Thursday January 31, 2008

Dabo

Dabo
How would you like to be Dabo Swinney for the next week?

At first glance, it would be a good deal because you have so many positive things going on in your life.

1. You have you a strong faith.

2. You have a great family that includes three of the cutest sons you could ever ask for.

3. You have a great job at a great institution.

4. You are highly thought of in your industry and you are marketable to other programs.

5. You have a nice compensation package that includes a good salary, company car, nice accommodations with your business travel and some clout in your community.

All things considered, Dabo has worked hard and made a very nice life for himself and his family. It was his hard work as a player at Alabama that helped him build a reputation at his alma mater that still is in good standing today.

Life would be great for Dabo if you also considered he got the good news earlier this month that his record setting wide receiver Aaron Kelly decided to come back to school. Kelly will join Tyler Grisham, who had a very good junior campaign. Rendrick Taylor is healthy once again and that would put any wide receiver coach in a good mood. If Jacoby Ford returns to full strength, the Tigers may be one of the best wide receiver units in the country next season. Dabo would also have to feel good about last year’s class that included Brandon Clear and Xavier Dye. Heck, he even gets to work this spring with highly touted receiver Marquan Jones.

Life is great for Dabo this week unless he values sleep.

How could someone sleep knowing you have four valuable prospects still hanging in the balance?

In the next seven days Dabo will learn (if he doesn’t already know) the fate of the recruitment of Jerrell Harris, Antoine McClain, Jamie Harper and Jaron Brown. The Tigers have few scholarship opportunities left and coaches on many staffs are only waiting on one or two at the most but Dabo has four thoroughbreds that the Clemson staff has decided to go down to the wire with.

If all four went elsewhere it would still be a very good year for Dabo on the recruiting trail. How many college coaches can say they signed eight players in a single class? That’s right, Dabo has eight commitments even before any of the remaining four make a decision. He was the primary recruiter of record for quarterback Kyle Parker of Jacksonville, FL and kicker Spencer Benton of Myrtle Beach. Both players have already enrolled at Clemson. On signing day, barring any surprises, Dabo will sign Jacksonville, FL safety Daniel Andrews, St. Augustine, FL safeties Rashard Hall and Carlton Lewis, Jacksonville, FL long snapper Matt Skinner, Loris, SC linebacker Jonathan Willard and Jacksonville corner Xavier Brewer.

Eight signees in one class is incredible but any combination of the four remaining prospects Dabo is waiting on would be the icing on a big, delicious cake.

In many ways recruiting has changed so much and the idea of a coach waiting on four prospects the last week does not happen that often anymore. So how do you sleep? How do you sleep knowing that you have worked for over a year in most of these cases and the hard work may pay huge dividends in the next week? How could you sleep knowing Southern Cal, Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Illinois, Michigan, South Carolina and Tennessee are out there trying to exactly what you are trying to do?

Jerrell Harris is a 6-3, 220-pound monster of a linebacker from Gadsden, AL. Scout.com ranks him as the second best player in the state of Alabama while Rivals has him number four in the state. Both say he is one of the top five outside linebackers in the country and both rank Harris among the top 100 players in the country. Harris has offers from anyone that recruits the state of Alabama but he took official visits to Southern Cal, Alabama, Auburn and Clemson and will visit Tennessee this weekend.

Antoine McClain is a 6-6, 315-pound offensive linemen also from Alabama. In fact, McClain is from nearby Anniston and is good friends with Harris. The national recruiting services are also very high on McClain as Scout has him as the third best player in the state of Alabama and Rivals has him number seven in the state. McClain has been on official visits to Clemson, Auburn and Tennessee but might not make his scheduled trip to LSU because he wants to take an ACT class instead.

Alabama usually does not export top ten in-state prospects to other programs and certainly not two of the top seven to a single school. Can Dabo pull off a couple of stunners in his home state?

Going to the Sunshine State is a little easier but it is still difficult to grab a player like Jamie Harper out of the area. Harper is a 6-1, 210 pound running back that is ranked among the top five backs in America by both Rivals and Scout. Scout.com has Harper as the nation’s number 34 player in their latest rankings while Rivals calls him the number one full back in the country. Harper has offers from dozens of programs but has been on official visits to Illinois, Clemson and Florida State. This weekend he goes to Miami.

Jaron Brown is a 6-2, 187 pound wide receiver from Cheraw, SC that is considered one of the top 10 players in the Palmetto State. He has been on official visits to Clemson, South Carolina and Michigan.

Brown will announce his decision Friday while Harris, McClain and Harper all say they will wait until signing day to announce their decisions.

Dabo has been in the wars in the past and has had to fend off Pete Carroll and Bobby Bowden in the homes of his potential signees. He has had to with stand the pressures from the Florida folks when C.J. Spiller said Clemson instead of the Gators just two short years ago. He held strong in the signing of players like Scotty Cooper and DeAndre McDaniel.

In the end, it is Dabo’s work ethic and personality that gains the trust of these young men. It is his positive attitude and determination that pay off every signing day. It is his optimism that keeps his nose to the grindstone even though the odds may be against him. All the hard work and personality traits make for a great coach and great recruiter. Oh yeah, the ability to work without sleep isn’t a bad trait to posses either.

864-834-6060

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency