Monday May 21, 2007

Palmetto State Recruiting

Palmetto State Recruiting
Recruiting has changed so much in recent years and the timeline moving up a few months may be the biggest change. Clemson coaches hit the road hard in April and May and have now poised to have a huge recruiting year.

It is a good year in-state and Clemson seems to be ahead of South Carolina in the battle for the Palmetto state. Clemson has also done an excellent job on the national scene also partly because of the staff’s hard work in getting a quick start.

Later this week we will look at the out of state players on the Clemson board but today we will stay in South Carolina. Clemson has offered 15 players from South Carolina so far. Here is a position by position look at where the Tigers stand going into the summer with the players in the state that they have offered:

Quarterbacks-Clemson Offers: 0
It is not a great year for quarterbacks in South Carolina and Clemson already has two commitments from out of state prospects. Jon Richt of Athens, GA and Kyle Parker of Jacksonville, FL have already committed to the Tigers. Since Clemson already has two commitments and the Tigers will not take any more signal callers.

Running Back-Clemson Offers: 1
Clemson would like to sign two running backs in this class but only one should come from South Carolina.

At this point the only back in the state Clemson has offered is Andre Ellington (5-10, 170) of Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner. Ellington is a speedster with sub 4.4 speed. He has offers from both Clemson and South Carolina and the two in-state schools are at the top of his list but Clemson has lead at this time. Ellington rushed for 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

Wide Receiver-Clemson Offers: 3
Clemson looks like it will take two wide receivers in this class and already have locked up one of the top players in the state.

A.J. Green (6-4, 185) of Summerville is one of the top players in the country but committed last year to Georgia. Clemson has no chance here but if you get a chance to see this superstar this season do not miss it.

The Tigers received a commitment from the state’s second best receiver in the state, Marquan Jones (6-0, 170) of Blythewood. Jones enjoyed an incredible junior season with over 1,500 yards including the state record setting game in terms of catches and yards. Jones appears to very solid in his Clemson commitment.

Jaron Brown (6-2, 190) of Cheraw has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Dabo Swinney is recruiting Brown for the Tigers but Brown has been very quiet about his favorites. I would think both Clemson and South Carolina would get unofficial visits and official visits from this star. I would also think we would know more about Brown after his summer camps.

Tight End-Clemson Offers: 0
Clemson has not offered any tight ends from the state so far and will only take one more tight end so I doubt any in-state tight ends will get a Clemson offer.

Offensive Linemen-Clemson Offers: 2
Clemson would like to sign four offensive linemen in this class, have offered two offensive linemen from the state very early and lead with one.

Dalton Freeman (6-6, 270) of Pelion has offers from Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and many others. Brad Scott has done an excellent job with Freeman and his father who is the head coach at Pelion. I would not be surprised if Freeman committed to the Tigers over the summer.

Kenneth Page (6-4, 290) of A.C. Flora High School in Columbia has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and many others. Clemson was in good shape with Page early but as the national schools started to offer Clemson may have slipped. Like many top prospects, Page will listen to the out of state powers. This one should go down to the wire but I would expect Clemson to get an official visit.

Defensive Linemen-Clemson Offers: 4
Clemson has offered four defensive linemen in the state and appear to be in good shape with a couple so far.

DaQuan Bowers (6-4, 265) of Bamberg-Erhardt is perhaps the best defensive lineman to come out of the state in many years. Bowers’ Clemson commitment was great news to the program. He is a program changer. Bowers is athletic enough to make a big difference in this program very early in his Clemson career.

Kenny Davis (6-4, 295) of Newberry has offers from both Clemson and South Carolina. He will see both schools several times this summer and fall and I think both feel pretty good about their chances. Davis says he is open between the two in-state programs. Like Jaron Brown, I think we will have a better feel throughout the summer.

Sam Hammond (6-5, 300) of Union has one offer so far and that is from Clemson. David Blackwell has been on Hammond longer than any other college coach and the Tigers have been a solid leader.

Donte Rumph (6-3, 250) of Calhoun County High School in St. Matthews has offers from Clemson, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Rumph has ties to the program and the Tigers should feel very good about his recruiting at this point.

Linebacker-Clemson Offers: 3
Clemson has offered three linebackers from the state and appears to be in good shape with one.

Robert Quinn (6-5, 245) of Ft. Dorchester High School in North Charleston has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and many others. Quinn has never really been high on Clemson so far and the Tigers have a lot of competition for this linebacker/defensive end.

Jonathan Willard (6-2, 210) of Loris has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina and several others. Willard’s uncle, Richard McCullough, played for the Tigers and Clemson is a solid leader in this race.

Bruce Taylor (6-3, 230) of Myrtle Beach who has a Clemson offer committed to Virginia Tech last year.

Defensive Back-Clemson Offers: 1
The Tigers have only offered one defensive back from the state so far this year.

Charles Whitlock (5-11, 175) of Chester has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and several others. Whitlock claims no favorite but some feel the out of state schools have an edge heading into the summer.

Kicker-Clemson Offers: 1

Spencer Benton (6-3, 190) of Myrtle Beach got an offer from Clemson in April and committed to the Tigers that weekend.

Of the 15 players Clemson has offered from the state I think the Tigers could expect to get unofficial visits and official visits from 12 and have commitments or are leaders with eight.

Later this week we will look at some of the top prospects the Tigers are involved with from outside the state.

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