Friday October 20, 2006

Friday's E-mail Bag

Every Friday we publish your thoughts and questions. If you would like to submit a letter you can e-mail it to mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

Mickey,
I know he is only a junior, but what offers does Randall Hawkins have and is he leaning towards any team? I got the chance to see Byrnes vs Clover Friday night and it was awesome! I do not want to see Clemson in white helmets, but purple would be nice every now and then. I love the purple jersey orange pants uniform and I hope we wear it against GT. Unlike Gamecock Will, I would rather have a national championship than have ESPN gameday, but it is nice having them here this weekend! Go TIGERS!
Dwayne in Anderson

Dwayne,
Hawkins has received interested from Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee and a few others. I think he will be one of the ten best players in the state next season. White helmets would look awful but I like the purple stuff. Thanks.

Mickey,
What type of game better suits Clemson, a high-paced shootout or a slow-paced, grind it out type of game against GT? Also, do you have a list of recruits or know some off hand that will be in attendance? Do you see a commitment coming soon, say Markish Jones? Thanks for everything Mickey.
Ross

Ross,
Thanks. I could see Clemson winning a high or low scoring game. I think the Tigers have enough ammunition to play either of those type games. Because it is such a big game and because South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Georgia Tech are not hosting prospects this weekend, I would expect it to be a who’s who at the Valley. I would also expect a ton of juniors to be in attendance. Look for almost all of Clemson’s commitments to be there.

Mickey,
Is Tom Winkopp really that old?
Thanks,
Kirby

Kirby,
By looking at him I would have never guessed he was a day over 50 but I now know that Winkopp is older than baseball.

Mickey
I think a lot of GT attendance problems is that local corporations in Atlanta buy blocks of tickets. They let them sit in a desk (except big games) and go unused. They don't even try to have someone go to the stadium and give them out or sell them. There aren’t a lot of people selling around the stadium. Of course the Corporations around Atlanta have a big budget to but the tickets and don't miss the money spent on them. This isn't the entire problem but I say 40 to 50 % of it
Randy in Greenwood

Randy,
I would agree. Corporate tickets used or unused is not what college football is all about. They bring no energy. I think we see this is a lot of urban environments. Thanks for the input.

Mickey,
I caught your discussion regarding the wearing of ties and high heels by men and women attending Clemson football games. I believe that most of that is done by the fraternities and sororities on campus. However, the tradition they are continuing goes back much farther. From 1896-1954, when Clemson was an all-male military school, the students (cadets) wore their uniforms to games. After that, until the early 1970's, many male students would wear ties at the very least. The adults who had been somewhat more casual in their apparel started to wear coats and ties to the games beginning in the 1940's and continued to do so into the early 1970's. Women would wear hats, gloves, and heels up through the 1960's, and low heels into the early 1970's If you look at football crowd photographs in _Taps_from the late 1950's and 1960's you will see many of the men are wearing ties.
Just thought I would bring a historical perspective to the discussion.

Sincerely,
James

James,
Thanks. My thoughts are that you have your entire life to wear a tie so why do it when you don’t have to. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to tie a piece of cloth around your neck made it tougher on men for the balance of history. If you need to wear a tie that bad on the weekend, I am sure that you are welcomed at area churches. It is a football game so dress appropriately (jeans and an orange t-shirt).

Mickey,
Georgia Tech's defense is built on the blitz. Wouldn't you agree the best game plan would be to run at that defense and wear it down by the 4th quarter?
The Tigers have a great O-Line and the 2/3 stringers have had a lot of reps; our backs are all all-acc; Clemson can keep a lot of fresh bodies on the field, and Georgia Tech lost to Notre Dame (in my opinion) because they we ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Also I would like to see Chancellor, a bigger punishing back, get more carries in this game.

Dit

Dit,
I think Clemson will have to be very balanced tomorrow night. Protecting Proctor and running the ball will be a key. Clemson can limit Johnson but Hamlin is the key there with his deep coverage. Also, tackling him on the shorter routes is a key. I agree the paw needs to be bigger on the side of the helmets.

Mickey,
You mentioned Clemson being ranked 6th in recruiting for 2007 by Rivals.com – I noticed that Virginia is 5th. How can Virginia still be recruiting that well? Should Virginia and their fans keep faith in Groh because of his recruiting?
Thanks,
Trent in Liberty

Trent,
UVA gets out to big leads in recruiting but falters late. I would not be worried about Mr. Jefferson’s university any time soon in football.

Mickey,
Love the blog...what are the chances they move Demerick Chancellor to receiver to add depth created by the recent injuries? Seems like he was recruited by some schools as a receiver, and if they are trying to get the best 11 on the field, then it seems to me he could be one of them.

How can we be so good on offense and defense, but be so bad on special teams?
We certainly have enough talent, so what is the deal? Jad Dean may be making some mistakes, but he is not the only problem. I will predict right now that if we lose any more games it will be because of special teams.
Hugh

Hugh,
Thanks. I think you may see Spiller in the slot some but Chancellor is more of a running back at this point. Special teams have been good in some areas. The punt team and punt coverage has been good. The return teams have been OK. The field goal and extra points are getting better and I think you will see an improvement on the kick off coverage this week.

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