Monday August 16, 2010

Deadline; DaQuan; New Concerns; Hot Rod

Monday Deadline
Midnight tonight is the Major League Baseball deadline for signing draft picks from this year’s draft and four Clemson players will have a decision to make.

Kyle Parker surprised a lot of people when he chose to come back to Clemson for football and I have no idea how negotiations will go tonight. I have talked to two people close to the situation and have been told to expect anything tonight.

My sources said they would not be shocked if the Rockies signed Parker because it would be a blow for the organization to miss signing their top draft pick. However, if they don’t sign Parker then the Rockies will get a compensation pick after the first round next year. Also Parker fully understands that he still has two years of football leverage in case he came back for next year’s baseball draft.

I wish I could give an estimate of which way Parker was leaning but my sources were not confident either way on this one.

I was a little surprised when I was told Casey Harman was leaning towards signing. Harman was drafted in the 29th round by the Cubs and early in the process it looked like he might return to school. However, I was told that it appears Harman may be leaning towards leaving school.

The other surprise is that my sources say they expect John Hinson to come back to school. Hinson was taken by the Phillies in the 13th round and I thought he was a decent bet to leave. But my sources would be surprised if he does not return to school.

Jeff Schaus was a 27-round selection of the Indians and my sources all along have said Schaus is a good bet to return to school.

A pitching staff that would include Harman would be one of the tops in the ACC and the offense that returned Parker, Schaus and Hinson would give Jack Leggett power in the middle of the lineup.

I would warn the optimistic Tiger fan that MLB teams usually hold back until the last minute and often times they come up with the money to sign their top picks very late in the process.

DaQuan’s Return
The Tigers return to the practice field this morning and sometime today they expect to get back two defensive starters. DaQuan Bowers missed last week due to the sudden death of his father and he was not at the start of the morning practice. Cornerback Byron Maxwell missed Saturday’s scrimmage to attend Dennis Bowers’ funeral. Maxwell is DaQuan Bowers’ teammate. The Tigers are practicing twice today which is the last day of two-a-days.

The defense will need a lift after getting roasted in Saturday’s scrimmage. It will be interested to see if the defense will respond this week.

New Concerns
I get asked all of the time how the fall camp is going and one of the things I tell people is that I hear the offensive line is having a good camp.

I then get a weird look or another skeptical response.

I don’t blame Clemson fans for being skeptical. We have been down this road before and many times we get our hopes up to high.

Last season we did see the offensive line improve as the season went on. Chris Hairston had a solid year as a junior. Landon Walker quietly had a solid sophomore season a year ago.

The guards will be without Thomas Austin this year but Antoine McClain keeps getting better as does David Smith. Mason Cloy is another guard/center that has been solid.

The offensive line took a major step forward last season when Dalton Freeman took over at center last season. When the red-shirt freshman was inserted into the starting lineup, the offense averaged over 400 yards and 30 points per game.

There are still issues though. Depth is a concern especially at guard after Cloy. But this is a different concern than we saw this time last year or the year before.

Saturday’s scrimmage was perhaps the best this unit has looked in recent memory. The offense was dominant and it all started up front.

I don’t blame the skeptics but I would very disappointed if we did not see a good group up front for the Tigers this season.

In fact, I think the questions about this football team are different now than they were heading into camp. The biggest question remains the kicking game but my second concern coming revolved around the offense. I did not know about the receivers and I also had concerns about playmakers. The Tigers came into camp looking for big play makers but those concerns have been eased.

After Saturdays scrimmage I think it is fair to be concerned a little about the defense. Poor tackling and missed assignments were an issue once again Saturday, so maybe we should start showing more concern over the defense.

In the off-season when it appeared Kyle Parker may not return to play this season, the prevailing thought was that this team would have to win with defense. The offense is obviously different with Parker and the productivity of the offensive line. It might now be the case where this team can win by outscoring some opponents.

Hot Rod
The biggest story coming out of the fall camp so far has been Roderick McDowell and that story continued Saturday. The red-shirt freshman had perhaps his best day of a great camp when he was the premier offensive player who hit more big plays Saturday. The Sumter, SC native had 127 yards on 12 carries including two long runs.

McDowell did not have a great spring and came into this fall camp hoping to solidify himself as the Tigers’ number three back. However he has done much more. McDowell is now a threat to take much more important snaps than a normal third team running back.

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.