E-Mail Bag 4/4

by Trey Manning - Correspondent - Thu Aug 04 01:07:36 GMT-04:00 2005

What will be the big position battles this fall?

The biggest position battle will be at offensive guard. Roman Fry, Nathan Bennett, Chip Myrick, and Brandon Pilrim will battle all season for playing time. Those four will be interchanged on a regular basis throughout the season. Pilgrim is behind the other three, but the others all on level playing ground heading into practice.

Chris Clemons and Sergio Gilliam will battle it out at cornerback. This is another battle where we do not see a player gaining much separation until the season begins. They looked about equal in the spring, and if I were to give one player an edge it would be Clemons.

There will be heavy competition at running back. Merriweather has a comfortable lead as the starter, but Duane Coleman, Kyle Browning, and James Davis will all battle for the #2 spot.

I am not sold on the Lionel Richardson/Anthony Waters battle, but if Courtney Vincent moves back, then I think there will be a battle. Some others to watch are CJ Gaddis/Michael Hamlin and Kelvin Grant/Aaron Kelly.

Are there any position changes on the horizon?

There is always a few at the start of practice. Coach Bowden always addresses that after the first practice. They made a good number of moves in the spring, so I think the position changes will come after a week or two of practice. The early changes most likely will have minimal impact on this year's season. A few we will track closely throughout fall camp is Courtney Vincent, Rashaad Jackson, Akeem Robinson, and Brandon Croley.

How is Clemson looking with Clifton Geathers and Adam Patterson?

They are in position to land official visits with both. At this point in the game, if you are getting official visits, you need to win games to help your case with players of their caliber. I think Patterson is 50/50 between Clemson and South Carolina from our conversations. Geathers is very tight lipped, which is why there has not been much coverage of him this summer. It is not because he doesn't deserve the coverage, it is just the story has not changed. As soon as he begins to open up, I promise there will intense coverage of his recruitment.

Are any commitments waivering?

I think for the most part they are all firm to Clemson. JoJo Cox is the only one that may cause some concern. Cox is still willing to listen to other schools. A few of the commitments will see their stock rise and interest from other schools will resurface just like last year with Rendrick Taylor and Quentez Ruffin. Who it will be this year is unknown, but rest assure someone will test the waters.

What is your predicted order of finish in the ACC?

Atlantic-FSU, NC State, Clemson, Boston College, Wake Forest, Maryland

Coastal-VT, Miami, Georgia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke