Let the Sunshine in
The Florida flavor on Clemson’s roster is unmistakable.
In fact, as someone who writes about the Tigers for a living, it’s been nearly impossible to avoid.
Whether in prep for the Miami game two weeks ago or this week’s contest vs. Florida State, it seems like every other relevant player we’ve interviewed has – in addition – carried a Florida tie worth inquiring about.
C.J. Spiller, Jacoby Ford, Kyle Parker, DeAndre McDaniel, Chris Chancellor, Rashard Hall, Jamie Harper, Kevin Alexander … in total, six starters and 16 players hail from the Sunshine State.
Which makes Clemson’s recruiting under Dabo Swinney all the more fascinating.
Of this year’s 18 commitments, none are from Florida. None of last year’s 12 signees were, either (although six of whom committed before Tommy Bowden’s departure).
I don’t think it has anything to do with recruits there staying in state. Nor do I believe it a fundamental shift in de-emphasizing the state of Florida – the Tigers still have five assistants recruiting there, and Jacksonville was Swinney’s proving grounds.
Maybe it’s just as simple as Clemson losing some its luster in failing to meet expectations the last couple of years. And I wonder how much has to do with the Tigers’ shuffling their staff, losing Vic Koenning (St. Augustine) and David Blackwell (Miami) from rooted territories.
But moreover, it spawns the bigger-picture question: How much will the Tigers suffer by losing Swinney as a lead recruiter?
Spiller, Parker, McDaniel, Harper – Swinney had a pretty doggone good track record for going in and plucking the hard-to-snag blue-chippers out of Florida.
Tommy Bowden was such a good closer that one wonders whether having one less marquee recruiter on staff will ultimately reduce some of Clemson’s available talent.
Of course, the thought might simply be premature to begin with. The Tigers hold 2011 commitments from touted RB Marlin Lane and teammate Cortez Davis of Daytona Beach, pledges (however unguaranteed) secured by assistant Chris Rumph.
And the premise ignores the strides Clemson has made in rebuilding Georgia as its recruiting foundation by sticking Billy Napier (and to a lesser extent, Charlie Harbison) there, even at the expense stunting its momentum in North Carolina.
Still … gotta think sweeping Miami and FSU probably wouldn’t hurt Clemson’s profile in Florida, either.
5 Comments to “Let the Sunshine in”
Leave a Reply
Clemson Beat writer Paul Strelow blogs about Clemson University athletics.
They pay you to write up stuff like this?
Ha! Actually, no they don’t. They didn’t want me to take on a blog because of all the other work I have to do. But I wanted to give it a go anyhow, so they relented.
I typically don’t get to entries until after midnight.
And sometimes it shows …
Well Clemfan, How much did they charge you to read the blog? Oh wait, nothing, its free. So, if you don’t like the blog, don’t read it. Why would you read something that you don’t like? Some people just enjoy being miserable, and want others to feel miserable as well.
But I digress. I think its an interesting change in recruiting philosophy. When Bowden was in charge, our main recruiting territories were SC, GA, and FL. When Swinney/Napier came into the fold, the doors opened for NC and Alabama. I personally love Swinney’s philosophy to give each assistant a portion of SC. I think this will allow the assistants to create a much tighter bond with the high school coaches in their particular region.
While, we will always need to pull a few out of state guys, I think the key to Clemson’s success will be signing the majority of the top recruits in SC
Florida MUST continue to be a major source of players for the Clemson roster. For some reason I can’t quite figure, no state produces as many speed burners as Fla. Speed on the football field can’t be overstated in importance whether offense or defense. As far as “losing Swinney as lead recruiter”? A head coach will always be the most important recruiter.
As a UCLA grad, I watch with dismay at how Pete Carroll of USC (that’s the school from Los Angeles as opposed to Cola) puts his sights on youngsters and sells them on his energy and enthusiasm whether they are from California or Florida. Somehow he convinces 3 Five-Star RBs a year to come to SC and fight among themselves for the starter’s job. Swinney has the potential to be the same type of energetic salesman in his role as head coach of the Tigers. But he will need to travel. Signing the best players in South Carolina only helps you be better than that other major team in SC. That alone won’t get you a trip to the Orange Bowl. And that’s the goal.
For that reason alone, Florida must remain prime hunting ground.
I think the Florida speed thing is a myth. From a shear numbers standpoint, the states of California, Texas, and Florida put the most players in the NFL. But they also have MUCH larger populations than South Carolina. Per Capita, the top two NFL producing states are 1. Mississippi and 2. South Carolina. Which means South Carolina has players with as much speed as states like Florida (Florida just has more of them)
With South Carolina’s smaller state population size, I think pulling players from out of state will always be important, but with three (traditionally) dominant programs in FSU, UF, and Miami, Clemson will never regularly pull the top guys out of that state.
Currently, Several of the state of South Carolina’s top prospects go out of state to play college football. Clemson needs to put the proverbial fence around the state, and bring these guys to Clemson. While out of state recruiting should remain a priority, the most important priority should be funneling the state of South Carolina’s best players to Clemson