Monday June 18, 2007

Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks
Football is here as far as I am concerned because today on the radio show and the blog we have kicked off our preview series by position. Yes it is quarterbacks week so let’s jump into our preview of the Clemson quarterback situation.

Cullen Harper comes into fall camp as the starter and it was well deserved. He was 14 of 20 last season for 155 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He actually hit on 13 of his last 17 passes last year and continued to play well in the spring. In the spring game he was 15-24 for 147 and three touchdowns. On the April 7 scrimmage he was 14-21 for 140 yards. In the March 31 scrimmage he was 13-21 for 170 yards and a touchdown.

Harper was the most effective quarterback in the spring because he made the right reads. He was also very efficient and made fewer mistakes than the other three signal callers.

From a physical standpoint, he is the biggest of the four quarterbacks. Harper’s time in the weight room was well spent in that he earned the respect of his teammates and coaches. Clemson strength coach Joey Batson told me that Harper worked his tail off in the weight room and that makes a difference.

Harper has good arm strength and is fairly accurate as a passer. I would not say he has an NFL arm in terms of strength or accuracy but it is above average. One of his overall weaknesses is his lack of experience but that is a strength when you compare his experience to the other three that are battling him.

The Atlanta native can be effective at quarterback if he can manage the offense. He does not have the talent to be the difference maker in this offense but he does not have to be. Harper should understand that James Davis, C.J. Spiller, Jacoby Ford and others are the difference makers and it is only his job to get the ball in their hands.

Harper is a physical upgrade from last season. The staff feels he is already better going into the season. Plus he will be pushed to get better every day if he wants to keep his job.

Willy Korn is the most talented quarterback on campus but the question is when will he be best quarterback on campus? Korn is the most talented quarterback to sign with Clemson in years. No one threw more passes for more completions and more yards and more touchdowns in the history of South Carolina high school football.

Korn has all of the tools and only lacks experience. I talked to three offensive coaches and two defensive coaches this spring at different points to inquire about his progress and each time they all were amazed. One coach said, “It is hard for him to be underrated because he had so much hype but he is even better than I thought he was going to be.”

True freshman quarterbacks go through growing pains. Last year Georgia’s Matthew Stafford threw 13 picks and only seven touchdowns but on our radio show a few weeks ago I asked Georgia’s head coach Mark Richt how good was Stafford. Richt responded that Stafford was the best he had ever had at this stage. Keep in mind that Richt had coached two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks at FSU but he said Stafford was better than both Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke at this stage. It says a lot about how tough it is for a true freshman quarterback when you throw 13 picks and only seven touchdowns but are considered to be so good according to one of the top coaches in the country.

Korn should expect some growing pains. He will go through what every true freshman quarterback goes through. But most true freshmen quarterbacks do not have Korn’s talent, arm strength, accuracy, physical toughness, mental toughness, intelligence, desire, competiveness, intensity and composure.

Korn has a presence about him. When he walks into a room you know it and I think presence is important. I have never been in a room with Derek Jeter but I would imagine I would know it when he walked in. Muhammed Ali had a presence. Presence is sometimes what separates the great ones. It feels different when Tiger Woods walks on the driving range or putting green. You see others but you feel Tiger. With all due respect to other players at Clemson or other local athletes, Korn is the one that has “IT”.

Opponents will one day see that “IT” and it is a matter of when that time occurs.

Tribble Reese came out of high school with a better pedigree than Harper. But in the opinion of some on the staff, Harper has done more with less. Reese did not have the same sense of urgency as others and was caught playing catch up. Physically he can still be a factor but he still has some ground to make up. He has the tools like arm strength and accuracy but the position requires so much more. Reese knows what he has to do to compete for playing time and now the staff will see if he can do it.

Michael Wade is a tough kid that works extremely hard. Each year the red-shirt freshmen participate in extra weight training three days a week with Coach Batson and his staff. “Power Hour” is the name of the program and this year Wade won the event. He is a good athlete with good feet. Wade is not as polished a passer as others ahead of him and he was limited this past spring with a thumb injury.

Kyle Parker and Jon Richt have committed to the Tigers so Clemson is finished recruiting quarterbacks in this class. We will discuss Parker and Richt in Thursday’s blog.

In summary, Clemson had excellent quarterback play early last year but stumbled down the strength. The staff feels this group will play better over a longer time. I would look for both quarterbacks to play early next season. Harper is a solid quarterback and could be the starter throughout his career but I think Korn will at some time take over the starting role. Korn is a tremendous talent upgrade and as one offensive assistant told me, “He is the kind of quarterback that can lead you to conference titles and BCS games.”

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