Tuesday May 22, 2007

Linebacker U?

Linebacker U?
“If Clay, Billie and Watkins come back healthy and play like we think they can we will be the best we have been at linebacker in years,” says one Clemson defensive coach. “Those guys have experience and that allows depth to be a major strength. Now, if those guys are not back full speed then we could be average.”

Every staff in America has question marks but few have such polar opposite situation as Clemson linebacker coach David Blackwell. He could be coaching one of the best units in the South or one of the most inexperienced.

Antonio Clay is back in town and that is good news. I could not imagine what he has gone through since last September but it had to be difficult for a young man to deal with what he had to deal with. At one time last year one school of thought was that football would have been therapeutic for Clay. The game he loves would be good for him in his grieving the loss of his sister in an automobile accident.

On the day of the funeral Clay went back to Clemson in preparation for the Boston College game. Remember this was the first game Clemson was to be without Anthony Waters and Clay had to get work at the Mike linebacker. The Jeffersonville, GA native had to have his head swimming with emotions. A lost sister, a new position, school work and other things the regular 21-year old college kid finds himself dealing with appeared in Clay’s life.

He seemed to handle the on the field aspect admirably. Clay played well in big games and was solid at his new position. He seemed to handle the academics well also. But the hardest part took its toll. Clay’s coaches and teammates talk about how different he was later in the year. “Tony was not himself,” said one coach. “He had a different look in his eyes. He just was not himself.”

In fact, Clay missed practices at the bowl site and did not play as many snaps because of it.

Clay decided to take the spring semester off to deal with the issues that had surfaced and at first glance it appeared to be the best decision. Spring semesters are important but they are not as important as a student’s piece of mind or mental health and stability. Sure Clay could have used the 15 spring practices from a football standpoint but football is not the most important thing in Clay’s life. Clay’s teammates would have been an important part of his healing but they were not as important as his family and their role in the healing. Clemson could have used Clay this spring but not as much as Jeffersonville.

So, how effective will Clay be on the football field in 2007? Hindsight is the only way to really tell. He could use football as an avenue to move his family forward. Clay is talented enough to play in the NFL so football could really advance his family as Clay could become a provider.

The other side of the argument is that Clay could still be hurting at the same level he was last season. He could look at football as a lower priority than it has been in the past. He could be rusty and his mind could still be at home.

Which will it be? I would guess that football could be his release. It was last year until his anguish reached an intolerable point. Hopefully he has advanced his healing to the point where football can once again be fun and productive.

Tramaine Billie had injury issues to overcome in the spring and has to overcome his academic situation. The staff is fairly confident both of those things will happen.

Nick Watkins had to buckle down in the classroom and many think he is well on his way to taking care of his class work.

Last season the Tigers were poised to have a great group of linebackers but Billie got hurt in August and Anthony Waters went down in September. Clay was forced to play another position and Clemson struggled at the other linebacker spot. Jeremy Campbell was forced to play as a true freshman and Maurice Nelson had to play more snaps than he was ready for.

There is a big difference in being a starter and playing 15-20 snaps per game. Teams scheme for the starters and there was inexperience at the one spot last year and offensive coordinators knew it.

This year if Clay can play Mike, Billie at Sam and Watkins at Will the starting lineup will be talented and experienced. This would allow Cortney Vincent, Kevin Alexander, Kavell Conner, Josh Miller, Campbell and Stanley Hunter to provide depth.

If any or all of the three starters are not as effective or can’t play then the Tigers are in the same situation as last season. They take away from quality depth and have to play players would be great second-teamers but average starters.

The quality of the linebacker play greatly affects the defense. If they are effective against the run the secondary does not have to come up as fast to provide run support. This would help against the play action passing game. If the linebackers can excel at rushing the passer the secondary benefits as well. So linebacker play is as important as any group and Clemson could be great or average as a unit.

There are more questions than answers but most will not be answered until the season. Until then it is fun to speculate how this team can add to Linebacker U.

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