Recruting season

[DeathValleyMike]

Once again we Clemson fans see our team at a Huge turng point !
After a miserable start to the 08 season,we see a coaching change!
Then we see a young energetic fan favorite get the head coaching job.
But Dabo isn't just a fan favrite. He is also a prospect favorite !
Numerous recriting prospects have been interveiwed and have been very excited about the news that Dabo Swinney has been named the 25th coach at Clemson University.
Add to that an improbable New Years Day Gator bowl invitation to play a 26 year old rematch against the team Clemson beat 22-15 to claim the 1981 National Championship,and you can see why this could be the doorstep of something big !
If Clemson can beat Nebraska and sway a couple of recruits who are on the fence ,this could be a very good year recruiting !
The guys like Holloman are not very probable at this point. But in fact Holloman has fall a bit in the rankings .
JK Jay is on board in a huge way,and Larry Raper is not a lost cause.
All in all ,I think this bowl game cou really go a long way towards recovering in the recriting wars.
I'm working on some insight and reports that should be ready in the next couple of days.
I have some first hand info on two prospects that played in Death Valley this past Saturday. That will be included in the article .
I'm still waiting on some info to come in. When it comes I wll have some insight on all the prospects on Clemson's board for the 09 rruiting class.
STAY TUNED !

[Hopefultiger]

We've got 7 coaches on the road right now.

[Tiger80]

DVM,

That would be a 27-year rematch. We played Nebraska in January 1982. We will play them in the Gator Bowl in January 2009. 2009 - 1982 = 27!

Okay, I was being a smarta$$, but I couldn't think of anything else to write!

[Pawsitive Tiger]

Am i the only person worried about the amount of recruits we've loss in comparison to the amount of recruits we've committed lately? I mean in past years we've had recruits confirming with us prior to signing day & we'd have a few surprises around that deadline. I understand the coaching changes and etc being a reason, but i get the feeling that it has to do with the coaching staff not being able to sell themselves as being their next season. This slow OC and DC search is killing us softly.....

[CUDTiger25]

Am i the only person worried about the amount of recruits we've loss in comparison to the amount of recruits we've committed lately? I mean in past years we've had recruits confirming with us prior to signing day & we'd have a few surprises around that deadline. I understand the coaching changes and etc being a reason, but i get the feeling that it has to do with the coaching staff not being able to sell themselves as being their next season. This slow OC and DC search is killing us softly.....

They have been talking to a lot of good recruits lately. It seems like they're getting most of them to pay us a visit. We have 4 or 5 4-stars coming in this Sat. alone. They can still turn this into a pretty good class.

BTW...McDowell jumped into the rivals 250 today and is now actually ahead of Giles and Axon I believe. He should be a good one!

[TigerTheory]

I told yall, new head coach = Juco drafting. They are making big pushes for these guys with size and experience to fill gaping holes that will need to be filled on defense especially. As far as numbers commited, its the information age. These kids find out rumors, other kids perspectives etc. in the blink of an eye. They wait and weigh their options. No worries. Look at last year. That was like Christmas all over again. Big time commits we didnt think we would land like TE Allen etc. I think their doing well this year considering the circumstances.

[CUDTiger25]

I told yall, new head coach = Juco drafting. They are making big pushes for these guys with size and experience to fill gaping holes that will need to be filled on defense especially. As far as numbers commited, its the information age. These kids find out rumors, other kids perspectives etc. in the blink of an eye. They wait and weigh their options. No worries. Look at last year. That was like Christmas all over again. Big time commits we didnt think we would land like TE Allen etc. I think their doing well this year considering the circumstances.

I think that most of the ones we're going after are Prep school kids...not JUCO...

[briggs]

I sure would like to say a few names go up on the board pretty soon. This is starting to cause some concern for me....

[Pawsitive Tiger]

I sure would like to say a few names go up on the board pretty soon. This is starting to cause some concern for me....

Yeah Briggs...that's how i'm feeling. I mean if just 1 kid would step up and committ...i'd have less worries about it, but that just haven't happened. I guess i was spoiled with early enrollees like Korn 2yrs ago anb Bowers this year. Now we have 8 committs so far......8....out of like 21 scholarships available. And i guess i'm a little aggitated by the Chickens getting commitments each week and no action on our end. We've had a crown star of our class for the past 4yrs and this year will end that streak. J. Davis, CJ Spiller, Willy Korn, Dequan Bowers {honarable mention J Harper}....this year...nothing......

[Zantetsuken]

Guys...I wouldn't worry too awfully much. I think that you are going to be pleasantly surprised come NSD. I'd say we're on track to sign 19-21 prospects and en route to a top 25 ranking. With our fast start, were we going to have a top 10 class prior to firing our coach? Absolutely. Any chance that we recover and have that good of a class? Nope...none. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see our class end up in the low 20's and, with more players, would be a top 20 class. I know you're going to peek at the Gamecock's class and get a little worried...but honestly, their class is a lot of smoke and mirrors with not a lot of substance. When all is said and done, come NSD, if our class turns out the way that I think it will, I wouldn't trade ours for theirs. Hang in there a little while longer and things will turn around. A Gator bowl win will go a long way to sustaining momentum, but watch for some recruiting fireworks later this month and especially in January. It's going to be an exciting ride to NSD and I fully expect to see our Tigers make a big surge and solidify another excellent class that will be stringing together now 4-5 in a row. Patience, my friends...it will all begin shortly (as in this weekend).

[Hopefultiger]

Welcome back Zant. I always look forward to reading your take on recruiting. I tend to agree on the result of our recruiting class. I'd say 20-25 which is not bad, considering the season/coaching change. A win in the Gator Bowl could bring us into the high teens, but I doubt a loss would kick us out of the top 25. One thing you didn't mention is that we probably have the best recruiting duo in the nation running things at Clemson now (Swinney/Napier). It will be interesting to see if they can 'overachieve' again and surprise us. A top 10 class is out of the question of course, but a top 20 is not if they really pull off some commits.
You are absolutely correct about USC's class. I'm not completely up to date on it, but it looks a lot like last year's class (sub DBs for WRs) They've got like 8 DBs signed up (good ones... REALLY good ones). But look at the team this year and what would you say that their greatest need is? I'd say they have 2. They need some OL talent in the WORST way. How many OL do they have committed? ONE... that's right just ONE. They have a pretty decent QB (potentially) in Garcia, but SS HATES this guy IMO. He'll need another year to get really good, but who is going to be his backup (or the starter if he doesn't pan out)? Nobody. USC needs a good QB badly in this class. A 2ndary need is LB. Brinkley is gone and I'll bet Norwood bolts for the NFL as well. You're not going to replace those guys quickly.