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Bill Wilhelm Update
Bill Wilhelm might be the last living legend in Clemson and this morning on my radio show we had Bob Mahoney of IPTAY on to update us on Coach Wilhelm’s health. The former head baseball coach at Clemson is in Oconee Memorial Hospital due to severe leg pain.

Coach Wilhelm has had some other health issues in recent weeks but injured his leg walking last week and had to be taken to the hospital over the weekend.

Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret called in the show this morning to update us as well with much needed good news. Bourret visited Coach Wilhelm last night and was there when the family received good news from a bone scan that revealed Wilhelm was cancer free.

Wilhelm coached the Tigers from 1958-1993. In his 36 years Wilhelm led the Tigers to a 1,161-536-10. Clemson was 381-158-1 in ACC play under Wilhelm.

Wilhelm’s teams won 17 ACC championships and seven ACC tournament titles. Coach Wilhelm led the Tigers to 18 NCAA tournament appearances including six trips to the College World Series.

“He has some health issues over the past few months,” said Mahoney. “He had serious pain after walking last week. EMS had to come and get him and he is currently in Oconee Memorial Hospital. My major concern is that he has not been eating lately and he has lost a lot of strength. I also want people to pray for him and his family and for his friends to get by and encourage Coach Wilhelm. I want to encourage some of his former players to call or go by to see him and pick up his spirits. Coach Wilhelm never likes attention but I think he could use some encouraging words from friends.”

Stars
Like many of you, I put a lot into recruiting rankings and believe in them as a decent guide to on the field success. Today I have taken the star rakings from Rivals.com on every player that Clemson has signed that is still on scholarship and healthy in an attempt to see who has been better and who has been worse than expected so far in their careers.

I think the guys at rivals.com do a terrific job but we all understand how difficult it is to predict human performance and development. So there will always be a few pleasant surprises and a few disappointments in every program in America.

Better Than Expected So Far-
Chris Hairston is an All-ACC candidate after picking Clemson over SC State. I remember the day Clemson coaches saw him in the Shrine Bowl practices and few could have predicted he would have been this kind of player then. Byron Maxwell was injured as a high school senior but has had a solid career.

Less Than I Expected So Far-
Richard Jackson has just been inconsistent in his three years so far. At times he looks like an All-ACC guy and others he looks like the third best kicker on campus.

Class of 2007
Four Stars
Kourtnei Brown
Scotty Cooper
Marcus Gilchrist
Jarvis Jenkins
DeAndre McDaniel
Landon Walker

Three Stars
Miguel Chavis
Brandon Clear
Mason Cloy
Chad Diehl
Xavier Dye
Brandon Maye
Rennie Moore
Wilson Norris
David Smith

Better Than Expected So Far-
DeAndre McDaniel is a first-team All-American. Jarvis Jenkins is a future NFL defensive tackle. Landon Walker might be a four-year starter. Chad Diehl has been much better than I expected. But the nugget here is Andre Branch. He is the best former two-star on scholarship. Branch has been a major surprise. Coty Sensabaugh is another solid player that is better than his two-star rating.

Less Than I Expected So Far-
Kourtnei Brown chose Clemson over Alabama but has had to make an adjustment from a small school. Scotty Cooper has been injured but has not been a steady performer so far. Brandon Clear has not produced like a Army All-American guy.

Notes-This is a solid class that is made up of nine players that are listed as starters entering this fall camp.

Four Stars
Spencer Adams
Dwayne Allen
Andre Ellington
Brandon Ford
Dalton Freeman
Rashard Hall
Jamie Harper
Marquan Jones
Antoine McClain
Kyle Parker
Brandon Thompson
Jonathan Willard

Better Than Expected So Far-
Andre Ellington was a four star player but he has been a pleasant surprise entering his red-shirt sophomore season. Like Ellington, Dalton Freeman was a four-star but I did not see this center making this kind of impact this early in his career. Rashard Hall was much more productive as a red-shirt freshman than I would ever imagined. Kyle Parker came in highly touted but few thought he would have had the kind of freshman season he had a year ago.

Less Than I Expected So Far-
DaQuan Bowers has not been a bust by any means but he also has not been a five-star player yet either. I do expect a big jump this season from Bowers. Spencer Adams’ progress was slowed by a knee injury. We knew Brandon Ford was not a burner but we also expected more from a four-star. Jamie Harper has shown some signs but injuries, fumbles and a lack of opportunity have plagued him so far. This could be Harper’s breakout season. I had high expectations for Marquan Jones who came to Tigertown as a four star but he has not been consistent yet. Jones has had his best camp this year though.

Notes-This was an unbelievable class. Fourteen or fifteen players from this class could end of starting with only a few guys not being what we expected when they came out of high school.

Class of 2009
Four Stars
Tajh Boyd
Malliciah Goodman
Roderick McDowell
Bryce McNeal
Jonathan Meeks
Brandon Thomas

Better Than Expected So Far-
Roderick McDowell was a four star but I did not expect to see him put together this kind of camp. Expectations have jumped for McDowell. Quandon Christian looked like a play maker this spring and has a bright future. Corico Hawkins was one of three true freshmen to play last season.

Less Than I Expected So Far-
It is very early in Bryce McNeal’s career but I would have thought he might have been further along at this point. As he gets bigger and stronger, McNeal should get more opportunities.

Notes-It is still too early to make too many judgments about most of these guys but this appears to be a solid class despite being small in numbers.

Four Stars
Tavaris Barnes
Desmond Brown
DeAndre Hopkins
Justin Parker
Garry Peters
Darius Robinson
Josh Watson

Three Stars
David Beasley
Victor Beasley
Bashaud Breeland
Demont Buice
Joe Craig
Kalon Davis
D.J. Howard
Martin Jenkins
Tra Thomas
Gifford Timothy
Reid Webster

Notes-It is far too early to evaluate this class. I hear good things about the class as a whole but it is too difficult to judge these players this early in their careers.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, The Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Richard Crawford, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, Steve Williams Jr, Steve Williams III, Kim Thomas, Reid Thomas, Sam Thomas, Linda Wiggs, Emily Claire Young, Dr. Wallace Honeycutt, Stacy Fowler, Kitty Bowers, Nick Corontzes.

Comments:

It seems as though the wild card that the recruiting services cannot predict is injuries. Most of the guys who we peg as under-achievers have also had to deal with injuries which could have more effect than we ever know. Would have loved to have seen what Willy Korn would have done if he had not been injured. He is obviously not on your list, but it is safe to say his career has been more dissapointing than anyone on your list. Nothing against Willy, but injuries obviously held him back.

Posted by Locotiger on August 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM EDT #

Mickey: Thanks for putting that together. That was a fun read!

Posted by Razzmatazz on August 17, 2010 at 01:34 PM EDT #

Thanks, Mickey. I'd forgotten about many of these palyers and it was a good read. Now I know who to watch!

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Posted by 207.218.236.90 on August 18, 2010 at 12:57 AM EDT #