Merriweather Ready To Run (Audio Included)

by Trey Manning - Correspondent - Wed Aug 31 12:05:38 GMT-04:00 2005

There may not be another player on Clemson’s roster more eager to pick up where he left off than Reggie Merriweather. Merriweather closed the season with stellar performances against Miami and South Carolina. Now, he is ready to play smashmouth with the Aggies.

“I am very excited. It has been a long time, about three months we have been talking about A&M.. Now it is finally here. We are just trying to clip the loose ends and dress up our plays for gamedays,” said Merriweather.

Offensively, the Tigers have been working since the summer on the gameplan for Texas A&M. Merriweather says this final week has been used to dress up the final touches.

“We have about 98% of the gameplan already in by Monday. The last couple of days looking at film, we have put in a couple of special plays. We have been pretty much doing what we are going to do all summer. We have a nice little package, now we just have to fine tune it and go play.”

The goal for Merriweather this season is to be the third 1,000-yard rusher Tommy Bowden has had at Clemson. Woody Dantzler and Travis Zachery achieved the 1,000-yard mark in the same season, but the running game has struggled since their departure.

“Coach Bowden has been getting on us ever since I have been here, saying he hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Travis Zachery, so that is what we are looking for. We are thinking big yardage and big plays. That is what we have to have to make our offense go. Last year, we left our defense out to dry towards the beginning of the year, not having a good running game. Now, I think we have picked up some more plays and some good running plays. Hopefully, we can run out the clock and do some special things on offense.”

Rob Spence was brought in to fix the running game woes. Now, Merriweather believes the running game will be much more of factor against Texas A&M this season. Last year, the running backs had 17 carries versus the Aggies.

“It is an attack style offense. We are going to come at some people. If they don’t adjust, we are just going to keep coming at them.”

Ball control may be the Tigers best friend Saturday night. If the offense is on the field, Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal is on the sidelines.