Tuesday January 31, 2012

Eight That Made Signing Day Great

Eight That Made Signing Day Great
I love recruiting and have followed it as a fan all of the way back to 1981 when the Tigers inked William Perry. Clemson has won a bunch of battles and lost some as well. The losses hurt in recruiting, especially when they turn out to be Hall of Famers.

Clemson has had great chances but did not sign players like Dan Marino, Herschel Walker, Tim Worley, Tony Rice and Tommie Frazier.

But the Tigers have also won their fair share of great recruiting battles in the end. I was not following it back in the mid-seventies but I am sure the day the staff got Steve Fuller was a big one.

In the last 25 years here are eight great signing day decisions that made Clemson fans jump for joy:

John Johnson
February 1987 was a time where things in recruiting were different than they were today. It was more like the Wild West were the rules didn't mean a whole lot.

Clemson and Georgia were battling head-to-head for a stud linebacker from LaGrange, GA named John Johnson. The future NFL linebacker ran more like a safety which made him a prize target. Some felt he was the top player in the Peach State in 1987 and the Dawgs don't usually lose players in South Georgia.

In fact, Georgia was the place Johnson committed to just days before signing day. But Clemson assistant Tommy West had other ideas. He made the last minute push for Johnson. Legend has it that he had Johnson hide out in a LaGrange hotel for the final days before he signed with the Tigers so Georgia boosters could not get to him.

It doesn't happen often but the day Johnson switched from Georgia to Clemson was one of the best signing days in Clemson history.

Anthony Simmons
Few people knew anything about Anthony Simmons before his senior yearat Spartanburg High School.

Simmons is the best defensive high school football player I have ever seen. Twenty tackles was an average night for this speedy linebacker. In the state title game in Death Valley his senior year in high school Dave Gutshall was the opposing coach at Dorman. Simmons made almost every tackle in the first half and dominated the game. Gutshall told his offensive linemen to tackle Simmons on every play in the second half. He said they will call holding some plays but they won't on every play and we can't do anything without tackling him.

Everyone recruited Simmons but it came down to Clemson and FSU. When Simmons chose Clemson the Tigers knew they had something special.

Clemson head coach Tommy West told me Simmons was the first true freshman he ever had that was the best player on the team the first day he stepped on campus.

Antwan Edwards
That same year Clemson had another battle with FSU and this one ended in a unique way. The Tigers and Seminoles had both traveled to Pascagoula, MS to recruit one of the nation's top defensive backs.

Antwan Edwards was courted by everyone in the south but this time it again came down to Clemson and Florida State.

I received word from West himself that Clemson received the All-American's fax with his signature. Clemson fans were ecstatic.

There was one small problem though, FSU had also received a signed letter. Edwards had signed with both schools. Eventually Clemson was the winner and Edwards made a huge mark on Tiger football but not before a signing day scare.

Roscoe Crosby
The Tigers and Seminoles went head-to-head in February of 2001again but this time it was within the borders of the Palmetto state.

Few players created the buzz that surrounded Union's Roscoe Crosby. The wide receiver was also a high draft pick in baseball but everyone still stayed on him in football.

Clemson assistant Rock Stockstill recruited Crosby for three hard years and was eventually the difference. Crosby wore number 25 on his jersey and Stockstill wrote 25 hand written letters on why Roscoe Crosby needed to come to Clemson.

I remember Stockstill telling me at 3:00 AM the morning of signing day that this was going to be a special day.

Many of us still remember the roar of the fans in attendance when Crosby revealed a Clemson jersey at a ceremony at his school.

C.J. Spiller
February of 2006 might have been the sweetest moment for Clemson fans on signing day. This was the day that C.J. Spiller strolled to the podium at Lake Butler High School and in front of a heavy crowd of Florida Gator fans he announced he was going to Clemson instead of Florida.

No one at the school expected Spiller to say Clemson. His family was pulling for the Gators but Spiller became a man and did what he wanted to do instead of trying to please everyone else.

The impact of that announcement will be felt for many years to come in Tigertown.

Dwayne Allen
On signing day of 2009 Clemson won another huge battle against Georgia and again it was a switch on signing day.

Dwayne Allen had been a Clemson lean but committed to the Dawgs just days before signing day. Something didn't feel right about that one. On signing day Allen instead opted for his original choice and inked with the Tigers.

Beating Georgia is always nice but especially when the player goes on to become perhaps the best tight end in school history.

Stephone Anthony
Last February Clemson signed four five-star players but had only two heading into signing day.

Clemson needed linebackers but was behind on the best in the Carolina's just a couple of weeks before signing day. Anthony was not a prospect that liked the media attention and quietly went about his recruiting business.

When he chose Clemson on national TV it made the program look great and started one of the best classes in school history.

Tony Steward
Also last year we saw Spiller 2.0. When ESPNU's cameras cut to Tony Steward's high school speakers were playing the FSU tomahawk chop and the students were decked out in Seminole gear.

Like Spiller, Steward's mom wanted him to stay close to home. She wanted her boy to play in Tallahassee and had no problem telling people.

But like Spiller, Steward shocked those in attendance and chose Clemson over FSU. Interestingly enough Clemson's staff had prepped Steward by using Spiller as example of how to do the hard thing and be your own man at the press conference.

Four five-star players including three from the Sunshine State but none were as sweet as Steward's announcement on national TV.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:

If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.

If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com

*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list.

Those who need our prayers include:Finn Brookover, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Daniel Rosborough, The Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs,Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas. V Family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers,Julie and motivateLocke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Joyce Bussey, Stacey McKeown, Mary Priester, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr, Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Randy Anderson, Lillian, Matt Hogan, Mark Feit, David Frame, Chad Berry, the family of Matthew M. Watson, Nancy Taylor, the Dowis family, Shervin Messer, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, Tricia Hood, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Nancy Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Christopher Tuten, Jimmy Head, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Murray Smith, Dot Cartee, Ayden Mills, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jack Bailey, Jake David family, Janice Thompson, Angie Crowley, Rachel Graves, Ira, Elsie Taylor, Mike Tolson, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Zachary Stoller, Aaron Clackum.