Thursday June 28, 2007

Running Back Notes

National Running Back Rankings
1. Darren McFadden-Arkansas
2. Jonathan Stewart-Oregon
3. Ray Rice-Rutgers
4. Michael Hart-Michigan
5. Steve Slaton-West Virginia
6. James Davis-Clemson
7. Felix Jones-Arkansas
8. Brandon Ore-Virginia Tech
9. C.J. Spiller-Clemson
10. Ian Johnson- Boise State

Clemson Running Back Recruiting
Clemson will sign two running backs in this class and already have a commitment from the top back in South Carolina. Andre Ellington (5-10, 170, 4.5) of Monks Corner High School in Berkeley, SC committed to Clemson linebacker coach David Blackwell a few weeks ago and this commitment was one of the biggest so far in the class of 2008. Ellington chose the Tigers over South Carolina. He is a scat back type that catches the ball well out of the backfield and has breakaway speed.

The second Clemson signee at this position should come from a highly touted group of prospects that includes names like Jamie Harper, Dontavious Jackson, Chris Jordan, Averian Collier, Michael Shaw, Ryan Williams, Eric Smith and Martin Ward.

Harper is a big back with great speed. The Jacksonville, FL native favors Clemson and Florida State over Florida and South Carolina. He is perhaps the top back on Clemson’s board.

Observers in Georgia compare Jackson to James Davis. The Franklin, GA native currently favors Clemson and Alabama over Georgia and LSU.

Jordan is a back that is also being recruited by some as a linebacker. He has the Tigers in his list of top five or so that also includes Tennessee, Alabama, Aubrun and Georgia.

Curtis is among the best backs in the country but he is favoring his home state school, Arkansas.

Collier is a great back from New York but he is far from narrowing his list.

Ward is a former Georgia commitment but the Jonesboro, GA back has opened up his recruiting and Clemson, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida have offered.

The Tigers have positioned themselves well to ink one of these terrific backs in February. The combination of Ellington and another top notch back would continue the Tigers recent success in recruiting great ones at this position.

The Turning Point
A few years ago former Clemson running back coach Burton Burns was recruiting several of the South’s top backs. Burns expressed concern and a little frustration because the Tigers did not run the ball enough to attract the top talent at running back. However, Rob Spence was hired and James Davis selected the Tigers over schools like Alabama and Virginia Tech. The following year C.J. Spiller shocked the recruiting world and selected Clemson over Florida and Florida State.

Davis took a chance and signed with Clemson without proof the Tigers would actually run the ball. Many players are told what coaches want to do in the future but it is much easier to show them rather than tell them. Davis took Spence, Bowden and Burn’s word and one could argue that this was the turning point in the running game. Davis had the big year as a freshman and I maintain that Clemson would not have been able to sign Spiller.

In 2004 Clemson rushed for 103 yards per game. The next season was Spence and Davis’ first in Clemson and improved to 153 yards per contest. Last season Spiller joined the crowd and the Tigers averaged 218 yards per game. These numbers and the success of Davis and Spiller are the main reasons the Tigers are able to become involved with backs like Ellington, Harper, Jackson and others. Four years ago they would have had a hard time getting serious looks from players of this caliber at running back.

Sears Cup
Yesterday the final Sears Cup rankings were released and Clemson finished 36th. I am not a big believer in this being an important indicator in athletic department success because I don’t think you can’t give equal weighting to football, cross country and water polo. It is not the main indicator but it is an indicator. This year’s 36th spot is the best in a few years but in my opinion Clemson should do better. Granted Clemson does not field as many sports as other schools but 36th is not good enough.

In my opinion many of the sports at Clemson are on solid footing but a couple need to get back to the form they enjoyed a few years ago. No one is satisfied with 8-5 in football. The women’s basketball program has fallen to new lows and the once-proud women’s track and field program has become one of the worst in the ACC in the last three or four years.

Texting
Yesterday it was announced that the NCAA will reconsider its ban on text messaging from coaches to prospects. The ban was to take effect on August 1 but the board of directors may overturn the ban at their next meeting.

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