Thursday August 17, 2006

Departures; August 31; GT-ND; SC-MSU

Departures
Clemson has been very lucky with their student-athletes in recent years. Most have stayed out of trouble and have done well in the classroom. However, not everyone buys into the system and not everyone gets it.

In the last two weeks, Bowden has announced that two players are no longer with the program. Both players were from Florida and both players were third-string or worse heading into the fall. Both were red-shirt freshmen and both might have played their way up the depth chart in the next couple of seasons. Both by most accounts were pretty good kids.

I want to make sure that what I am about to say is not about Paul Muse or Quentez Ruffin. This is not about either of those kids so please lets be clear about that. I am making a statement about some kids and the reasons they don’t pan out and why the NCAA is punishing the wrong people.

My point is the NCAA needs to rethink their stance on this APR because sometimes it is not fair to the school. Why penalize the school if some knucklehead gets in a fight on campus and the coach kicks him out of school. It is not the coach’s fault if a kid breaks the law and smokes pot. Why penalize the fans of a school if a kid decides he does not think he needs to go to class or would rather drink and drive or do anything else that could get you kicked out of school.

Don’t get me wrong; Clemson is not in trouble from the APR standpoint. In fact, Clemson is in great shape with the most recent APR results. But the school would be subjected to future penalties if more players decided to leave the program. This happens all across America.

The NCAA must understand that sometimes a kid has a parent that passes away and the kid needs to go home to support his family. Don’t penalize the school. Sometimes kids just want to play and decide they are not good enough to play at their current school so they want to transfer. Don’t penalize the school. Some kids get homesick. Some kids get lazy. Some kids decide they would rather hit their girlfriend than be a part of a major college football program. But how does the school need to be the only that pays for this kind of idiot’s action.

Fans applaud their coach and brag about is discipline when he sends a player home for disciplinary reasons. But do it too often and scholarships can get taken away from the school.

Perhaps the strongest argument against the APR is this: If enough kids bring down the APR of an institution, why punish future kids that might want to attend that institution but can’t because the NCAA has limited their number of scholarships?

Clemson has been lucky that not too many of its student-athletes have hurt the program in this way. GPAs and graduation rates are higher than ever.

Clemson running back coach Burton Burns told me one time that you don’t have to tell a player why he is not playing. Burns said that a player is honest with himself and understands that the guy ahead of them is ahead of them for a reason. He said both players know it and both players know why. They practice with each other and see the difference. They know who has outworked the other in the classroom and weight room.

I think many times when a guy decides to transfer or leave the program; he knows that he has not put enough into the program to get the results that he wanted. It is quite simple actually. For the most part, today coaches and administrators give you almost everything you need to be successful. You have your academic schedule made out for you. You have tutors at your disposal. You have a strength and condition staff there to help you improve your body. You have a coaching staff that wants you to succeed. Sometimes it takes some longer to understand that than others. Some kids never see it until it is too late. But if you want to be successful everything is in place. The depth chart may be stacked against you. You may be homesick. You may have people around you smoking pot. Your girlfriend may hit you first. Your major may be difficult. However, most have enough support that if they decide to work, decide not to fight and decide to persevere then they can make it.

August 31
Many in the Palmetto State will watch USC at Mississippi State on Thursday, August 31. But at 6:00 PM that night Clemson fans can get a look at their next opponent, Boston College. The Eagles play Central Michigan on ESPNU that night. Some of my friends are convinced that ESPNU stands for ESPN Unavailable.

GT-ND
The opening weekend of the year Georgia Tech plays host to Notre Dame. It will be interesting to see Bobby Dodd Stadium full without the help of UGA fans. I keep hearing analysts say that the Irish are in trouble and the Jackets will pull the first upset of the season. Please spare me. How you seen Tech’s secondary? Is Charlie Weiss still coaching Notre Dame? Is Brady Quinn making the trip? The Irish will beat Tech by 14 or more points. This one will not be close.

SC-MSU
One other quick prediction-I know Clemson fans would love to see USC lose in Starkville on the opening night of the season. Don’t hold your breath. MSU is awful. Teams that beat USC this season will have to outscore the Gamecocks and MSU will have a hard time outscoring anyone. The Bulldogs have a decent defense but their offense is among the worst in the South. State might be the worst team in the SEC this season so don’t get your hopes up Tiger fans. I was shocked to see that Spurrier has never won in Starkville. He lost 30-6 there in 1992 and 47-35 in 2000. Those were his only trips to Starkville as the head coach of the Gators. But Spurrier will not lose a lot of sleep over this trip because the Bulldogs are awful.

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