Weather Or Not? Team Leaving Early for A&M

by Dan Scott - Correspondent - Thu Sep 16 20:09:53 GMT-04:00 2004

CLEMSON - Clemson's travel plans to Texas A&M today have been moved up 90 minutes because of the effects of Hurricane Ivan.

Originally scheduled to fly charter out of Greenville-Spartanburg International today at 2 p.m., conversations between the school and the airline company resulted in the flight being moved up to 12:30 p.m., according to Sports Information Director Tim Bourret.

Earlier in the day, head coach Tommy Bowden said the flight returning home from Texas likely would go off as planned late Saturday night.

"At first we thought we might be forced to stay overnight out there, but now we're hearing the bad stuff should be moved out late Saturday night," he said. "Our flight wouldn't get back in until 2 or 3 in the morning, so we should be okay."

The local effects of Ivan were numerous Thursday.

The team was unable to complete a full outdoor workout because of the rain, though with Thursday traditionally more of a walk-through day not much work was missed.

The real fun began later in the evening.

While Bowden was doing his weekly radio show from a restaurant in Seneca - just South of Clemson - Bourret was one of a few hundred people who found themselves sitting on the floor in the center of a Wal-Mart Supercenter waiting out a possible tornado sighting. The Wal-Mart is approximately a quarter-mile from where Bowden was located.

Bourret said he and the other shoppers were held in the safety position for approximately 30 minutes, and found out later there had been reports of small tornadoes touching down in other parts of Oconee Co.

Fortunately the storm cells weakened, and both the show and the shopping continued without incident.

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Bowden said running back Duane Coleman (broken foot) and defensive linemen Charles Bennett (sprained knee) are probably for Saturday, while defensive tackle Cory Groover (sprained ankle) is questionable.

Defensive tackle Donnell Clark's injured hand proved to be broken after x-rays were taken. However he will be fitted with a soft cast for protection and is listed as probable.

***

After spending the week evaluating the depth chart, Bowden said second teamers Tremaine Billie, C.J. Gaddis and Sergio Gilliam - all members of the secondary - have warranted more playing time and will see an increased number of snaps vs. the Aggies.

***

Quote of the Day:

Bowden, on how pleased he's been with the new artificial practice surface at the Jervey complex:

"It's really been worth the money the administration spent," he said. "Now if I can win some more games maybe we can get a top for the thing and everything will be just perfect."

Dan Scott covers Clemson University for the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Seneca Daily Journal/Clemson Messenger and TigerNet. He also hosts SportsTalk from 9 a.m.-Noon, Monday-Friday, on WCCP-Fm, 104.9. Click here for Dan Scott's SportsTalk discussion board.