A Different Spring Game

by Mickey Plyler - Radio Host - Mon Apr 03 10:02:44 GMT-04:00 2017

A Different Spring Game

Some of my radio listeners and friends follow spring football like me. They soak it all in. Others don't get into it and take the wait and see approach. However, this Saturday Clemson will play its spring game, and it is very important to get as many fans there as possible.

Clemson fans never cease to amaze me. Close to 60,000 fans packed Death Valley on a January day to celebrate the national title. Dabo Swinney has talked about how important it is to break the spring game record again this year. Here is why:

1. Recruiting

Last season new Georgia coach Kirby Smart made it a point to have a full stadium for his first spring game. He even brought in Hip-Hop star Ludacris for a concert. The reason was recruiting. Georgia is a national recruiting power now, and Clemson recruits head to head with the Bulldogs. These recruits are very impressionable and a huge crowd in Clemson this Saturday would make another very positive impression.

This past weekend South Carolina had about 12,000 for their spring game. How impressive to these recruits would it be to have 70,000 in Clemson this weekend?

2. Quarterbacks

The staff is still trying to figure out who the starting quarterback will be when the Tigers open the season against Kent State. Kelly Bryant, Zerrick Cooper, Hunter Johnson and Tucker Israel are inexperienced and a game day atmosphere would help identify which players can handle a big stage. In many years, the quarterback position has been decided and the starter has little to prove in this game. This is not the case this Saturday.

3. Competition

There are so many position battles that are taking place and Saturday we get a chance to see great competition. Clemson has six talented corners who are fighting it out. There are new faces at safety that have a lot to prove Saturday. We get our longest looks at talented linebackers like Shaq Smith and Chad Smith. I can't wait to see more from other newer faces like Xavier Kelly and Nyles Pinckney. The tight ends are competing to replace Jordan Leggett. And the pecking order at running back is interesting. The point is Saturday we get a chance to see some of the new faces and highly recruited players who are competing to be the next greats.

4. Appreciation

As fans, this is another chance to showcase our appreciation for the accomplishments in the program. National titles are hard to come by, and this is a chance for us to express our gratitude again.

5. It's Clemson, and it's game day

No one is pretending this is a real game, but it is a chance to get together with our Clemson family and enjoy our Tigers in Death Valley.

A lot of people get busy in the spring, but let's encourage our family to come together once again. I plan on DVRing the third round of the Masters and will be there in the Valley. See ya Saturday!

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