Friday December 21, 2007

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,
4 questions:
(1) I was expecting a few more verbals after TB's contract extension was announced. The recruiting momentum was hot early on, but has cooled tremendously of late. Will the remainder of any verbals we get be signing day decisions?
(2) Where are the "All ACC" caliber LB's at Clemson? Blackwell is a solid coach, but it seems the staff struggles with recruiting 4/5 star LB's. With all of their issues, I believe Miami already has 5 verballed LB's in their 2008 class. What gives?
(3) Who are the "must haves" left on the board to make the 2008 Tiger class a national Top 10 recruiting class?
(4) How many do the Tigers sign in Feb?
Jerry

Jerry,
1-Clemson will get a few vebals after the January 11th weekend and a few more in the weeks after that. A couple still may go all of the way to signing day. Recruiting has not cooled. They can only sign about six to eight more and most of those have already told the staff they are coming but want to make it public later.

2-Clemson has missed on big-name linebackers in recent years but have evaluated well there. Scotty Cooper was a four-star I believe. So was Josh Miller. They beat FSU and Georgia on those two. The beat Oklahoma on Antonio Clay. Brandon Maye might be their best young linebacker but he was not highly recruited.

3-I think you could put Jamie Harper, Dalton Freeman, R.J. Mattes, Kenneth Page, Brandon Thompson and Spencer Adams in that crucial mode. It would be nice to steal a guy like Jerrell Harris also.

4-I think Clemson signs 22-24.

Mickey:

Kirk

Kirk,

Perry played well yesterday and I think they will need his energy on the defensive end of the court at times in the ACC schedule.

Mays is still not ready but could be ready next weekend. If not, look for him in the Alabama game on January 1.

I think they miss Watkins more than Billie and will miss Capote but he can be replaced. The main thing is depth so no injuries can occur at these positions.

Mickey,
Always enjoy your blogs. They are usually educational, but also enjoyable. Recruiting seems to be slowing down and we have 16 commitments. I have the following questions:

1. What recruiting is left?
2. How many more recruits is Clemson looking for commits?
3. What positions need commitments that don’t have them?
Chasn79

Chasn79,
Clemson would like to take 1 more RB, 3 more OL, 1 more DL, 1 more LB and two more safeties. I think if you told the staff they could have Harper, Freeman, Mattes, Page, Thompson, Harris, Adams and Brown they would be ecstatic with that top 10-type class.

Mickey,
For many years, I have enjoyed listening to your recruiting knowledge. I was hoping that you could answer a question that I hear a lot. Where is Markish Jones? What's his status?
Do you know when Tiger Net will update it's web page to include current recruiting news?

Thanks and Merry Christmas,
David

David,

Thanks and Merry Christmas to you and your family as well. Markish Jones is a long shot at Clemson. I doubt you will ever see him in a Tiger uniform. I will cover recruiting more after the first of the year.

Mickey,
How about an update on recruiting? any chance on turning AJ Green. Any James Davis type backs we have a chance at?
Thanks,
Bill

Bill,

Recruiting is going great (see above). Green will sign with Georgia. Clemson already has the speedy Andre Ellington committed and are the current leaders for Jamie Harper who could remind Tiger fans of Kenny Flowers.

Mick,

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Go Tigers!
Thomas

Thomas,
I hate talking about filling jobs that are not open but per your request I will answer the hypothetical questions. I think Dabo Swinney would be the new offensive coordinator of Spence left. I do not know what Bowden will do about the replacement so there is no sense in speculating exception I am very confident Dabo would get the promotion. As far as new hire and the offensive staff I will say Bowden would have a bunch of options. Ron West could always move back over to offense and coach the tight ends/tackles. Billy Napier could move to coach the quarterbacks. There would be a lot of flexibility.

I would yield to Bowden about hires because he has more info but here are two options I would look into:

1-Name Dabo the offensive coordinator. Move Napier to QB coach. Move Powell to tight ends and special teams coordinator. Do whatever it takes to get Burton Burns back to coach running backs.

2-Name Dabo the offensive coordinator. Move Napier to QB coach. Hire a great recruiter and former Tiger like Danny Pearman or Tony Elliott to coach tight ends.

Again, Bowden knows more than anyone but those would be two attractive options. Also, remember it is very unfair to talk about positions on staffs that are not open but you did pin me down.

Note: I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. I have two blogs on the bowl game ready for next week. We will take Monday, Tuesday and maybe Wednesday off but will return on Wednesday or Thursday. After the New Year we will focus on basketball and recruiting. Again Happy Holidays to all and thanks for your support.

864-834-6060

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency