Clemson Spring Game Notes |
Clemson Personnel Moves in the Spring
•Kyle Browning moved from running back to cornerback. •Cole Downer moved from tight end to offensive tackle. •C.J. Gaddis has played both quarterback and cornerback this spring. He played the first nine practices at quarterback and will play the last six at cornerback. •Zach Green, tight end, who red-shirted last year, has missed the entire spring with a broken leg •Cory Groover is listed as a signee for 2004, but enrolled in January and has gone through spring practice at defensive tackle. •Steven Jackson has played linebacker and fullback in shortyardage situations this spring. He was a fullback only last year. •Gerald McCloud moved from roverback to wide receiver this spring. He played wide receiver during practice when he red-shirted in 2002. •Gene Pate,holder and wide receiver, has missed he entire spring recovering from a broken leg suffered last fall. •Chansi Stuckey has played wide receiver the entire spring. He was the backup quarterback last year and played some wide receiver at the end of the season. •Nigel Vaughn has moved from linebacker to fullback. •Kwam Williams has played both linebacker and defensive end this spring. Live Television Comcast/Charter Sports (CSS) television will broadcast the Clemson Spring Game Saturday afternoon. The game will be shown live for the first time since ESPN televised the 1982 Clemson Spring Game. That was the year after Clemson won the National Championship when Sam Rosen and Paul McGuire did the game from Death Valley. Pete Yanity and Will Merritt will provide the commentary this Saturday. The game will also be broadcast live on WCCP Radio in Clemson (104.9 FM). Kickoff is 1:06 PM. Spring Game Format The format for this year’s Clemson Spring Game will be similar to last year. There will be practice kickoffs to start the day’s activities, then the #1 offense will scrimmage against the #1 defense. Each drive will start from the offense’s 30. There will be punting, but all punts will be fair caught. Then the #2 offense will go against the #2 defense starting from the offense’s 30-yard line. The first two quarters will be 15 minutes each with normal stoppages in play. There will be a 20-minute halftime to allow for various award presentations. The second half will start with the #3 offense against the #3 defense. They will start at the offense’s 30 and scrimmage for 12 plays. This segment will not be timed. At the conclusion of the #3 vs. #3 segment, the #1s will go against the #1s and the #2s will face the #2s . The last two quarters will be running time except on kicking situations. The entire game should take a little under two hours. Each of the last two years the Spring Game has been held on Riggs Field, but this year’s game will return to Clemson Memorial Stadium. Rigsby Displaced by Fire Clemson snapper Geoff Rigsby and walk-on punter Chris Wiksell were among 140 Clemson students who were displace after a fired burned at their apartment in University Ridge Apartments near the Clemson campus (across the street from Bowman field) on Feb. 25. Rigsby is a rising senior who was an original walk-on, while Wiksell is a sophomore punter who is yet to play in a game. The fire began just two doors from Rigsby’s apartment. Rigsby was in the apartment at the time the first started, while Wiksell was in Anderson bowling. Both players lost all their Clemson memorabilia, including letter jackets, bowl rings and other gear, not to mention personal items, clothes, computer equipment and text books needed for classes. Both players were helped by the NCAA’s student-athlete emergency fund and moved in with friends at another apartment complex for the rest of the semester. Last Year’s Spring Game The Clemson defense forced four turnovers and yielded just two touchdowns and a field goal in the 2003 Spring Game at Historic Riggs Field. Charlie Whitehurst led the offense by completing 14 of 20 passes for 160 yards and the game’s only passing touchdown as the Tigers concluded their spring practice season. Defensive backs Jamaal Fudge, Tavaghn Monts and Tye Hill each had interceptions and Monts also recovered a fumble. Gaines Adams led the defensive line with two sacks as the defense racked up 15 tackles for loss. Travis Pugh led all Tigers with eight tackles, including one for loss. Head Coach Tommy Bowden’s emphasis on the running game this spring was evident as the Tigers ran 73 running plays to 47 passing plays. Red-shirt freshman running back Duane Coleman led the ground attack with 15 carries for 42 yards. Fullback Clifford Harrell had a touchdown run and wide receiver Airese Currie, who also participated in the Clemson Invitational track meet before and after the game, had the longest run from scrimmage when he took a reverse 19 yards. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Chansi Stuckey showed his mobility with some dazzling moves on his way to 35 yards rushing while also throwing for 58 yards. Classmate Will Proctor completed 4-7 passes for 44 yards and graduate student Willie Simmons went 7-10 for 74 yards. Wide receiver Kevin Youngblood had five receptions for 57 yards and tight end Bobby Williamson had four receptions for 61 yards to lead the pass catchers. Red-shirt freshman Kelvin Grant hauled in the game’s longest toss, a 33-yard bomb from Stuckey and had 72 yards receiving overall. Whitehurst highlighted the scrimmage with an 11-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes that also featured the play of the day. He stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass that was deflected by LeRoy Hill. The quarterback then grabbed the ball out of the air and ran for a 26-yard gain. On the last play of the game, Whitehurst found running back Kyle Browning, who dashed 20 yards for a touchdown while shedding an attempted tackle at the goal line. 2003 Spring Game Statistics Rushing (Att-Yds-TD) D. Coleman 15-50, Browning 13-36, Stuckey 7-35, Merriweather 10-27, Currie 1-19, Harrell 6-11-1, Thomas 1-10, Holmes 4-8, Jasmin 1-7, Kelly 3-7, Dunham 2-8, Proctor 3-2, Whitehurst 4-2, Lowther 2-(-13). Totals 73- 181-1 Passing (Com-Att-Yds-Int-TD) Whitehurst 14-20-160-1-1, Simmons 7-1-74-1-0, Proctor 4-7-44-1-0, Stuckey 3-7-58-0-0 Lowther 1-3-23-0-0 Totals 29-47-359-3-1 Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD) Youngblood 5-57, Williamson 4-61, Hamilton 4-40, Grant 3-72, Collins 3- 22, Browning 2-27-1, Jasmin 2- (-1), Whitehurst 1-26, Hunter 1-23, Baham 1-15, Merriweather 1-8, Thomas 1-5, Coleman 1-4 Tackles Pugh 8, Richardson 6, McCloud 6, Leake 7, Waters 5, Cannon 5, Coleman 4, Vaughn 4, Adams 4, Washington 3, Tate 3, Clark 3, Miller 3, Bennett 3, Howard 3, Fountain 3, Hill 3 Sacks Adams 2-12, Vontrell Jamison 1-5, Cannon 1-5 Interceptions: Fudge 1-31, Monts 1-0, Hill 1-0 Fumble Recovery: Monts Whitehurst Led Nation’s Sophomores in Passing Clemson rising junior quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw for 273.9 yards per game in 2003, an all-time Clemson record. He threw for 3,561 yards in the 13 games and had 11 gams of at least 200 yards passing. He led the nation’s sophomore quarterbacks in passing yards per game, even ahead of Southern Cal sophomore Matt Leinart, who led the Trojans to the Associated Press National Championship. Whitehurst beat out Leinart by just five total yards over the course of the entire season. They each played 13 games. They were the only two sophomores to throw for over 3,200 yards in 2003, never mind eclipsing the 3500-yard mark. Top Sophomore Quarterbacks of 2003
(Passing Yards/Game Basis, Min. 15 attempts/game)
Hill, Currie and Gaddis Doing Double Duty this Spring
Three Clemson football players have performed double duty
this spring. Starting wide receiver Airese Currie and starting cornerback
Tye Hill have both been competing with the Clemson men’s track team,
while C.J. Gaddis is in his first year as a reserve outfielder with the
Clemson baseball program.
Hill and Currie have both already qualified for the 100 meters
at the NCAA East regional to be held in May. Hill ran a 10.48 and Currie
a 10.50 at the Clemson Invitational last Saturday to reach those
qualifying standards. Both are also members of the Clemson 4X100
meter relay team that has already qualified for the regional as well (39.83
time). Hill and Currie have not taken part in each of the two major
scrimmages in Death Valley so far this spring, but will be in the spring
game.
Both had strong seasons indoors as well. Hill was the ACC
champion in the 60 meters indoors in a time of 6.73. He also earned All-
ACC honors in the 200 meters by placing third in a time of 21.61. Currie
had a season best 6.86 in the 60 meters and finished fourth at the
conference meet in that event. Last year he was the 100 meter
champion at the NCAA East Regional, but was injured at the NCAA
national meet.
Gaddis has played in nine baseball games for the Tigers so far
this year, two as a starter. He is yet to get a hit in 10 at bats, but has
scored two runs, has three walks and a stolen base. He has no errors in
eight fielding chances.
Hill Named to Lombardi Award Watch List
Clemson linebacker Leroy Hill has been named to the 2004
Rotary Lombardi Preliminary Watch list. The award is presented at the
conclusion of the college football season to the top lineman in college
football. Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, tight ends and inside
linebackers are eligible for the award. This is the 35th year of the award,
which is presented by the Rotary Club of Houston, TX.
Hill was one of 54 players named to the preseason watch list,
one of six players from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The other ACC
players were Alex Barron of Florida State, C.J. Brooks of Maryland, Eric
Henderson of Georgia Tech, Heath Miller of Virginia, and Eric Winston of
Miami (FL).
Hill, who will be a senior in 2004, was a first-team All-ACC
selection last year when he ranked second in the nation in tackles for
loss with 27. He also ranked fifth in the nation in solo tackles (110) and
had 145 tackles overall in 13 games as a starter, 22nd in the nation on a
tackles per game basis. He had 43 tackles during Clemson’s four-game
winning streak to end the season, including double figure tackle games in
Clemson’s wins over top 10 Florida State and Tennessee teams. Hill was
named the Defensive Player of the Game in the 2004 Chick-Fil-A Peach
Bowl when he had 12 tackles, including a pair of sacks.
A Clemson player has never won the Lombardi Award.
William Perry was a finalist in 1984.
Clemson in Preseason Top 25 of Two Early Polls
National Champs.net ESPN.com (Maisel) Rk Team Rk Team 1. Southern Cal 1. Southern Cal 2. Oklahoma 2. LSU 3. Georgia 3. Oklahoma 4. LSU 4. Georgia 5. Miami (FL) 5. Miami (FL) 6. Michigan 6. Florida State 7. Florida State 7. Michigan 8. Texas 8. Maryland 9. Ohio State 9. Texas 10. Tennessee 10. Iowa 11. Auburn 11. California 12. Iowa 12. West Virginia 13. Florida 13. Clemson 14. Clemson 14. Utah 15. Nebraska 15. Ohio State 16. Wisconsin 16. Oregon State 17. Kansas State 17. Tennessee 18. Virginia 18. Auburn 19. Maryland 19. Missouri 20. California 20. Virginia 21. West Virginia 21. Florida 22. Minnesota 22. Nebraska 23. Oklahoma State 23. Toledo 24. Purdue 24. Purdue 25. Utah 25. Colorado
Nationalchamps.com top 10 Preseason Picks for Heisman
Rk Player PS School 1. Jason White QB Oklahoma 2. David Greene QB Georgia 3. Darren Sproles RB Kansas State 4. Matt Leinart QB Southern Cal 5. Carnell Williams RB Auburn 6. Cedrick Benson RB Texas 7. Anthony Davis RB Wisconsin 8. Charlie Whitehurst QB Clemson 9. Walter Reyes RB Syracuse 10. Brad Smith QB Missouri
Nationalchamps. com Preseason First-Team All-American Defense
Pos Name School DE David Pollack Georgia DT Shaun Cody Southern Cal DT Anttaj Hawthorne Wisconsin DE Dan Cody Oklahoma LB Leroy Hill Clemson LB Derrick Johnson Texas LB Michael Boley Southern Miss. CB Artrel Rolle Miami (FL) CB Corey Webster LSU SS Josh Bullocks Nebraska SS Jim Leonhard Wisconsin
Top Offensive Performances in the Clemson Spring Game
100-Yard Rushers (Year, Att-Yds-TD) Dymon Adams (1998 – 26 – 141-0) Marvin Sims (1978 – 19 – 135) Rick Gilstrap (1971 – 19 – 126 – 2) Terry Witherspoon (1997 – 29 – 120 – 1) Hugh Mauldin (1965 – 19 – 120) Smiley Sanders (1971 – 19 – 118 – 1) Travis Zachery (1998 – 25 – 111 – 1) Raymond Priester (1997 – 14 – 110 – 2) Jackie Jackson (1967 – 20 – 109 – 2) Bernard Rambert (2001 – 14 – 108 – 1) Antwuan Wyatt (1994 – 14 – 107 – 2) Joel Wells (1955 – 5 – 106 – 1) Tracy Johnson (1986 – 22 – 104 – 1) George Usry (1958 – 22 – 103) Greg Hood (1992 – 16 – 103) 200-Yard Passers (Year, Com – Att – Yds – Int – TD) Willie Simmons (2001 – 21 – 39 – 240 – 2 – 0) Woodrow Dantzler (2000 – 22 – 34 – 237 – 1 – 1) Woodrow Dantzler (1999 – 11 – 25 – 220 – 1 – 2) Patrick Sapp (1993 – 11 – 18 – 213 – 0 – 1) Tommy Kendrick (1970 – 18 – 29 – 212 – 0 – 2) Nealon Greene (1995 – 11 – 19 – 207 – 0 – 3) 100-Yard Receivers (Year, Rec – Yds – TD) Jack Anderson (1970 – 10 – 150 – 2) Perry Tuttle (1981 – 4 – 144) Kevin Youngblood (2001 – 11 – 142) Jerry Gaillard (1980 – 4 – 128) Antwuan Wyatt (1995 – 6 – 110 – 2) Charlie Waters (1969 – 8 – 108) Brian Wofford (1999 – 4 – 106 – 1) Dwayne Bryant (1993 – 6 – 105 – 1) Jerry Gaillard (1979 – 6 – 104) Frank Magwood (1980 – 2 – 104) Jason Davis (1991 – 3 – 104 – 1) Eric Young (1977 – 3 – 103 – 1)
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