TigerNet -- Blogs -- Mickey Plyler's Blog

Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

Adams committed to Clemson weeks before signing day and never considered UNC late. Therefore, I would be surprised if UNC had any contact with him and it would have been foolish to pull scholarship offers from kids you are not going to get. It is bad PR. Plus if they did then they screwed up. No wonder Bunting is gone. From my recollection those were the only two schools that recruited him.

I am not sure I understand number four. Gaines Adams qualified. If UNC pulled their scholarship offer then they missed out on a chance to sign a number four overall pick in the NFL draft.

Very seldom does a kid sign with a different school after a year of prep school. It happens but it is rare. I never said never. Plus several kids that the AARC originally turned down went on to qualify this year.

This situation is totally different than Jo Jo Cox. The circumstances are not even close to being the same. I am not sure what point you are trying to make.

This has a bigger chance of being a factor in 2008. I did not think either would have a significant role this year. If Hunter gets here in the spring then he will not have missed too much. I doubt Jones ever plays a down at Clemson so the staff will try recruit another wide receiver to take his slot. How much this hurts will depend on who they sign in his place.

I have not talked to Trevor in about a month but the last time I talked to him he was extremely excited about the upcoming season. Marfuggi will be missed but some think the other keeper was better at times last season. I do not think this is a rebuilding year. I will ask Trevor about his squad soon and put it on the blog. One thing I do know is the ACC is expected to be loaded again.

I have no idea who would be on the list if Bowden is gone. I think the facilities have improved and are continuing to improve at a rapid pace. The Board and President say the right things about being supportive but in my opinion have not done everything they can do to back it up. Top 20 is a much bigger priority than football. I understand academics being a bigger priority but you have to realize that some things they do hamper the success of football. They should not pretend that it does not. Some of their actions do hurt. I think they think they want to win at the highest level but I am not sure they understand how. I do not agree that they are anti-Clemson or USC fans. I agree the administration is overly concerned about perception of the football factory issue. I agree that some candidates would not be interested because of the perception of the board and presidents by the coaching industry. However, I do not think it is quite the doom and gloom that you present. Dori Helms has helped. In my opinion her role being increased is a good thing. She gets it. Also Cecil Huey’s influence is not quite as direct as it once was. Clemson can win and can win under Bowden or his successor but it helps when everyone understands the environment of college football.

One quick note: The AARC originally turned down several signees that did qualify and are now a part of the program. Thank goodness they are now Tigers instead of Tar Heels, Gamecocks or Bulldogs.

I hear Tommy different I guess but I can see how fans get upset by what he says to the media. Tommy West always took responsibility and they fired him. The key is to win more. In the end what you say in a press conference is not important but I see your point. How do we know that he does not tell his team this in private?

I agree that the assistants have a huge role in all of the suggestions as well. He has to be careful with telling it like it is though because that can be dangerous.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Comments:

Mickey,
check your facts and sources and be surprised. unc pulled his offer late and we scooped him up, i've supplied you link after link with direct quotes from gaines himself. i sort of surprised at your selective memory.

How is this different from jojo? He went to prep school, qualified, and the offer from his original school was pulled out from under him late in the game. Like I said we got the highest drafted player in our history under very similar situation. It's hard to bitch about d jones going to unc. We profited from their mistake, and it proves that it happens and happened more that you were willing to admit when you were stating your case against the aarc.

Unc's official reason is something like this "a recruiting coach quit and we lost interest in adams". At the last minute? No way, they weren't maxed out on signings that year.

Here's another article.

"But Carolina pulled its scholarship offer late in the process, and Clemson was it for Adams. "

"The only schools I had were Clemson and North Carolina, and when North Carolina pulled out, it was Clemson," Adams said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/sportsline/main10021898.shtml

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=66734>sregitog 1</a> on August 03, 2007 at 12:27 PM EDT #

Mickey got owned

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=58288>CarRamRod</a> on August 03, 2007 at 12:36 PM EDT #

Please tell me more about the 30-plus kids the AARC originally turned down including those that went on to qualify and are now enrolled at Clemson, USC, UGA, UNC and Notre Dame. This was more about those guys than JoJo Cox.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1550>Mickey Plyler</a> on August 03, 2007 at 01:01 PM EDT #

Let me see UNC turns down players like Gaines Adams and Bunting can't win and is later fired. Clemson turns down great players and Bowden can't win and......

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1550>Mickey Plyler</a> on August 03, 2007 at 01:06 PM EDT #

mickey, when you started your tirade against the aarc, you were outraged that clemson had turned down a kid that went to prep and qualified. you also brought up some swimmer or something as an example.

i assumed that we had some kids that were enrolled at cu that fit that exact scenerio. i asked you as a comment from the aarc post, how many athletes do we have enrolled that have been turned at other ncaa schools, and that you have the resources to find that out. you chose not to respond because, it would entirely discredit your point.

so now i bring up that gaines adams most likely feel in that catagory and now "it's not the way i remember it"!!! your answer speaks for itself!!!!

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=66734>sregitog 1</a> on August 03, 2007 at 02:06 PM EDT #

sregitog 1,
Please get your facts straight. The orginal AARC blog came out with more about others who had been turned down and not so much about JoJo Cox. It was more about the ability to sign and place and not JoJo Cox. Go back and read all three blogs that first week after signing day.

The facts are that coaches across the board at Clemson thought the AARC needed reviewing. They did that and changes were made. Does that not speak volumes to support their point? THE PROVOST ADMITTED THAT THERE WERE PROBLEMS AND THEY FIXED THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hpw hard is that to understand?

Now to my other point--North Carolina must have turned down Gaines Adams. What has their record been i football lately? When you turn down qualified players it hurts. Where is John Bunting now?

North Carolina made a commitment to football and Butch Davis was allowed to sign who he wanted. UNC signed a player that made a 480 on his SAT. He will not get in school this year but after JUCO they have a better chance. Dwight Jones is going to prep school and will re-sign with UNC when he qualifies. Clemson has no chance when he qualifies because of the AARC. How is this hard to understand.

I don't have access to information at all schools. Because of my contacts here I get info concerning our kids.

Believe this or go back to sticking your head in the sand and believe that this was happeneing everywhere and does not have an effect.

The facts are you need to re-read what I orginally made a big deal about in February and not try to paint it another way. The facts are that Clemson admitted they had a problem. Dorie Helms said we have a problem and they went a long way in fixing it. that is what TDP said. That is what Bowden said.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1550>Mickey Plyler</a> on August 03, 2007 at 02:52 PM EDT #

One last point before I sign off until Sunday evening--under last year's AARC personnel and poilicies, would the Clemson staff been allowed to sign Gaines Adams? I would say no based upon what we know now.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1550>Mickey Plyler</a> on August 03, 2007 at 03:40 PM EDT #

Actually Mickey got PWNED!

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=59710>Pawprinter</a> on August 03, 2007 at 03:46 PM EDT #

"I don't have access to information at all schools. Because of my contacts here I get info concerning our kids."

then how many kids do we have in our athletic dept that qualified and were turned down at other ncaa schools? the answer is not zero, and yes that was a huge part of your complaint.

out of your major complaints
1. the timing
2. not signing qualifiers, allowing other schools to sign
3. not allowing loi's from out of state kids who juco or prep.

sure i see a problem with number 3, but you're acting like this is the downfall of for future clemson football. there are schools in our conference that steer clear of juco and prep players. Duke, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Boston College rarely sign any. so once again, it's not just at Clemson.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=66734>sregitog 1</a> on August 03, 2007 at 03:56 PM EDT #

sgregitog 1 - I wasn't in agreement with you at any point, but you definitely lost me with your last sentence. IN NO WAY do I want Clemson football to be analogous to Duke, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Boston College. (and yes, before you retort, I realize that Wake Forest, GT and BC all had better years than we did last year. I'm talking long-term program comparisons)

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=548>96TIGER</a> on August 03, 2007 at 04:21 PM EDT #

mushmouth.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=7575>otisman</a> on August 03, 2007 at 04:36 PM EDT #

over the past decade, or tommy's tenure, without question, i'll take gt's or bc's progress over ours.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=66734>sregitog 1</a> on August 03, 2007 at 05:05 PM EDT #

Bud Foster would be a great replacement for Bowden.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=24743>iggyme</a> on August 03, 2007 at 05:22 PM EDT #

over the past decade, since 97'
bc 76-45 .628 1conf title 7-1 in bowls
gt 79-46 .632 1 conf title 5-5 in bowls
cu 70-51 .579 o conf titles 3-5 in bowls

yeah you're right, i would want to be compared to bc or gt, they stink.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=66734>sregitog 1</a> on August 03, 2007 at 05:23 PM EDT #

Joseph Bendik is a great keeper for the soccer team and probably benefited from playing when Marfuggi got hurt last year. The soccer team has a lot of solid talent to finish middle of the pack in a tough ACC.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=67132>Orange2009</a> on August 03, 2007 at 05:36 PM EDT #

Mickey, in your inital blogs you keep repeating that we were turning down kids that UNC would accept. You made a major emphasis on that point over and over again. When sretitog1 shows you an exact opposite case, when our AARC was in place, you try to act like it didn't happen. Please acknowledge it happens elsewhere and that we are not the only University to hold a high standard. We took Gaines Adams, he is better for it, our program isn't. We are not a top 10 program because Gaines Adams played here. One player will never, never define a program.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=48981>heisman2bowden</a> on August 03, 2007 at 08:26 PM EDT #

heisman2bowden, you have to understand that standards have changed.

When Gaines was admitted into Clemson, the AARC in it's 2007 form did not exist. Addionally, trust me when I say that Butch Davis is causing a huge stir within the internal academic circles at UNC by using the weight of his $2 million contract to "change the landscape" of the relationship between UNC football and the academic side of UNC.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=10489>MyBloodRunnethOrange</a> on August 03, 2007 at 09:27 PM EDT #

MBRO, you're right, but that doesn't change the fact that Mickey is and was wrong. He said:

"Adams committed to Clemson weeks before signing day and never considered UNC late. "

This is FACTUALLY INCORECT.

He also said:

"Therefore, I would be surprised if UNC had any contact with him"

This is also FACTUALLY INCORRECT.

I guess that's the key nowadays. Write a blog, say what you want, facts be damned. And don't, under any circumstances, admit that you are wrong.

It's sad that Mickey gets a front page blog every day. Blogs about opinions are fine. Blogs that pose factual inaccuracies are a disgrace, and we live with one here every day.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1546>tomerafan</a> on August 04, 2007 at 04:03 AM EDT #

"Please get your facts straight. The orginal AARC blog came out with more about others who had been turned down and not so much about JoJo Cox. It was more about the ability to sign and place and not JoJo Cox. Go back and read all three blogs that first week after signing day."

really?? the person that you claimed is helping, dori helms, doesn't seem to think this was the main issue with this year's aarc, but you do.

“I didn’t see that type of reaction over two people not admitted coming,” Helms admitted. “There are lots of other schools that have turned down two, three, four or five. I think it was the timing of their turndowns that created the problem for us and created the outcry.

“Remember, when we did this, none of these people were NCAA qualified yet. Some of them will not get into the schools that they signed with, because they won’t be NCAA qualified in the end. But I think the timing is what caused the major reaction and it made us really look at that first.”

my facts are straight, it's your opinion that is a little twisted!!!

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=66734>sregitog 1</a> on August 06, 2007 at 12:09 PM EDT #

sregitog 1,

I don;t have time to sit here and argue with you over the last few days. It is obvious you don't see my side and I doubt I can chance your opinion.

On the subjetc of gaines Adams, I did some research on that situation and may have some more ionformation for you soon.

On the AARC stuff, I think it is simple. Clemson turned down over 30 players that later went to to qualify. Did you know that five defensive players were turned down originally but won their appeals and went on to sign with Clemson were on the practice field at Clemson this weekend?

There was a huge problem. They had a task force and came up with changes. What is difficult to uinderstand?

Good luck with your head in the sand.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1550>Mickey Plyler</a> on August 06, 2007 at 12:43 PM EDT #

sregitog 1,

I don;t have time to sit here and argue with you over the last few days. It is obvious you don't see my side and I doubt I can chance your opinion.

On the subjetc of gaines Adams, I did some research on that situation and may have some more ionformation for you soon.

There was a huge problem. They had a task force and came up with changes. What is difficult to uinderstand?

Good luck with your head in the sand.

Posted by <a href=http://tigernet.com/view/profile.do?id=1550>Mickey Plyler</a> on August 06, 2007 at 02:50 PM EDT #