Thursday July 13, 2006

Role Models; Upcoming Blogs; No Concerns; Linebacker Week; Schedules

Role Models
Most of the time when I look up to someone they have usually been older than me. I said on the radio show that former Clemson golfer and current PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd was one of the first people younger than me that I looked up to because of what kind of Christian he is and what kind of person he is. It is his work ethic that I admired so much. The older I get the more I realize how role models can be any age. Maybe it is because there are more people younger than me now. But I have found a new person to look up to. In the next few weeks I will write about why C.J. Spiller is so different than many kids his age and it has nothing to do with football. I look forward to sharing that blog entry soon.

Upcoming Blog Entries
I have received some great e-mails about our blogs on Bob Bradley and Charley Pell. In the coming weeks before the season I plan on writing about some other great Tigers like Dr. Edwards, Herman McGee, Danny Ford, Banks McFadden, Fred Hoover, Bill Wilhelm, Frank Howard and several others. If you have someone you would like to read more about please let me know through the e-mail address below.

No Concerns
It seems every year we get upset about the turf at Death Valley, uniform changes or any other thing that really doesn’t matter but seems so important this time of year. I can say no worries this coming season. Yes, they did some top dressing recently but sources say the field is healthy and should be better than ever this season.

There will also not be any uniform changes this season. Last year the Tigers wore six different uniform combinations in their 12 games (Orange on orange, orange on white, purple on orange, white on white, white on orange and white on purple). The three you did not see (Orange on purple, purple on white, purple on purple) may find their way into the rotation but there will be no major changes to the uniforms in this season.

I know some fans were outraged this time last year when the pictures were released without pads but after one season with the new threads I have to say I like them. The players really like them and I think that is the most important thing.

Linebacker Week Winds Down
As we wind down linebacker week on the show and the blog I wanted to hit on a couple of quick notes. Clemson’s linebacker reputation is only partly because they had great players. The other part of the equation is the linebacker coaches. The Tigers have had some of the best linebacker coaches in the country. Here is a list that compares to almost any program at one position in the country (Some of these coaches coached other positions in other years):

Joe Kines 1977-78
Curley Hallman 1979-80
Les Herrin 1981-1984
Tommy West 1982-89 (Outside linebackers)
Miles Aldridge 85-89 and outside linebackers in 1995
Ellis Johnson 1993-96 (Outside linebackers)
Reggie Herring 1993-01
David Blackwell since 2003
Ron West Outside linebackers since 2005

SEC Linebacker Rankings
1. Georgia
2. Florida
3. Ole Miss
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Alabama
7. LSU
8. Tennessee
9. Mississippi State
10. South Carolina
11. Vanderbilt
12. Kentucky

Top National Linebackers
1. Paul Posluszny Penn State
2. Patrick Willis Ole Miss
3. Keith Rivers Southern Cal
4. Rufus Alexander Oklahoma
5. Anthony Waters Clemson
6. Brandon Siler Florida
7. Brian Toal Boston College
8. HB Blades Pittsburgh
9. Vince Hall Virginia Tech
10. Lawrence Timmons FSU

Schedules
The Atlantic Division of the ACC should be tight again this year. Remember last year Florida State won the leagues despite losing three conference games. I will take an in-depth look at each ACC school’s schedule in August but since tiebreakers could come into play once again so I thought we should look at the schedules of the Atlantic Division teams.

FSU
Home: Clemson, Boston College, Virginia, Wake Forest
Away: Miami, NC State, Duke, Maryland

Clemson
Home: North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State
Away: Florida State, Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech

Boston College
Home: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Duke, Maryland
Away: NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest, Miami

Maryland
Home: NC State, Florida State, Miami, Wake Forest
Away: Georgia Tech, Virginia, Clemson, Boston College

NC State
Home: Boston College, Florida State, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech
Away: Maryland, Virginia, Clemson, North Carolina

Wake Forest
Home: Duke, Clemson, Boston College, Virginia Tech
Away: NC State, North Carolina, Florida State, Maryland

I think the three teams that are considered the favorites in the division this year are FSU, Clemson and Boston College. Of the three FSU has the easiest ACC schedule because they get Clemson and BC at home. Clemson has the toughest of the three because they have to go to FSU and BC plus they head to Virginia Tech on a Thursday night. FSU and Boston College have Miami on the road though. The Tigers do have the easiest home schedule in the conference of the three.

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