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2002 ACC FOOTBALL PREVIEW
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OUR 2002 CLEMSON TIGERS COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
Saturday, October 12, 2002 - Time: 12:00 PM - ESPN2
Scott Stadium - Charlottesville, Virginia
Capacity (61,500)
CLEMSON TIGERS 2002 PRESEASON FOOTBALL PREVIEW
(Game Seven)
2001 Record: 7-5, 2001 Atlantic Coast Conference Record: 4-4 (Tied for 4th)
Dubious Distinctions: The 2001 Clemson Tiger defense gave up 28.3 points per game; the most of any Clemson team since 1975. Since starting 8-0 during his 2nd season, Tommy Bowden's Tigers have gone 8-7.
Stellar Stats: Clemson finished the 2001 season with five wins over teams with winning records. Four of the five wins over teams with winning records have come on the road. This is the most wins over teams that have finished the year with winning records since 1990 when Clemson had a school record tying six wins over teams that finished the year with a winning record.
In Tommy Bowden's 2nd year at Clemson, his Tigers started the season 8-0, giving up a mere 14 points per game. Since then, the boys in orange and white have compiled an 8-7 record and have given up and average of 29.2 points per game. Last season must be classified as a disappointment and while some are picking the Tigers as high as second in the ACC, we think there is too much to replace on the offense and too many questions on the defense to place Clemson any higher than middle-of-the-pack in the conference.
Offense
If there were any doubt that Bowden is about offense one only need look at the statistics to remove it. Since his arrival in Pickens county South Carolina, the Tigers have average 30.8 points per game, scored over four touchdowns per game and have amassed an average of 424 yards per game. Bowden has the talent on offense to put up big numbers again in 2002, but with the loss of seven starters from last years 7-5 edition, the most for a Clemson team in a decade, a drop off is likely.
With the departures of running back Travis Zachery and all-world quarterback Woodrow Danzler, the Tigers must replace players who accounted for 72% of the Clemson rushing attack and who were responsible for 68% of Clemson's scoring last season. What has to be of even greater concern for offensive line coach Ron West is the loss of four linemen who accounted for 121 starts during their collective careers.
Most observers believe Willie Simmons (6-1 195 Jr.) is a better pure passer than Dantzler and that he has the talent to step in and lead the Clemson offense. "Woody" ran the ball 221 times last year, 70 more times than any Clemson running back and often required a linebacker or safety to shadow his every move. Simmons will require no such special consideration by opposing defenses. In fact, Bowden has stated as much when he implied in the spring that Simmons will run when he needs to but not as a critical component of the offense. When you have to account for the running ability has a defensive coordinator the way Dantzler required teams to do, you open up additional passing lanes that may not normally be available when deploying a normal defensive scheme. Simmons won't have that luxury.
He will not step into the role untested. Over his career as a two-year backup to Dantzler, Simmons played in 14 games (331 snaps), completed 62 passes out of 147 attempts for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns, an average of 1 touchdown pass for every 33 snaps. Not bad. Simmons was 13-25 for 198 yards in Clemson's spring game. He will also have the benefit of an outstanding group of receivers to throw too.
The 2002 Clemson team will feature the deepest corps of receivers in school history. Four freshmen that scored touchdowns in the Humanitarian Bowl return for their sophomore seasons. The quartet of Derrick Hamilton (6-4 190/53 receptions-684 yards-4 touchdowns), Roscoe Crosby (6-3 200/27-465-4), Airese Currie (5-11 175/18-320-1) and tight end Ben Hall (6-5 240/8-79-3) combined for 106 receptions for 1548 yards and 12 touchdowns, by far records in all categories for a freshman receiving group. The Tigers do lose Crosby who had surgery on his right elbow in June and will miss the entire 2002 football season. Because he did not redshirt as a freshman, Crosby will not lose a year of eligibility and can return to the gridiron for the 2003 season as a red-shirt sophomore. Doctors repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, commonly known as "Tommy John Surgery". Crosby set a Clemson record for receptions and reception yards by a freshman last year when he had 27 receptions for 465 yards and four scores.
There is more to the Clemson receiving corps than the "Fab-Four" sophomores. Entering 2001 the odds-on favorite to lead the team in receiving was Kevin Youngblood (6-5 210 Jr.), a possession receiver who suffered a broken leg during the preseason and missed the all of last year's campaign. The loss of Youngblood was a major blow to the Tigers last fall. "It'll hurt us simply because of the style of our offense,'' Tommy Bowden said. "We need a big, physical short-side receiver and Kevin Youngblood is 6-5, 225 pounds. He was our biggest and most experienced guy at that position. "We can't replace that.'' Kevin is healthy this season and hopes to improve on his freshman year when he had 12 catches for 225 yards and two scores. Deep threat J.J. McKelvey (6-4 210 Sr.) ranked third on the team with 29 catches for 402 yards in 7 starts last season. Jackie Robinson (6-1 190 Gr.) is another veteran returning for the Tiger receiving unit. He had 26 catches in 2000 to rank second on the team, but had an injury plagued 2001 that limited him to just eight catches.
There is a bit more of a question mark with the running backs. Bernard Rambert (6-0 200 Sr.) is slated as the starter coming out of spring but will likely share time with Keith Kelly (6-0 210 So.) and Chad Jasmin (5-10 225 Jr.). Rambert, a second team All-ACC pick by Phil Steele's Preseason Preview returns as the Tigers' leading rusher from a year ago with 368 yards on 75 carriers. Over his career he has carried the ball 187 times for 796 yards (4.2 ypc) and caught 16 passes for 173 yards. Kelly arrived at Clemson touted as one of the best running backs in the nation. Phil Steele rated him the 24th best back in the country and Tom Lemming, Rivals and Max Emfinger all rated him as a top 100 player out of high school. Kelly, who redshirted last season, played in 6 games during his freshman year (2000) gaining 243 yards on 106 rushes, ending the year 3rd on the team in rushing. He is primed to return and will challenge for the starting tailback slot. Jasmin is an accomplished blocker and is capable of helping the team as a tailback or fullback. He is listed as the starting fullback on the Clemson spring depth chart. Jasmin has participated in 23 games; carry the ball 52 times for 264 yards for an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. Dump-offs to the backs are a key element of Bowden's offensive scheme and Zachery was an excellent receiver out of the backfield for the Tigers. Someone will need to emerge from this group to pick up the loss of the former Tiger.
Paving the way for one of ACC's best rushing attacks (3rd ACC) last year was a talented and experienced offensive line. The five starters compiled 133 starts between them; a number that certainly would have been higher had Akil Smith not been lost for the entire 2000 season due to injury. Gone from that group are Smith (20 starts) and two All-Conference performers in Kyle Young (37 starts) and Will Merritt (24 starts) along with T.J. Watkins (37 starts). The lone starter who returns this season for the Tigers is left tackle Gary Byrd (6-4 315 Sr.). Byrd has started 12 games over his career and was responsible for 103 knockdown blocks last season. An agile player for a big man, Byrd is excellent both as a run blocker and pass protector. Derrick Brantley (6-4 295 Sr.) a junior college all-American who redshirted in 2000 was rated by college football analyst Phil Steele as the 19th best JUCO lineman back in 1999. Brantley started six games for Clemson last fall will again start at the right tackle position for the Tigers this year. Beside Brantley at the right guard position will be Nick Black (6-5 292 Jr.).
Cedric Johnson (6-4 305 So.) and Greg Walker (6-5 310 Jr.) are two returning linemen who have never started a game, but are listed as starters in the spring. Johnson has made the move from guard to center, while Walker is slated as starter at the other guard position. Walker is the more experienced of the two playing 161 snaps and appearing in all 12 games last year. Johnson who played just 38 plays last year in a reserve roll, benches 425 and may the strongest player on the Clemson team. Jermyn Chester (6-2 285 Jr.), Nate Gillespie (6-3 275 Sr.) and William Henry (6-4 265 Jr.) are three other lettermen returning in the offensive line for Bowden. An engineering major (3.0 gpa), Chester has played in seven games (164 snaps) over the last 3 years but lost his starting spot in the spring to Walker. "We have some young, talented players returning. Players like Greg Walker, Cedric Johnson, Derrick Brantley, and Jermyn Chester, will see a lot more action than they have previously. I am impressed with them athletically. They need reps, so the spring and pre-fall practices will be very important as they work to be successful as a unit."
Defense
Despite the loss of all conference performers like Charles Hafley and Chad Carson, 16 different players return that played at least 200 snaps in 2001 including promising young players like tackle Donnell Washington and linebackers John Leake and Eric Sampson. But before you go conjuring up memories of great Clemson defenses that included the likes of William Perry and Levon Kirkland, you have to go back to 1975 to find the last time a Clemson defense performed as poorly has the 2001 edition. The young Tiger defense gave up more than 28 points a game (the most since 1975 - 34.6) and finished 80th in the nation in total defense and 82nd in pass defense. Clemson ranked in the bottom third of the conference in 3 out of 5 defensive categories.
The Tigers will have a new look on defense as John Lovett takes over the helm as defensive coordinator. Lovett, who replaces Reggie Herring has been the architect of successful defensive units on bowl teams at Mississippi and Auburn the last five years. His 2001 Auburn defense ranked 14th in the nation in total defense and 15th against the run. Herring played more of a read-and-react defense last season in hopes of limiting the big plays that burned the Tigers defense in 2000. At Auburn, Lovett played an aggressive 4-3 scheme. One area he figures to have an immediate impact on will be the defensive backfield, which has been rather leaky in recent seasons. Lovett will coach the secondary, while Jack Hines will take over the linebackers. Lovett will have experience to work with in the secondary, with starting corners Brian Mance (5-11 185 Sr.) and Kevin Johnson (6-0 190 Jr.) back along with Eric Meekins (6-3 190 Sr.) at free safety. The trio combined for 29 starts last fall.
Ronny Delusme (6-1 191 So.) who blocked 2 kicks and played in all 12 games as a freshman is penciled in at the starting rover position but will likely share time with former linebacker Altroy Bodrick (6-1 215 Sr.). Bodrick, considered the fastest player on the Clemson defense sat out all of last season with a torn ACL. He has moved from linebacker to safety and may surpass Delusme for the starting role if he is 100% come fall. Meekins, a Fork Union product, had an impressive spring outing with 9 tackles. A versatile player, Meekins saw time as a reserve linebacker and at strong safety in 2000 and accounted for 72 tackles last season. Mance has recorded 6 (3 in 2001) interceptions throughout his career and added 48 tackles and 7 pass breakups (3rd on the team) last season. Johnson has appeared in 22 games (8 starts) over the last two years and his 9 pass disruptions were good enough for 2nd on the team last fall. Of Johnson's 41 tackles last year, nine came in a career high effort against the Hoos.
If the secondary is to improve, so must the Clemson pass rush. A year ago the Tigers produced 27 sacks, but 10 of those came in the last 2 games of the season against Duke and Louisiana Tech. Leading the way is defensive end Bryant McNeal (6-5 230 Sr.). McNeal (54 tackles 2001) has played in every game as a Tiger since his freshman year and in his first year as a fulltime starter last fall simply led the team in tackles for loss (12) and sacks (8). Khaleed Vaughn (6-4 260 Jr.) will man the other end spot on the Clemson from four. Vaughn ended 2001 with 64 tackles including 9 for loss. He has started 13 games for the Tigers over his career. Vaughn has the skills and talent to be an impact player and will need to step up his play for the Clemson defense to improve on the 2001 disaster. Voted the most improved member of the defensive line this spring is Nick Eason (6-4 280 Gr.). Eason who bumped his weight from 252 to 280 pounds has moved from the defensive end spot he occupied 2000 to tackle. Eason, who was selected as the defensive MVP in 2000 recorded 37 tackles last year along with 7 tackles for loss. At the other tackle spot is 2001 2nd Team All-ACC Freshman selection by Sporting News Donnell Washington (6-6 320 So.). His 44 tackles were the most by any Clemson freshman and good enough for 10th on the team. Even though he did not start a game, Donnell's 4 sacks tied him for 1st on the team with Chad Carson.
Even with the loss of Chad Carson, Clemson returns one of the league and one of the nations best linebacking units. John Leake (6-1 215 Jr.) was voted the most improved Clemson linebacker this spring and did not disappoint the voter with a 13 tackle effort in the Clemson spring game. Not much of a surprise since Leake is the leading returning tackler for the Tigers following his 134 tackle performance last fall. After not playing a single snap from scrimmage in 2000, the hard hitting Leake came from nowhere to his current status as the teams top tackler and finished 2001 3rd with 6 tackles for loss. Another All-ACC candidate is Rodney Thomas (6-0 222 Sr.). His 100 tackles last fall were good enough for 4th on the team and he placed 2nd overall with 9 for a loss (3 sacks). Thomas set a Clemson single season record for special teams tackles in 2000 with 26. He played only 116 plays from scrimmage that year yet still accounted for 5 tackles for loss. Eric Sampson (6-3 200 So.) and Rodney Feaster (6-0 215 Sr.) with 35 and 38 tackles respectively a year ago are fighting to fill the spot vacated by All Conference linebacker Chad Carson. Though Feaster is the more experienced of the two players vying to replace Carson, we believe Sampson had the edge coming out of spring with Feaster getting plenty of playing time in reserve roll. Junior College All-American transfer Kelvin Morris (6-4 200) who was rated by Superprep as the number 7 junior college prospect in the nation will figure into the mix to replace Carson as well. The combination of Leake, Thomas and Sampson is the 2nd leading returning tackling trio in the conference with 269 combined stops.
"Defensively we must create more turnovers,†said Bowden. “That was the biggest difference between our defense in 2000 and 2001. But, I thought the defense made improvement over the last third of the season. We played well enough to win in defense in each of the last four games. We had three interceptions in the bowl game and that was reason we won by a significant margin. Hopefully there will be some carry over on defense.â€Â
Special Teams
There is no team in the ACC that returns more talent and experience on special teams than do the Tigers. Clemson returns their starting punting and place kicker as a tandem for the first time in four years. All-ACC candidate Aaron Hunt (5-11 210 Jr.) made good on 44 of 45 pat attempts last season (89-92 for his career) and has a 71% accuracy average on field goals (20-28) as a freshman and sophomore, including a 5-5 mark from beyond 40 yards last season. Hunt ranked 6th in the conference in scoring last year and third in field goal percentage. Georgia transfer Wynn Kopp (5-9 172 Sr.) also returns to handle the punting duties for the Tigers following a solid 39.3 per punt average last season.
Leading the kickoff return game is the ACC's top ranked (3rd nationally) return man from a year ago Derrick Hamilton. Selected by college football analyst Phil Steele as a first team all-league selection at the position, Hamilton averaged 31.7 yard per return in 2001, the second best mark in Clemson history. Also a 1st-Team pick by Steele is punt returner Brian Mance. Mance finished second in the ACC in punt return average (27th nationally) with a 12.5 per return mark. The rising senior was also 4th in the league in kickoff return average at a 24.5 yards per return clip.
Clemson lead the league in kickoff return average and ranked 10th in the nation in the category with a 24.3 average overall. The Tigers also lead the conference in defending kickoff returns allowing just 20.4 yards per return. The one area where the Tigers could improve their special teams is in their net punting average. The "cats" were 6th in the ACC with a 33.7 net punting average and 33.5 overall. Still, this unit ranks as the best in conference, just above the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and one of the best in the nation.
Final Thoughts
The Sporting News Tom Deinhart writes, "The only way Clemson got to a bowl last year was by buying its way to the Humanitarian Bowl. But no amount of cash can undo a losing record, which may happen to a Tigers team that loses four offensive linemen and quarterback Woodrow Dantzler." The defense returns a lot of familiar faces but is still unproven. New defensive coordinator John Lovett who replaced long time Clemson fan "whipping boy" Reggie Herring has 13 years of experience as a defensive coordinator and produced some impressive results at both Auburn and Mississippi. He'll need that experience taking over a defense that seemed to get worse instead of better as last season unfolded. The Tigers gave up more yardage in the last 6 games of the season (419 ypg) than they did in the first six (369 ypg) and lose three of their top 6 tacklers from 2001. Replacing a leading running back or even a talented quarterback like Dantzler is something college football teams do all the time. But coupling those losses, especially the running threat that Dantzler provided from the quarterback position, with four experienced offensive lineman, doesn't lend itself to unbridled optimism. This is fewest returning starters on offense for a Clemson team since 1998, a year in which the Tigers average 120 ypg rushing and 185 ypg passing; their worst offensive performance in the last seven years. The schedule won't help. With Georgia on the road in Athens, South Carolina and a good Louisiana Tech team out of conference on the slate and conference road games against Florida State, the Hoos, and North Carolina, all are potential losses. Maryland, NC State and Georgia Tech all have the potential to win in Death Valley. A 4-4 mark in the league and 7-5 overall seems to be about right for this year's Tigers.
UVA - 23 CU - 17
Prediction: 4-4 ACC, 7-5 Overall
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