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Monday, August 11, 2008
Is this FINALLY the year at Clemson?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clemson, S.C.-Expectations at Clemson are always great. But when I got here last Friday I found that anticipation for the 2008 season has gone off the charts.
Clemson has not won an ACC championship since 1991 but it appears that all of the pieces are in place for the Tigers to finally hang another banner in Memorial Stadium at the end of this season.
We’ll find out early if Clemson is the real deal as the Tigers open the season on Aug. 30 against Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the Georgia Dome.
Later on this month we’ll do a story on running back James Davis, the Atlanta native who decided to return to school in an effort win a championship. I had a good visit on Friday with Davis and his running mate, C.J. Spiller, who may be the best tailback combo in all of college football.
But for now I wanted to share a few nuggets of information that I picked up while hanging around the coaches offices.
1. Why is Clemson playing Alabama?: When I met with Alabama coach Nick Saban, he was very candid about why he agreed to play Clemson in the opener. He has a very young team and he wants to throw them in the deep end of the pool to start the season. They will have to grow up faster.
But why is Clemson, the ACC favorite, willing to play a high stakes game like this right out of the box?
Tommy Bowden was just as candid.
“Recruiting,” said Bowden, as he relaxed in his office after a long jog. “Last year when we opened the season with Florida State (on Labor Day night) we got a really good response from recruits. This is the game that a lot of 17-year-olds are going to watch. We plan to win the game but even if you lose, it’s so early that you can play your way back into position. And since we didn’t lose a home game (Clemson still has seven), it just made sense to me.”
2. C.J. knows Alabama: In 2006 Clemson had an open date on Nov. 18. Running back C.J. Spiller used the week off to attend the Alabama-Auburn game in Tuscaloosa. Based on that experience Spiller says he knows what to expect on Aug. 30 at the Georgia Dome.
“Man, those people are serious about their football,” said Spiller, who has averaged 6.2 yards per carry in his first two seasons at Clemson. “It was just incredibly loud and intense the whole game. We are going to have to match their intensity.”
Auburn won the game 22-15 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, for the Tigers’ fifth straight victory over Alabama. That streak is now at six.
“I know this,” Spiller said. “Those (Alabama) people do not like to lose.”
Spiller is looking forward to being reunited with his old running backs coach, Burton Burns, who is in his second season at Alabama.
3. Clemson almost lost Jamie Harper: After another 1,000-yard season in 2007 Davis declared his intention to enter the 2008 NFL Draft. But at the 11th hour, Davis changed his mind and decided to come back and play his senior season. That was the good news.
The (almost) bad news was that Jacksonville’s Jamie Harper, one of the nation’s top running back prospects, almost broke his Clemson commitment when he heard that Davis was coming back. Harper took a strong look at Illinois, where top RB Rashard Mendenhall had left early and turned pro.
“Yeah, Jamie Harper almost flew the coop,” Bowden said. “We were certainly thrilled to have James back but we had to hustle to keep Jamie in the fold.”
Clemson did have an ace in the hole. Daniel Andrews, Harper’s teammate and very close friend at Trinity Christian, was also set to sign with Clemson.
So Harper stuck with Clemson and, despite the return of Davis and Spiller, the plan is to give him significant playing time as a true freshman.
“We have two great freshman running backs (Harper and Andre Ellington) to go along with the two great ones (Spiller, Davis) we have coming back,” Bowden said. “All four of those guys are going to play.”
4. The O-Line is still unsettled: The biggest unknown at Clemson is whether or not the offensive line is going to jell in time to play Alabama. Offensive coordinator Rob Spence has to replace four starters and when I met with him last Friday, a first unit had not been determined.
“You hear coaches talk a lot about potential but what matters is performance,” Spence said. “I’m excited about a really athletic group of young players. We’re going to make mistakes. But there is talent with a high level of character and work ethic. That makes me believe that something special is going to happen with this group.”
Bowden says there is talent on the offensive line.
“But they have to grow up in the first game against Nick Saban’s defense,” Bowden said. “It would be different if we were playing Alabama in the third game. We’re not.”
Here is an interesting stat courtesy of Tim Bourret, Clemson’s great sports information director: Since 1965 Clemson has had 13 seasons in which it had to replace four offensive linemen. In those 13 seasons Clemson was a combined 79-66-4.
5. Jacoby Ford the X-Factor: Everybody knows about Spiller and Davis. Everybody knows about quarterback Cullen Harper, the Alpharetta native who threw 27 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 2007. Everybody knows about Marietta’s Aaron Kelly, who had 88 catches last season and could become the ACC’s all-time leading receiver this season.
What nobody knows right now is the impact Jacoby Ford will have this season. Ford (5-10, 185) has world-class speed. He is a track All-American who won the ACC 60 meters (indoors) championship (6.52).
Ford broke his ankle in the eighth game against Maryland and missed the rest of the season. But he came back last spring to run a 10.21 in the 100-meter dash in the NCAA East Regionals.
