Tuesday July 20, 2010

Breakout Candidates-Part II

Breakout Candidates-Part II
In yesterday’s blog I wrote about Andre Ellington and why expect him to rush for over 1,000 yards and have a breakout season. I also made the claim that you can only have one break out season and current players like DeAndre McDaniel, Rashard Hall, Chris Hairston and Jarvis Jenkins have already had theirs.

So below are 11 other Tigers who could have a breakout season in 2010:

Da’Quan Bowers
A couple of weeks ago Larry Williams of TigerIllisutrated.com had a very good piece on Bowers after a candid interview with the defensive end. In it Bowers said he was disappointed in his first two seasons and blamed some of it on his lack of hard work. Bowers claims to have renewed his commitment to the game and has set his sights on a great season in 2010.

It’s not like he has been a bust so far though. He has been good, even great at times. But injuries have also slowed Bowers down. When he is motivated Bowers is a force. We saw this type of play in the Gator Bowl against Nebraska. But the consistency has not been there. No, he has not been a bust but I would have expected more than four sacks in his first two seasons. I also would be shocked if Bowers did not have a huge junior season.

Dalton Freeman
Some may say 2009 was Freeman’s breakout season. He was a first-team freshman All-American according to collegefootballnews.com and he was Clemson’s co-rookie of the year on offense along with Kyle Parker. Everyone knows about Parker’s freshman season but since he is a center maybe some missed out on Freeman’s very good campaign.

I believe Freeman has a chance to be the best center at Clemson since Kyle Young. Some feel very good about his chances at a prosperous NFL career.

Since offensive linemen don’t have the individual statistics, it is hard quantifying their success. But it is no coincidence that Clemson went on a six game winning streak when Freeman was inserted into the lineup. It should also be mentioned that the offense averaged 32.5 points and over 400 yards in the nine games Freeman started last season.

Andre Branch
Has never started a game at Clemson but that should change since Ricky Sapp has moved on to the NFL. As a sophomore Branch had 46 tackles including eight tackles for loss and two sacks. He had shown signs of what we may see in 2010 but I expect a big jump this season. Branch plays very hard and seldom takes a play off. He may not the most talented defender at Clemson but few play harder. Look for this defensive end to produce at a higher level this season.

Dwayne Allen
Allen is a good candidate for a breakout season after he enjoyed a fine red-shirt freshman season. The tight end played in all 14 games and started six. He had 10 catches for 108 yards and three touchdowns. Allen should also benefit from Michael Palmer’s departure so he will have a much bigger role in the offense in 2010. I also think he will be a bigger focus of the game plans because of the lack of proven production at wide receiver.

Antoine McClain
McClain played in 13 games as a true freshman and started all 14 games a year ago. His 66 knockdown blocks were second on the team to Thomas Austin. McClain seems to have found a home at guard and is comfortable enough now to take the next step. I think he is an All-ACC candidate in 2011 and could improve those chances by building with another step in 2010.

David Smith
Smith is a perfect candidate for a breakout season because of several factors. First he got better in his red-shirt season and started a few games as a red-shirt freshman. However, an ankle injury limited his time in 2008. Last season he played both guard and tackle and received more playing time as the season went on because of his improved play. This season he has settled in at guard and looks poised to have a terrific junior season.

Jamie Harper
When Jamie Harper announced for Clemson on signing day in February of 2008 he said he would only be at Clemson for three seasons because he was headed to the NFL a year early. If that is the case then he better step on the gas and have a huge 2010 campaign.

There have been times where Harper looked like he was what we thought he was coming out of high school but most of those have been in fall camp. An ankle injury in his freshman season hurt his progress and some think he has never regained his confidence. As a sophomore he rushed for 418 yards and four touchdowns. He will need to stay healthy and stay in shape if he wants to regain that confidence and his teammates trust once again.

Tajh Boyd
Boyd has the physical tools to be a very successful quarterback at this level but red-shirt freshmen quarterbacks usually have to endure growing pains and I fully expect that to the case this season. I expect we will see signs of brilliance and signs of those growing pains. Boyd will have the benefit of having experience up front and a solid running game to support his maturation.

Malliciah Goodman
There are few better looking physical specimens on this campus and Goodman enjoyed a productive true freshman season a year ago. I think he is poised to take the next step after he played in 329 snaps a year ago. He had 31 tackles including five tackles for loss and two sacks last season. Goodman might not start this season so his breakout year may be 2011 but I do expect that he takes another step in that direction this season.

Kourtnei Brown
Brown played as a true freshman even though he probably was not ready in 2007. He spent 2009 red-shirting because the Tigers had plenty of depth at defensive end and he needed the year to continue to get stronger. The staff raved about his work ethic and says Brown really maximized his time as a red-shirt.

In his career Brown has played over 400 snaps and had registered 33 tackles including four for a loss and one sack. He has started one game but his hard work in the red-shirt season should produce more results in 2010.

Corico Hawkins
We got a glimpse of Hawkins in the fall but I was more impressed by what we saw in the spring and fully expect the sophomore to play over 400 snaps this season. As a true freshman Hawkins played in 12 games and started the Music City Bowl. He played in 119 snaps and had 19 tackles including two sacks and two tackles for loss.

I would have loved to put a wide receiver in this group and fully expect one to emerge but at this point I am not sure if it will be Xavier Dye, Terrence Ashe, Jaron Brown, Marquan Jones, Brandon Clear, Brandon Ford, Bryce McNeal or DeAndre Hopkins.

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Those who need our prayers include:
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