Friday February 20, 2009
Friday E-Mail Bag
Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.
Mickey,
Two quick questions for you:
1. How good will TCU be next year?
2. I am not sure if I can make it Saturday night on time for the dinner but I want to hear you talk. Can I just show up at 7:00 PM? DO I still need a ticket?
Thanks for everything,
Mo
Mo,
Thanks for the e-mail. I think I saw where TCU is ranked 15th in the pre-season CFN.com poll. It is too early to tell too much but they do have a lot of guys coming back especially on offense. The Horned Frogs will bring back their number-two and three leading rushers from a year ago and the quarterback returns. Three offensive linemen return but their best was center Blake Schleuter who graduated. In all, eight starters return from a good offense last year. On defense, TCU loses three defensive linemen and two linebackers so only two of the front seven return off of one of the nation’s top five defenses from a year ago. Jerry Hughes led the nation in sacks with 15 last year. TCU will be good and will be a pre-season top 25 team next year.
I am not sure if you need a ticket of you are not able to make it for dinner tomorrow night. I do know that if anyone plans to attend they need to call in advance to help the church prepare. You can call Paula Sloan at 864-288-7835 to find out any other answers and to get a ticket. Thanks and hope to see you tomorrow night.
Hello:
I do not understand why different college's recruit more than Clemson did this year. B.C. recruited about 25 or so players. S.C. recruited 29 players. Why? Why did we only get to recruit 12? I will appreciate your help concerning this question.
Thanks,
Stan
Stan,
There are two numbers that limit every Division I-A school in terms of scholarships. A school can sign as many players as they like but can only bring in 25 new players on scholarship each year. The other limitation is the overall number. Schools cannot have more than 85 players on scholarship at any time. Clemson has 70 returning players on scholarship partly because it was a small senior class. If you signed 25 a year for four years and retained each player that would be 100 and would be 15 over the limit so the 85 total scholarships is the reason Clemson signed only 12 and others signed 29. They had more room.
Mickey,
With the Bryce Brown saga continuing into mid-March (12th? 16th?, who knows), are we going to see recruits wise up to the media and themselves by actually signing on NSD? I’ve never seen fans ("Da U") turn on a player so quickly before they've even played a down--and I can completely see why. Watching Terrell Pryor last year, I was hoping this wouldn't become a habit for top recruits with big egos to prolong the decision but it seems like it's becoming the norm. If Brown is as good as everyone makes him out to be, then his time at U of Whatever will probably be less than the time it took to decide. This kid has to be listening/reading to what people are saying about him and then to prolong the decision date even more? Incredible. I hope future recruits and coaches use Brown as an example of what not to do during the recruiting and off seasons.
That being said where do you think he's going to end up and will he ever be able to contribute as a TEAM player.
Believe it or not--it's hard to play all 11 positions by yourself, Bryce. You're 15 minutes are up.
Chase
Chase,
I understand people’s frustration with Brown to a certain extent but what is the worst thing he has ever done? I am not sure we all see the real Bryce Brown. What we see is his mentor and maybe a bad decision. I just hope Brown gets to go to whatever school he wants to attend and the mentor will not put his influence into it. What if Brown really does not know where he wants to go to school? Is it OK to take his time and decide?
I don’t think he is coming to Clemson and have never thought Clemson had a good chance. However, I cannot tell you where he is going.
The reason these kids hang on to the attention is because we give it to them. We make a big deal out of it and they know that. I do think Brown will be an excellent player at the next level and have no indication that he will be anything but a team player. I think it is unfair to assume because of his recruiting that he will be a problem. We do not know that. Maybe he is a good kid that is getting some bad advice. I am willing to wait and see.
Mickey,
Does Clemson's athletic dept or the football operations have a person who, among other duties, acts as a liaison to former tiger players turned professional? That is, someone who tries to maintain strong ties with these folks for the purposes of goodwill, assisting in recruiting where allowed, and of course as a source of fund-raising. I know there are a lot of tigers who give back to Clemson but I would imagine having someone focused on this would result in so much more. Just curious.
Bobby
Bobby,
Loyalty starts long before they go pro. You have to make their experience at your school valuable and memorable. You can’t just show up at their door after they have been successful and ask for money. IPTAY works with student-athletes and former student-athletes. Jeff Davis is also a key part of this as is the Clemson Lettermen’s Association.
Mickey,
Who has a better junior day visit list, Clemson or USC?
Thanks,
Carl
Carl,
Both schools like the list of juniors scheduled to come to their campuses this weekend. The in-state advantage may go to South Carolina but part of that is because Tom Lemming is having a photo shoot for his national recruiting business in Columbia Saturday as well. Give USC credit for pulling that one off. Remember too that both will have other junior days because schools like Alabama are having junior day tomorrow as well.
Mickey,
Can't help but think with all the money being paid for TV rights that the ACC could demand a better product from Raycom. The picture just looks horrible to me. I dread the Raycom telecast. The announcers alone are not up to par. At least, I can turn those down. However, the picture almost requires that I turn on the radio. Some webcasts look better than what Raycom puts out. Do I need to have my eyes checked or is it really that bad? This goes for football and basketball. The League should demand a better product.
Thanks,
Cam
Cam,
Amen. I cringe when I see the Tigers are scheduled to play on Raycom. The Big Ten has HD on the Big Ten Network. Heck even Mountain West TV has HD and their own network. But the ACC sticks with outdated Raycom. It seems like it is time to get with the picture (pun intended). I am not sure of the current contract of the future plans of Raycom to upgrade but I need a change soon.
The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency
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, Kaitlyn L, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, 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, Ronnie Queen, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey.
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Posted by Biochem 98 on February 21, 2009 at 08:58 AM EST #