Re: wonder why

quozzel

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Re: wonder why "hot rod" did not land anywhere

Apr 18, 2015, 1:17 AM

> in the NFL . I thought he had talent.
>
> I wish him well in his future endeavor, and thank him
> for the letter.

I actually didn't think that. I thought he did really well for Clemson...but an NFL running back? No. Never saw it. NFL guys have some great attribute that they lean on - size, speed, crazy agility. He had none of the above...certainly nothing that an NFL GM would look at and say: "I've gotta have that guy."

I liked him, but he topped out where he should have topped out. He was a solid #2 behind Ellington, but he was also the weakest starting running back for any Top-10 team in the country in 2013. He was no James Davis, CJ Spiller, or Andre Ellington. I honestly didn't think he was even quite a Reggie Merriweather, who I did think deserved an NFL invite, and never got one...because he was unlucky enough to get buried on the depth chart BEHIND Davis and Spiller.

I thought Hot Rod was a Top-50-in-the-country (for his year) sort of RB, maybe a Top-40...but that doesn't get you drafted.

Was he a true Clemson guy, a guy whose hand I would very much like to shake? Yup. Waited until his redshirt senior year to start, conducted himself with class and dignity and no small amount of ability when he was here. An elite, NFL-type of talent? Nope. Didn't...quite...see it. He was close, sure. But there's just a hairsbreadth - but very real - type of distinction between a real good college player, and an NFL prospect, and he was on the far side of the line. Much as I personally never particularly liked Martavis Bryant, for instance - I thought he was a far cry from the likes of Sammy Watkins or CJ Spiller in terms of class - it was pretty clear Bryant was an NFL talent all the way. Size, speed, body control...nobody remotely matched up with Bryant in college, physically, and if you take a physical mutant like Bryant and drop him in the NFL, he's still a mutant.

Lest anyone perceive this as an insult, in the long run it was Hot Rod's heart and refusal to accept his own physical limitations - like, you know, a congenital club foot - that made him such a successful college player, even while his physical limitations capped his NFL aspirations. And it's also what's making him so attractive post-college.

Some guys are destined for the NFL. Bryant assuredly was...even though he did some things to mess himself up along the way. In some ways because of the environment he was in - at Clemson you do not get away with not turning up for class, or shanking it in practice...give Dabo all the credit in the world, he does appear to have a high tolerance for that kind of crap, as Bryant found out when he was suspended for the 2012 Orange Bowl - MB seems to have Gotten The Message and still left after his junior year and did well for himself in the NFL. Other guys are destined for...other things. I personally always got the sense Hot Rod had a lot more Tony Elliott than CJ Spiller in him. For those with short memories...Elliot was the fourth-best WR on a 2003 team with arguably the best WR's in Clemson history...which includes the 2012, 2013, or 2014 seasons. Derrick Hamilton, Kevin Youngblood, Airese Currie...and Tony Elliot...were pretty much uncoverable, as South Carolina found out in that 63-17 shellacking that still stands as the most lopsided beating the Chickens ever took at our hands. (For those who were born too early, dial back the wayback machine HERE...it's a game worth remembering..and I assure you, the fireworks don't take long to start.
https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=clemson+63+south+carolina+17&ei=UTF-8&fr=chr-greentree_ff&ilc=12&type=903578)

Regardless, it wouldn't shock me even slightly if Hot Rod turned up in the coaching circuit the next few years...and did very well. It does look like he's already on his way with this gig. He seems like that sort of guy.

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wonder why "hot rod" did not land anywhere

Re: wonder why "hot rod" did not land anywhere

Tigers don't roost.***

Re: Tigers don't roost.***

Re: wonder why "hot rod" did not land anywhere

Really? Oklahoma game?

Well, it was one of those teams that starts with "O" ... LOL***

Re: Really? Oklahoma game?

Oh, the mysterious Oklahoma-Clemson of 2012 that was played at an undisclosed location

small, and not a power runner...

Re: wonder why "hot rod" did not land anywhere

reggie was a fa invite of the chargers.***

Honestly

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