Linkage

ACC: UVA comes out #3 (wow), GT #6, FSU #7, Miami #12, UNC #13, CU #16

Sakerlina comes out #28, Gawja #31. Coastal and ECU both being ranked gives NC/SC 5 ranked baseball teams in state.

1. Texas (50-16-1)
2. Louisiana St. (56-17)
3. Virginia (49-15-1)
4. Cal. St. Fullerton (47-16)
5. Arizona St. (51-14) - Just had their head coach from last season fired
6. Georgia Tech. (38-19-1)
7. Florida St. (45-18)
8. U.C. Irvine (45-15)
9. Florida (42-22)
10. Oregon St. (37-19)
11. Rice (43-18)
12. Miami, Fla. (38-22)
13. North Carolina (48-18)
14. Ohio St. (42-19)
15. Texas Christian (40-18)
16. Clemson (44-22)
17. Coastal Carolina (47-16)
18. East Carolina (46-20)
19. Louisville (47-18)
20. UCLA (27-29)

21. Southern Miss. (40-26)
22. Mississippi (44-20)
23. Arkansas (41-24)
24. San Diego (29-25)
25. Oklahoma (43-20)

More photos » by Brett Flashnick - AP

2 days ago: Clemson forward Jerai Grant dunks against College of Charleston during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

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Sponsored by the Raycom Maryland blog & Testudo Times we'll be ranking the ACC teams each week. Feel free to complain and argue with how we rank 'em.

ACC Weekly scores

1. Duke - Fresh off a 76-41 drubbing of Gonzaga and a sound thumping of Gardner-Webb, we have to move them up to the top spot.

2. UNC - last week's #1 moves down after being out-efforted by Texas. I watched it and it seemed like they were totally outmatched and played terribly sloppy. Plus, Roy is a bitch.

3. FSU - Whether I think Clemson is better or not seems irrelevant, they just defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta in OT, so they've beaten someone in the ACC on the road and deserve it. They also defeated Auburn (who beat UVA) and Georgia State this week.

4. Georgia Tech - beat UT-C, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and lost to FSU in OT at home.

5. Clemson - beat Furman, ECU on the road, and CofC pretty soundly.

6. Wake Forest - will have beaten NC State at home, UNC-Wilmington and Elon

7. Maryland - difficult to get a good read on exactly where to put the Terps. Their 3 losses have been to Cinci, 'Nova, and Wisconsin.

8. V. Tech - Beat Penn State last week, Charleston Southern this week

9. Miami - beat Stetson and FAU soundly

10. NC State - loses to Wake on the road, beat Elon by 3. Also beat Auburn earlier this year. Hard to get a great read on them so far.

11. BC - lost to Rhode Island 80-69, beat Bryant....wherever the hell that is. However they have beaten Miami 61-60 in Mass.

12. Virginia - is pretty bad.

Last week's rankings

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Not much good news to talk about at the moment.

• OL Max Garcia of Norcross, GA picked Maryland over Clemson and Vanderbilt. He says he wanted to major in journalism, which Clemson does not have. Billy Napier was his recruiter of record and by my recollection, Billy didn't do a whole lot of recruiting during the season. I also wonder why, with the coordinators being busy with game prep, that the other OL coaches didn't pick up some slack and build a better relationship. Clemson should not be losing OTs to Maryland. However, if the kid is that excited about his next 40 years of life rather than 4 years of sucking at football, then I can't fault him.
• With Laurence Gibson decommitting and affirming a commitment to V. Tech, we appear to have lost out on the two highest offensive tackles remaining on our board. No word on who else they'll try to offer to get numbers in, but I'm not buying the P. Price line of bull that Swinney fed us. With J.K. Jay gone until at least August, if he ever can return, we could still be in a numbers crunch at OT in the fall with an injury. At least one of the other true freshmen (Webster or Timothy) may need to play, and Brandon Thomas will be coming off the RS. This would not be so bad to me if I had confidence in OL development, but you also do not need to be leaning on true freshmen on the OL. Will Clemson go after a JUCO to fill the hole vacated by Lambert and give us an immediate backup? Unlikely. It'll be David Smith and Brandon Thomas at #2 on the ends in 2010.
• DB commit Darius Robinson had been mentioned as saying he was pulling for Georgia Tech to win the ACC title game and that he would strongly reconsider his pledge to Clemson IF they offered him. Now he says something else: "It really wasn't what was said," Robinson said. "My words got twisted. I'm just going to stop talking to non-Clemson reporters. I don't have any involvement with anyone else."
• Recall I mentioned JUCO LB prospect Qua Gilchrist from Abbeville, he's now going to Sakerlina. Clemson never offered. I guess LB must not be a real need huh.
• LB prospect Darius Lipford says he's "pretty firm" to UNC. He's going to take his official to Clemson next month because he says he likes Dan Brooks, and his father played with Brooks. Losing out on him and Justin Parker, who will tell any reporter what he wants to hear right now, would mean that we really didnt fill a need at a crucial position in this class. Nicolopulos is probably done with football. Ricky Chaney will be the only LB brought in.
• DT prospect Ethan Farmer's low test scores may mean that even if he sticks with his current leader UNC, that he'll be a sign & place. God knows the AARC wouldn't try to get him in, and if he gets into UNC but not Clemson, someone should be punched in the face.
• DT Tra Thomas did commit late last week. He's rated 3-stars by Rivals at the moment, and I don't see that going upwards when the ratings are redone. Thomas will likely redshirt a year or play down the depth chart, according to his video comments after pledging. "I just think Clemson is the best place for me," Thomas said. "Dan Brooks is a great coach. We've got a great bond. They think I can play anywhere on the interior."
• Clemson is making a late push for RB D.J. Howard (***, 6' 195) against Auburn, to whom he is  currently a soft verbal commit. AU is recruiting him as a safety, as are others, but his comments say they are going to give him a shot at RB. He wants to play RB. From his comments, I'd say a lot of people are telling him a lot of different things about where he'll play."I'm going to stand by my verbal commit to Auburn.  I want to see where they stand with me and if they project me to play defensive back. All this safety stuff coming has me unsure, but I'm going to look around and make sure I'm making the right choice. Right now I'm still committed to Auburn with Clemson No. 2 and Kentucky No. 3."  If Auburn got Marcus Lattimore, to go along with what they have now, I don't see how he'd play RB. Andre Powell has been dispatched to get him, which means we probably won't, but Harbison is in there recruiting him as well. His official to CU is Jan 8, Auburn the week after.
• Notice in that link how another 2nd year staff, which was totally turned over last christmas, is not having problems with getting good recruits when there was no relationship going into 2009, nor is Tennessee.
• Powell is still after RB James White of Ft. Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas), who seems to me to be the better shot, but Wisconsin leads for him. He doesnt seem to be the type of bruiser that Wisconsin goes for in my opinion. He's smaller and quicker than what they bring in. Both RBs are the last two on our board and are set for official visits. RB Demont Buice is the only one currently committed.
• What bothers me this year is the lack of Florida recruiting, likely due to taking Swinney off the road as head coach and the loss of a Bowden. We've usually been able to go down and take a few players: 5 in 2006, 0 in 07, 8 in 2008, 0 last year, 0 this year. However, the staff did make a commitment this year to attacking Georgia, and we have done well there.
• Late offer QB Hutson Mason will choose between UGA and Miss. State. Clemson is out of it.
• DeAndre McDaniel is waffling between coming back or going pro this year.I think he's a definite AA next year if he comes back, but there is no cap next year for the NFL.
• Swinney says the goal is to sign "23 players for sure, but no more than 25" players in the class. We appear to be done to me, aside from fallbacks and those mentioned. I knew and expected 2010 to be a little further down than normal because of the staff turnover, but if we don't land one more DT or LB I think this class is a major disappointment.
  

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

16 days ago: Georgia Tech safety Morgan Burnett (1) consols Clemson running back C.J. Spiller, right, after Georgia Tech defeated Clemson 39-34 during the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec 5, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Please comment and ask questions on what you dont understand, these take a long time to do well. The goal here is to look for both good plays and bad technique. If theres anything that you would like to see or have explained, just ask.
Without knowing the exact assignment of each defender on every scheme called, I'm going to start from the assumption that the assignments on each play are the same. For most of the game that was the case: all the down linemen crash on the dive with the LB as force players (i.e., the QB) and the secondary with pitch responsibility. If its obvious on a play that this is not the case, I'll make note of it.

I am only going to cover Clemson's offensive highlights and lowlights on each drive, not the play by play review. I think most of us would agree that CJ was the offense and only the highlight clips need be seen.

ESPN Play-by-Play

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by Jenni Farrow - AP

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Tigers vs Pirates boxscore

A few thoughts after this game, which we thoroughly controlled from the opening tip. We made up for the 0-11 3pt shooting with a 7/15 clip from the starters in the first half to build a 46-29 lead, but only shot 10/24 overall.

• Tanner Smith continues to carry the load outside, especially after Stitt got a shot in the mouth. 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Thank YOU Tanner for following shots and hustling. Both he and Andre Young combined for 30 points which is great. Young 4/7 from 3pt range. Tanner gets my vote for team MVP so far.
• Trevor Booker showed much improved passing skills, netting 9 assists to go with 13 points and 12 rebounds. If this can continue then Trevor gets the looks inside that he needs to score.
• But look at the half-by-half comparo, 34-34 score in 2nd half play. Weak defensive effort in the 2nd half. Refs were calling alot of fouls however.
• The freshmen got to play late and it showed on defense. Noel Johnson wouldnt take shots that were wide open and fouled out. Jennings put up 8 in 10 game minutes and took his open jumpers. Devin put up 9 in 14 minutes but only 3 rebounds, and played longer than Grant did.
• David Potter....still a liability offensively. 3 points in 28 minutes on 1/7 shooting.
• Clemson won the rebounding stats: 14-13 on offense, 40/37 overall. I think this must improve.
• The defense forced only 14 turnovers and ECU shot 41%, but their relying on the 3 killed them, 3/12 overall.

This is why I dont follow recruiting til this time of year, this stuff will drive you nuts.

Apparently Gibson told the staff he was committed and told other media outlets he was too (there are direct quotes), but went back home and said he didnt commit, soon to be released on VT's rivals site, so we'll see what he says.

Watson still says he has cancelled his visit to UNC.

Edit: Gibson changes his commitment to VT. Looks like the mom pressured the change, same comments to VT that he gave to us. Quality kid.

• Of course by now you've heard that SC OL coach Eric Wolford will take the Youngstown State HC job, probably because you've seen cockfans go nuts about it. I was amused at the comments I saw on FGF..."that son of a bitch! he's a traitor" etc., and every other time I see them freak out, but I imagine there are plenty of Clemson fans on TNet just as dumb who would post the same garbage. I don't know who all Wolford was the primary recruiter for that we want, but it gives Clemson a better shot at someone like OL Morgan Moses. Maybe AJ Cann would reconsider us, with both Sapp and Bowers also being from Bamberg. Eric Mack has commented in the past that Wolford was the primary reason he committed to USuC, but he's from Calhoun County, and we've got no shot there. Coaches are hardline cluckers. If anything, Mack could go to Florida.
• DT Ethan Farmer has set an official visit to Clemson on January 15th. He is saying he's even between NC State, UNC, and CU. Farmer would be a huge get late in this class, but something tells me he's UNC bound. He said he would base his pick off athletic and academic programs, and for some reason rates UNC ahead of Clemson in athletic program? He is being recruited by Dan Brooks. His parents like both schools. He plans to decide on Feb. 3.
• Clemson still leads for 3-star DT Tra Thomas, who now sits with 11 offers from CU, WVU, Michigan State, Louisville, and Duke among others. Am I the only one surprised to see Duke among so many prospect's lists?
• Rivals expects to move up both Watson and Gibson to 4-star status, matching that of Scout.
• Vic Beasley plans to also visit on Jan 15. He says only Auburn is really after him, and calls himself a "soft commit to Clemson." Napier is his recruiter, and Napier's dad is his OC. His father went to Auburn. Clemson plans to use him at TE, while Auburn's Ted Roof is recruiting him as a LB.
• Video of DeAndre Hopkins
• No word on extra LBs being recruited in this class with the loss of Jake Nicolopoulos. If we dont get Parker, we could get Darius Lipford away from UNC. Dan Brooks played football with his father so we have a shot. He plans to visit on Jan 8.
• Curious why I dont see Brad Scott's name mentioned anywhere.....if he's an outstanding recruiter, why isn't he after Moses all-out? Why dont I see Brad visiting recruits further than 20 miles from Clemson? However if we get Garcia, we should be done at OL this year.
• With Will Korn now leaving, Clemson plans to offer Hutson Mason of Lassiter, GA. He has visited UGA (official) and Miss State (unofficial), and is a late offer from nearly everyone after a senior year of 4500+ yards passing. He says he has offers from FSU and UVA as well. From his film, he seems to have good feet but not a very strong arm.

"I just talked to the Clemson offensive coordinator, and they are about to offer me. They just had a kid transfer out, so they only have two quarterbacks on scholarship. I will try to go there for a visit next week, and then make my decision. It is pretty much down to Mississippi State, Clemson, and Georgia,"

"Going into the Clemson visit, really Georgia and Mississippi State are even. These first two visits have set the bar high, but we will see what the Tigers have to offer. I will talk it over with my parents after I get back from Clemson, and we will discuss what is the best place for me," said Mason.

More photos » by Richard Shiro - AP

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Paladins vs Tigers coverage

Paladins vs Tigers boxscore

An all-around solid performance today for Clemson, Furman was just outmatched and clearly didnt have the athletes to stay with us today. A few scattered thoughts:

• Trevor Booker had a great day, scoring 25 with 14 rebounds in 28 minutes of game time. Most of those points, however, were not from post play. Much of it was in transition and putbacks off the glass. This is the way Clemson is going to have to play to get him the ball in conference play, because until a shooter steps up to take pressure off the inside guys the big boys are just going to collapse on him all day.
• Devin Booker really played well. 11 pts and 2 blocks in 13 minutes of play, and most of those points were in post action. Whereas Trevor is generally left-hand dominant, Devin will go left and right to the basket, which means he could potentially be the better scorer in the long run.
• 0 for 11 from the arc today, but they got good looks and took open shots. Nothing fell from the perimeter today. First game we went 0'fer since 2005.
• Johnson and Jennings took shots today, a little less tentative shooting from each of them, and both at least attempted to attack the lane.
• David Potter....I dont know about him offensively.
• Stitt, at least right now, seems to be developing into a better PG. If he would just attack the paint more.....
• Defense allowed 29% shooting overall and forced 27 turnovers.
• Clemson narrowly won the rebounding, 42-39, and lost the offensive rebouding 14-11. This is likely a product of moving Booker around, but has to improve from the other guys.
• 12/25 from the free throw line. WTF.

“I was disappointed in the way we guarded the three-point shot,” Purnell said. “That was our emphasis because we knew Furman would need threes to beat us. But I liked our energy and effort coming out of exams. That showed a great deal of mental toughness from our guys.”

“As a team, we came out and played hard [in the second half],” Purnell said. “We started with energy and we finished with energy. That has only been a problem once that I can think of, and hopefully we learned that lesson against Illinois.”

“Devin’s been coming,” Purnell said. “He continues to improve. I would like to see him play more physical on the defensive end, by boxing out and hitting the glass. Trevor hit the boards hard today. He’s our emotional and energetic leader. We’ve fed off of him for the past couple of years.”