some random thoughts on 2017...

Jan 11, 2017, 7:31 PM

Still savoring the Natty but my mind can't stop wandering ahead on some stuff....

QB. The obvious Big Question. Looks like a 3-way rasslin' match between Kelly Bryant, Zerrick Cooper, Hunter Johnson. Conventional wisdom does not put Tucker Israel in the competition, and Chase Brice coming in late probably locks him into a redshirt...but as ever, this stuff gets settled on the field. There will be Many Eyes firmly upon all involved this Spring Game, which is probably the most high-stakes competition we'll have seen since Swag Kelly blew a gasket after getting his lunch eaten by Cole Stoudt in 2014. (Whoa, time flies!)

WR. Not so obvious as it may appear. Ray Ray McCloud is your obvious 2 but he's going to have some very hard competition with Cornell Powell breathing down his neck...and Clemson may want to do the Curtis Samuel/Christian McCafferty thing with Ray Ray anyhow and play him a lot as a RB who moves all around the field, especially if Kelly Bryant wins the starting gig and we look to spread the field even more and surround Bryant with horizontal playmakers. Renfrow obviously has the 5-spot on lockdown but somebody will need to back him up. Deon Cain looks set to fill in the 9...but he's more a pure vertical threat than Mike Williams was and we've got two huge, very talented wingspan guys in Overton and Higgins who are going to press hard for time at the 9 as well.

Even less obvious is TE. We do not have a single TE on the roster who has caught more than 1 pass. Not one. Milan Richard, Shadell Bell, Cannon Smith - they all have some stuff that recommends them but none has yet to prove a thing in live fire.

Only question on the OL is C. Expect Justin Falcninelli to grab the spot but I'm distinctly intrigued by Gage Cervanka...if you have ever watched that dude leverage somebody you'd know the Clemson coaches did not convert him to OL for him to just sit. Cervanka's more than a bit of a mutant and if he can learn the calls and get comfortable snapping the ball he's got freakish upside...like, first-couple-rounds-of-the-draft-type upside if the move takes.

RB - Especially with Cordarrian Richardson now lost to likely ineligibility, Clemson BADLY needs the metaphorical light to come on for somebody besides CJ Fuller. Fuller reminds me - a bit - of Reggie Merriweather but we badly need one of our formerly highly-touted 4-stars - Tyshon Dye, Adam Choice, Tavien Feaster - to finally Stand And Deliver...and if not, we could definitely see Ray Ray McCloud start snaffling up snaps at RB because Fuller is steady, not explosive. Whatever, we've got a huge HELP WANTED sign out over this position. Gallman was The Franchise the last two and a half years and we could miss him something awful if no one steps up here.

Our DL will remain terrifying. We pretty much lose Carlos Watkins and that's it. Expect Huggy Bear to rather eagerly step into that void, and Nyles Pinckney will also be pushing for time. Another guy I'm intrigued by is Xavier Kelly at end, who redshirted but looks like freakin' Tarzan getting off the bus, maybe even more physically imposing than Clellin Ferrell. We'll have some dudes, whatever.

Be distinctly curious to see if Kendall Joseph remains inside or shifts to Ben Boulware's old spot on the weakside. Tre Lamar is just too good to sit and Chad Smith is another MLB who looks to be pushing for time. That's very heavy at MLB and leaves a very thin-looking weakside, with just Jalen Williams and Shaq Smith - still an unknown - to fill there. You MIGHT could see Dorian O'Daniel move to weakside but then who plays the strongside/nickel spot?

It's going to be tough, IMHO, for the veteran CB's to hold off Mark Fields and Trayvon Mullen. I like Carter and Edmonds but they aren't as talented as the underclassmen. Also wonder if we're going to see Tanner Muse grab that strong safety spot...it's been hard to miss how big and athletic and enthusiastically physical he is, even on special teams.

Makes for an incredibly fascinating Spring...and if Death Valley doesn't get 50-60K at the Spring Game this year I'll be shocked. Far cry from the Bowden years, when you might see 10K ratting around on one side of the stadium.

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some random thoughts on 2017...

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Noticing Will Spiers is 6'5" and 230 lbs !

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Thinking that Trevion Thompson might.....

Thinking that Trevion Thompson might.....

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