Athlon Sports Names Clemson No. 10 in Preseason Top-25 Poll

by Press Release - Thu May 22 08:43:26 GMT-04:00 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Athlon Sports, publisher of the No. 1-selling college football magazine, continues the release of its preseason Top-25 poll at www.athlonsports.com. No. 10 is being released today. The Athlon countdown continues for the next nine weekdays leading to the on-sale date of Athlon's category-leading preseason annuals.

Tommy Bowden's Clemson Tigers grab the No. 10 position with 12 players selected as All-ACC performers. Athlon Sports predicts Clemson to win the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division. In 2007, Athlon Sports led all other preseason football magazines in prediction accuracy.*

"This could be the most talented Clemson team of the Tommy Bowden era," says Athlon Sports senior editor Mitch Light. "There are some issues on the offensive line, but there is tremendous talent at other key positions, most notably at running back. The defense, which was outstanding last year, should be a strength once again. The goals at Clemson are very high this year, and they should be. This is a very, very good team."

Wide receiver Aaron Kelly is named Second-Team All-America and First-Team All-ACC. Quarterback Cullen Harper, running back James Davis, center Thomas Austin, defensive lineman Dorell Scott, safety Michael Hamlin and kick returner C.J. Spiller are named First-Team All-ACC.

Running back C.J. Spiller, cornerback Chris Chancellor, safety Chris Clemons, kicker Mark Buchholz and punt returner Jacoby Ford are named Second-Team All-ACC. Defensive lineman Ricky Sapp joins the All-ACC Third Team.

Athlon Sports' preseason magazines hit retail locations May 27 with the Clemson Atlantic Coast regional edition cover featuring Cullen Harper. Athlon's entire selection of regional editions and team-specific covers are available for pre-order at www.athlonsports.com/store.

Nashville-based Athlon Sports is a 41-year-old integrated media company. It remains a leader in sports prediction accuracy and creating the most sought-after preseason content online and in magazines at newsstand. The company serves business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients as a publisher, content provider, and Sports Marketer through its portfolio of websites, sports magazines covering eight different sports and seven college football conferences, direct marketing, and events. Athlon Sports exports its brands internationally in 33 countries.

* Stassen.com analysis of 2007 college football preseason predictions