Dan Scott Interview: Tommy Bowden

Bowden led the Tigers to a 9-4 record and a #22 final ranking.

by TigerNet Staff - Fri Feb 06 11:29:54 GMT-04:00 2004

CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden was a guest on Sports Talk with Dan Scott on Thursday to discuss the 2004 recruiting class. SportsTalk can be heard from 9 a.m.-Noon, Monday-Friday, on WCCP-Fm, 104.9 in upstate South Carolina.

Listen to the full Tommy Bowden interview Here: Real Audio - Windows Media

Selected Quotes

Overall impression of this class?

I really felt with the guy we needed and the guys we (already) have and the body types we were looking for, we were really pleased and satisfied. Of course you never get all the ones you want, but we are real happy with the ones we got.

It looks like there has been a concentration on the lines in the last few years and it also appears you could have bookend 6-7 tackles one day from this class.

That’s the one thing we have been lacking here. We had some nice offensive tackles in Eric Coleman and Todd McClinton that we had to move to defense because I am trying to start from there and build this thing from the defense up with offense second. We lost 5 offensive lineman right before I got here and we moved a guys couple over. I think we are finally starting to replenish the numbers at the offensive line. I got to make sure I am never short in two areas with defensive line first and offensive line second.

What do you think about recruiting analysts that rank classes?

We are coaches. They are not. We’ve played the sport and they haven’t. The analogy is pretty easy to use. You wouldn’t go to a veterinarian for a root canal. I sure the heck wouldn’t go to a doctor for a CPA. You try to get a specialist. They are trying to evaluate the field and they are not a specialist. Usually what those guys do is call the recruiting coordinator from certain schools and get their evaluation and opinion. If the school they are calling is recruiting that guy he usually gets a higher rating. Like I said Leroy Hill was not a highly rated guy. Charlie Whitehurst wasn’t. I don’t either of those guys had but maybe one star but they have been pretty productive players for us. I try to look at more what is going on at end of the season with wins and losses. That’s what we are held accountable for.

Dabo Swinney seemed to take it personal to lose Mike McIntosh on signing day but you said you were not as surprised.

Well I was in Dabo office yesterday, and I wrote up the number 34 and then I wrote 49 and then I subtracted which was 15. My age is 49 and his is 34 and 15 is the difference. He will have that happen a few more times I promise you. I’ve had that happen. He recruited for Alabama in the state of Alabama for about 8 years and he cleaned them up in the end. This is a little different scenario and circumstances. You are fighting Florida and they are 45 minutes from their campus. But again, to be in the phone with Akeem Robinson at 2:00 in the morning with (Ron) Zook on one end, me on the other and mom and dad in the middle and going back and forth. Florida was his last visit and they were right up the road. He got a big athletic body. He lost one and got one. I was not as shocked as he (Dabo) was. He is a little younger. That will happen to him a few more times. I just hadn’t alerted him to it yet.