Thursday July 08, 2010

Concerns and Confidence

Concerns and Confidence
I was interviewed by another blog site previewing the college football teams across the country yesterday and I wanted to share my answers to see where you agreed or disagreed. This was a phone interview so the analysis is not verbatim but I recalled most of my responses.

Concerns
I was asked to rank my five biggest concerns about Clemson going into the 2010 season. They were:

1. Road Schedule-The Tigers have the daunting task of going to Auburn and playing one of the most dynamic offenses in the country and one of the nation’s best offensive lines. If Cam Newton develops then offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn might be really dangerous. Clemson faces what some feel is the nation’s best defense in a trip to North Carolina. Boston College has a great home record in recent years as well. The Tigers have not fared all that well in trips to Florida State through the years and Jimbo Fisher has big plans for the Noles in his first year. And Clemson has struggled at times against Wake Forest on the road.

2. Quarterback-If Kyle Parker comes back this goes from one of my biggest concerns to one of my sources of confidence. However, at this point many believe he may have taken his last snap as a Tiger. Tajh Boyd is a tremendous talent but Boyd is a freshman and has never played a snap of college football. How will he react? How big of a learning curve does he face? How fast can he adjust to the quick thinking, fast pace of the college game? Freshmen quarterbacks cause ulcers.

3. Wide Receivers-This position was an area of concern last year and the Tigers lost their top receiver and tight end from 2009. In fact, Clemson does not have a receiver coming back that caught more than 14 passes last season. Red-shirt freshman Bryce McNeal and true freshman DeAndre Hopkins add talent to the position but neither has a single snap of experience. Terrence Ashe and Xavier Dye are solid but neither scare defensive coordinators. Marquan Jones has promise but he needs to produce in his junior season. Jaron Brown has ability and should have a bigger role in his sophomore season. This is not an ultra-talented unit but experience and production are bigger concerns than talent.

4. Linebackers-Like the wide outs, this was an area of concern last season and the Tigers lost their top linebacker in Kavell Conner. I do think there are a few more answers here though. Corico Hawkins should promise last year and took over a starting spot in the spring. He has better instincts than the previous starter. Brandon Maye can play either inside position but he needs more consistency. Tig Willard had a good spring and is set for more playing time this season. Quandon Christian showed the staff some big play capability in his red-shirt year. Justin Parker is a highly thought of freshman that may get an early look also.

5. Special Teams-C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford set up the Tigers with terrific field position the entire season last year and both are gone. Their big-play capability was a key to the Atlantic Division title. At times, Richard Jackson and Dawson Zimmerman looked spectacular but were question marks at other times.

Confidence
I was asked to rank the top five things that I have the most confidence in heading into the 2010 Clemson season. I answered:

1. Home Schedule-As daunting as the road schedule looks, the home schedule appears to be manageable. Miami, Georgia Tech and South Carolina are the three bowl teams coming to Death Valley this season. Maryland and NC State are the other two ACC visitors. North Texas has won five games in three years and Presbyterian should present little resistance. The Tigers should be able to have a successful home campaign in 2010.

2. Defensive Line-North Carolina has the best defensive line in the ACC but that may be the only defensive line in the nation that is more talented than this group of Tigers. The Tigers have depth and experience here. If DaQuan Bowers plays up to his potential then this group is dominant. Andre Branch, Malliciah Goodman and Kourtnei Brown are talented defensive ends that are excellent pass rushers. Jarvis Jenkins and Brandon Thompson give the Tigers two of the nation’s top defensive tackles. Rennie Moore, Miguel Chavis, Tyler Shatley and Josh Watson provide a lot of depth at tackle.

3. Offensive Line-For the first time in a few years, I consider this unit an area of strength. The Tigers return four starters off a line that improved in 2009. Chris Hairston and Landon Walker are experienced at tackle. Antoine McClain, David Smith and Mason Cloy give Clemson three quality guards and center Dalton Freeman might be the best at his position in the last several campaigns.

4. Secondary-It is rare that you lose your two starting corners and still consider your secondary a strength but that is the case here. Crezdon Butler and Chris Chancellor are excellent corners but Marcus Gilchrist and Byron Maxwell give Clemson two quality corners. DeAndre McDaniel is the best football player on this team and one of the top five players in the ACC. Rashard Hall had an incredible freshman season at safety. This unit is not as deep as last season but there are difference makers in this secondary.

5. Running Backs-Like the secondary, it is rare to lose a player like Spiller and still consider the unit a strength but the Tigers still have ability here. I love Andre Ellington and think he is poised for a monster season. There have been times where Jamie Harper looks like the player we thought he was coming out of high school but inconsistency has been an issue.

I was asked to predict Clemson’s record and I gave an optimistic 8-4 overall and 5-3 ACC record.

I was asked to pick the division winners in the ACC and picked Florida State and Virginia Tech.

They asked who I thought would play in the BCS Championship Game and went out on a limb to predict Ohio State vs. Nebraska.

Finally I was asked about my Heisman winner prediction and said LaMichael James of Oregon.

I made it clear that I reserved my right to change my mind on my mind between now and football season but they were not allowing that luxury.

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
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*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, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, 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, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, 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, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Richard Crawford, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, Steve Williams Jr, Steve Williams III, Kim Thomas, Reid Thomas, Sam Thomas, Linda Wiggs, Emily Claire Young, Dr. Wallace Honeycutt, Stacy Fowler, Kitty Bowers.