Tuesday August 07, 2007

Freshmen Notes; ACC Linebacker Rankings

Freshmen Notes
The Tigers have had three practices in shorts now so the staff has had some time to start to make judgments on the newcomers.

For the most part this group is everything the staff thought he would be and more. They have only two guys in the class that they probably would not recruit again if they had the chance. Therefore 19 of the freshmen are expected to be worthy of their scholarships and that is a great percentage.

Obviously the five players that came in last year have a head start. Willy Korn, Xavier Dye, Landon Walker, Brian Linthicum and DeAndre McDaniel all have a much better chance to play because they are more acclimated to college football.

Korn and McDaniel will play and I think both will play a bunch. Walker could play but he may not be needed if the more experienced tackles play well. The same can be said for Linthicum but I think Linthicum will play. Dye is one of the biggest surprised of the class and should have a big career at Clemson.

Perhaps the two biggest surprises are Chad Diehl and Brandon Clear. Diehl is a better athlete than the staff originally thought and Clear has made a big impression in his first three practices.

Scotty Cooper, Jarvis Jenkins, Marcus Gilchrist, Kourtnei Brown, Rennie Moore and Miguel Chavis have turned heads early in their short careers. Before his career ends we may be talking about Gilchrist being one of the top corners in school history. I know it is early but he is special.

ACC Linebacker Rankings
1. Florida State-The Seminoles are amazing. They continue to sign five stars linebackers year after year and they keep churning out NFL talent at the position each year. Buster Davis and Lawrence Timmons head to the NFL so no problem because Derek Nicholson, Marcus Ball, Geno Hayes, Jae Thaxton and Dakota Watson are ready. Maybe the easiest job in the country is the Florida State linebacker coach. In the last ten years no one has had the speed and athleticism the Noles have had at linebacker. I think Hayes is the next superstar. He runs like a safety but hits like a linebacker.

2. Virginia Tech-No school in the country has a better one-two combination than Virginia Tech has in Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi. Adibi is the big-name and big play guy. He creates turnovers and is an excellent pass rusher. However, I think Hall is the best of the bunch. Hall is the heart and soul of this team. He is a terrific tackler and one of the strongest players in the country.

3. Clemson-See Monday’s blog for complete analysis.

4. Virginia-The Cavs play a 3-4 so their linebackers are extremely important. All four starters return including Antonio Appleby and Jon Cooper, the two leading tacklers from a year ago. Jermaine Dias and Clint Sintim are returning starters but they will have to hold off Olu Hall, a future star. This group has versatility. I believe Virginia could be one of the top defenses in the league in 2007.

5. Miami-The Hurricanes usually have NFL talent everywhere with this unit but they have missed on a few players recently. Jon Beason is now a Carolina Panther but Taveres Gooden returns and he is the next great one in this line. Glenn Cook was a starter last year at middle linebacker and he should be improved this season. I like Spencer Adkins and the rest of the depth here.

6. Georgia Tech-The Yellow Jackets have to replace KaMichael Hall but Phillip Wheeler is as talented as any linebacker in this league. Wheeler is a big play guy that is an excellent pass rusher. Gary Guyton is another senior starter that returns to the lineup.

7. Maryland-A few years ago E.J. Henderson helped lead Maryland to an ACC title and now his younger brother, Erin Henderson, is hoping to repeat the feat. Henderson plays with a ton of emotion. I thought he single-handedly dominated Clemson when I saw him in person last fall. Chase Bullock is a player that has to play well at Mike for this defense to be successful.

8. Boston College-The Eagles might have a top three linebacker corps if Brian Toal was not going to miss the year because of injury. His neck injury will have a major effect on this defense. JoLonn Dunbar is a lot like Maryland’s Henderson in that he plays with so much emotion. He reminds me of many of the top linebackers in the league.

9. NC State-LaRue Rumph is the only returning starting linebacker for the Wolfpack this season. I liked the way Patrick Lowery played and he will be missed. Depth is pretty good here with players like James Martin, Earnest Jones, Ray Michel and others. This group will be better coached in 2007 but this is not a great unit.

10. Wake Forest-The Deacons’ most valuable player last season was John Abbate. The heart and soul of this team and the emotional leader is gone. His replacement was supposed to be Eric Berry but he is ineligible. So in essence Wake has to replace two starters now. Aaron Curry and Stanley Arnoux return at outside linebacker but they have big shoes to fill Abbate’s shoes.

11. North Carolina-I am high on Durrell Mapp but the rest of the North Carolina linebackers have a ways to go in my opinion. Mapp is the kind of linebacker UNC used to play with many years ago but he has little experience around him this season. A lot of guys had to play last season because of injury but cone should be considered all-conference type players.

12. Duke-Mike Taullili out for the season and that is bad news for the Blue Devils. Taullili was the only good news in their linebacking corps but his presence will be missed greatly. Marcus Jones is a former quarterback that has moved to outside linebacker and he may have the most upside.

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