009

Football Questions-Volume III

Football Questions-Volume III
This is the third installment of pre-season questions that we first posted back in the first of July. Today we will answer a couple more as we get ready for the opening of camp tomorrow night at 6:00 pm.

Can Jacoby Ford be a number-one receiver?
I remember the first time I ever heard about the legend of Jacoby Ford and his speed. I remembered his brother, Davey, who starred as a running back at Florida State but Jacoby was not highly recruited out of high school and went to a prep school in Virginia to increase his opportunities. I first got wind of Ford’s speed from former Clemson running back coach, Burton Burns.

Coach Burns said, “You gotta see this to believe it.” Later in the process he tells the story of how coaches from Southern Cal were among the assistants that were lined up to time him in the forty and they all had to check each other’s stop watch to make sure they were not crazy. The legend has grown ever since.

One of the most amazing things I have ever seen was Ford when he broke the ACC record for the indoor 60 m on consecutive nights.

On the football field Ford has dazzled at times but he has yet to be the number-one receiver. That honor went to Aaron Kelly who broke several school records in his career. Kelly has moved on and Ford will have to be the new number one.

We actually got a glimpse of his greatness last season when he was a much bigger part of the offense. As a freshman Ford had 15 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns. His sophomore numbers were not much better with 17 catches for 310 yards and four scores but he missed the last five games with an injury. But last year he exploded for 55 receptions for 710 yards and four more touchdowns receiving.

We know Ford has been a big part of the special teams and gets a couple of touches per game in the running game but can he be the top receiver in the downfield passing game?

There have been games where he has been the focal point of the passing offense but he has not consistently been the top target. For example, six times last season he caught five or more balls. He was the leading receiver against The Citadel, NC State, South Carolina State, Wake Forest, Boston College and Virginia.

I have heard some question Ford’s hands but I can’t remember him dropping more than a couple of passes in his career. I have also heard he is not a great route runner but I think that area has improved.

Ford is not a great deep threat because he is not natural at catching the deep ball despite having the speed to get behind the defense. That kind of speed and the threat of the deep ball gets him more respect and makes him a better underneath receiver. Every cornerback that plays against Ford has to respect his speed and the deep ball threat.

I think Ford is a high character guy that will step up with a sense of urgency in his senior season. I think he is more versatile than what we have seen in his first three years. He is also pretty durable and has only missed the last five games of 2007 due to the injury at the Maryland game.

So, if you have the fastest wide receiver in school history who runs pretty good routes and catches the ball well and is pretty durable then it is OK to expect him to have a big senior season.

We have talked a lot about C.J. Spiller’s role in the post-James Davis days but I think we should also look at that kind of jump from Jacoby Ford in the post-Aaron Kelly days.

Who will step up among the unproven wide outs?
One of the key components to having a top notch number-one receiver is having enough quality in the rest of the receiving corps to take some of the attention and pressure off of the main guy.

There is inexperience among the rest of the ranks. Of the other receivers on campus only five have ever played in a college game. They have combined for 25 receptions at Clemson.

Terrence Ashe has played in 23 games but has only ten catches for 72 yards. Brandon Clear has played in three contests but has yet to catch a pass. Xavier Dye has played in all 26 games in his career and even started two last year but has only 10 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Johnson is an ECU transfer that played in 11 games last year but did not have a reception. Marquan Jones played in eight games as a true freshman last year and had five catches for 37 yards.

Three freshmen will probably play their first college game against Middle Tennessee. Brandon Ford and Jaron Brown red-shirted a year ago and Bryce McNeal is a true freshman this season.

So who will step up?

I think Dye is ready to become more consistent in his assignments. He has good speed and excellent size. This is a high character kid as well and seems to be ready for more responsibility.

I also think we will see Marquan Jones ready to take the next step. He runs good routes and has excellent hands. I also like his elusiveness.

We could see Jacoby Ford, Xavier Dye and Marquan Jones in the top three but I would also look at Jaron Brown, Brandon Ford and Bryce McNeal. Brown and Ford are physically ready and McNeal has enough ability but lacks the strength.

The roles will develop in camp and even in the first part of the season but there is talent here. This group struggled in the spring but I think we could see improvement as the season develops. I think we could see this group turning into a strength by mid-season.

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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), 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.