Tuesday February 05, 2008

The Lowest of Lows

The Lowest of Lows
Dwayne Allen pulled the Okie Doke on his Okie Doke.

Allen had been committed to Georgia since the summer but told many including his mom that he would commit to Clemson at his press conference yesterday. He was going to pull the Okie Doke on Georgia. As most know by now he actually changed his mind again when he committed to Georgia thus pulling the Okie Dokie on his Okie Doke.

In the words of Larry Munson, “Ole Allen just ripped our hearts out!”

I know some college football fans that enjoy recruiting as much or more than the actual games themselves. I get into this recruiting stuff but I have never understood that sentiment. In my mind I could never understand thinking it was better to win in recruiting than it was to win on the field. Maybe you can’t on the field if you don’t recruit well but if given a choice I would always choose winning on the field.

I began going to Clemson football games in 1974 and have some of the fondest memories of my life with the highs that come with winning big games and championships. I can vividly recall some of the school’s all-time great wins on the gridiron.

There are some fans that view wins and losses in recruiting as seriously as they do on the field wins and losses and yesterday Allen hurt us but life goes one. Allow me to share some of my memories on the lowest of lows on the recruiting trail for the Tigers in the past just to keep Allen in perspective. Allen may go on to be the first tight end to win the Heisman but these guys really hurt us:

In the early 1990s Clemson went head to head with two of the sports super powers, Nebraska and Notre Dame, for the signature of Tommie Frazier. The Tigers were thought by some to be the leaders because Clemson assistant Rick Stockstill had worked his butt off and he put the Tigers squarely in the game. In the end, the Bradenton, FL native selected Nebraska and he went on to help lead the Cornhuskers to two national titles.

Tony Rice was the predecessor of Frazier. Rice grew up in nearby Woodruff and was a high school legend in these parts. The Clemson staff camped out in the small town. This was heartbreak as Rice went north and was actually a prop 48 who later went on help lead the Irish to a national title.

Stephen Davis was also a lot like Rice in that he was a local great and academics were also an issue in his case. The Spartanburg native eventually headed to Auburn but unlike Rice and Frazier, he was not able to help his team to a national title.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was the first time I ever saw Emmitt Smith in person. The Pensacola, FL was on his official visit to Clemson and I was in Jervey Gym at the Clemson wrestling team’s match and in walked in the 5’8” Smith. He did not look like a guy that would eventually go on to break the all-time NFL rushing record but his Escambia High School letter jacket did not have room for another patch. Smith eventually chose Florida and the rest is history.

Herschel Walker was perhaps the greatest recruiting stories of all-time. There were meetings on bridges and death threats in Wrightsville, GA in the spring of 1980. There was big money involved and the decision was delayed for months. Walker was trying to decide between Georgia, Clemson and Southern Cal. He later came down to Clemson and Georgia but he did not finalize his decision until April 1. We all know Clemson won a national title in Herschel’s sophomore season but I always wondered if Georgia would have won their 1980 national title his freshman season.

Dan Marino was a highly thought of Pennsylvania quarterback that took an official visit to Clemson in the mid-1970s. He is perhaps the only player in Clemson recruiting history to have his name in lights before he even came to college. I never saw it but many remember the sign at the Holiday Inn that read, “Welcome Dan Marino” when the future Hall of Famer came on his official visit.

Jerome Bettis never really came down to Clemson as a finalist but he did get the Tiger’s staff excited when he came down on an unofficial visit. Bettis, his father and several of his teammates drove down from Detroit for the unofficial visit but in the end Notre Dame was much closer to home.

Tim Worley was supposed to be the next Herschel Walker or Marcus Dupree. The Lumberton, NC native originally committed to Oklahoma but Clemson went in and changed his mind. Unfortunately, he changed it again and signed with Georgia. Clemson was the big loser here because the Tigers had to face the big tailback as a Dawg but would have had to if he would have gone to Oklahoma.

Shaun Ellis is one of three very local players to break Clemson’s heart. I can still remember watching him at Westside High School in Anderson when the 6-5, 235-pounder occasionally lineup as a wide receiver. Clemson and South Carolina tried to keep Ellis in state but he went to Tennessee and later to the New York Jets.

Clarence Kay came through the upstate 10 years before Ellis and he may have been the highest recruited player ever out of Seneca High School. Clemson was once again a runner-up to Georgia as he took the short trip across the border and enjoyed a great career for the Dawgs and later in the NFL.

Clemson’s staff had some turnover in his high school career but it still hurt losing Kevin Breedlove because he played right here in Clemson at Daniel High School. Breedlove moved to Clemson when he was in high school from Texas, so it is not like he grew up a Tiger like many in the area but it still hurt when he chose Georgia.

When Peter Boulware came through Spring Valley High School in Columbia, SC he never really gave Clemson a shot. However it was a different story a couple of years later when his brother Michael went looking for a school. In the end, the future NFL safety followed his brother’s lead and signed with the Seminoles.

Florida State also beat Clemson All-world running back Marquette Smith. Fortunately for the Tigers, Smith was not as good as advertised but he did go onto a successful career at UCF after transferring from FSU.

Irv Smith was perhaps the top tight end in America and he was also a terrific baseball prospect. Clemson’s baseball staff was a huge help but the future NFL tight end spent his days in South Bend instead of Clemson.

It hasn’t happened very often but Clemson had its heart broken by Virginia a couple of times. Most recently with 1980s All-American Terry Kirby and 1990’s All-American Tiki and Ronde Barber selected Virginia over Clemson among other schools.

Clemson has signed many great ones and winning on signing day with the likes of CJ Spiller, Roscoe Crosby, Antwan Edwards and John Johnson. Maybe Allen will turn into a Hall of Famer like many of the great players missed on that we just mentioned. If there is one good aspect, at least Geno Hayes’ mom did not hold up the press conference.

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