When we began looking at the Pistol Formation, I explained this would simply be a wrinkle to augment and/or highlight things that Chad Morris already did with his offense. To further illustrate this point, we'll look today at a couple things Clemson did last season out of the Pistol or a very similar formation. The illustration below shows two formations used by our Tigers last season. The first is a standard spread formation. The second varied the first by moving the QB closer to the line of scrimmage and having the RB take a step or two back. The result was effectively what I'll refer to as an "offset-Pistol."

One of the reasons Morris implemented the use of Pistol was to improve upon short yardage situations. The gun simply takes too long to engage in many running plays and, unlike under center formations, does not allow the running back to be moving downhill when he takes the handoff. The Pistol combines Morris' direct snap while allowing the back to move towards the LOS during the mesh point and doesn't mean he comes across the ball every time.

The first scenario shows Clemson in the Pistol formation similar to the one shown in the above illustration. The Tigers bring the receiver lined up off the LOS into the backfield via orbit motion, creating an "I" backfield. Clemson then runs the Power play (with the possibility of an option wrinkle). I don't think Boyd/Morris had any intention of pulling the ball and getting to the corner in either of these cases, because of Boyd's inability as a runner, but do want to illustrate the flexibility of some of these items. Here is how the play looks on paper (with the dotted line being Andre Ellington using his vision to cut back):

In this scenario, Ellington runs the basic Power play for a TD.

Here, he uses his vision to cut back and pick up the first down.

If this play looks very familiar...well it should (our analysis of the power play out of CU's base set).

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I hope everyone is having an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend. Please be sure to remember that Memorial Day is a day to remember those who gave all so that we may enjoy this country's freedoms.

I'll limit the topics today and stay off the golf game to keep this quick. Big XII expansion talks remain at the top of the screen. We do know that there was a BOT meeting last week that focused on the topic. We do know that Clemson representatives will talk with the Big XII if approached. We do not believe there is any sort of deal currently on the table and don't think the Big XII will make any major decisions for another month. I personally believe there have been informal discussions between the Big 12 and both Clemson and FSU but, as TDP and several others have relayed, these are preliminary and the real discussions are still a little ways away.

More murmurings and talk emerged the past couple weeks over the emergence of four major superconferences and the 60 to 65 schools who make up these groups splitting from the BCS. The SEC and Big XII pretty much decided they did not want to play with the rest of the football world when they set up their guaranteed "Cotton Bowl" potentially pitting the SEC and Big 12 champ or runner up in an annual game. We all see the vast potential for further expansion of both leagues (Big 12 desperately wants to get back to twelve teams and a conference championship, so it will happen there).

As the landscape currently stands, the Pac 12 and the Big 10 have 12 members, the SEC 14, and the Big XII has 10. I could easily see a scenario where each of these conferences expands to sixteen teams then splits away from the current BCS system to set up a postseason football tournament that consists of just conference members. The 16 team conferences also set up nicely for four team "pods" and, potentially, some sort of two round conference tournament to determine a conference championship. This won't happen in the immediate future but I personally don't see it as too big of a pipe dream. The money made on such a deal would be astronomical. Further, it would filter out most of the revenue sharing parasites (in the ACC, those include the likes of Boston College and Wake Forest). This increases overall conference value and assures the teams that put television money in the conference's pocket are the ones who ultimately get paid.

We've all seen items pertaining to Coach Dabo's and Clemson agreeing in principle to a contract extension. The details have not hit the street. I assume/hope that his deal is still incentive laden and protects Clemson. Dabo gets the extension because of the improvement shown since taking over from Bowden in 2008. Since then, Clemson has been in the ACC Championship twice and won once. I'll say that the upgrade in football assistants has been impressive and the addition of Chad Morris (and Sammy Watkins) added several games to last season's win column. As we gain more insight on this item, we'll pass along the info. From the outside, this should be typical.

Clemson baseball went 1-2 in ACC tournament round robin play. Our Tigers did, however, knock off the nation's number 1 team (FSU) in dramatic fashion. Clemson now gets to head down to Columbia and participate in #8 National Seed South Carolina's regional where our Tigers are the #2 seed. Coastal Carolina got the #3 seed and Manhattan rounds out the grouping.

Wow! That is what I think of this selection. It makes all kinds of logistical sense to keep South Carolina's three best schools in state. This should also generate a boatload of cash. In addition to their annual three game series, it would be a novel idea to host an in-state baseball tournament featuring Clemson and South Carolina, possibly in Greenville, Charleston, or Myrtle Beach. We'll see what the participants think of this mini-tournament and maybe something can be taken from this for early season baseball some year.

Shout out to my boy the Fox. Congrats on ripping it up in law school and raking in awards in the process. STS salutes you.

This week's wrapup has to begin on a somber note. Clemson standout Brian Wofford passed away last week in a motorcycle accident. I had much respect for Wofford because Tommy West and Rick Stockstill both spoke highly of this man. Coach Bowden released the following through Clemson about Wofford:

"When you come to a new program you look to players who will set a standard of excellence and will bind your team together. Brian was one of those players in my first year.

"He was top notch in every area. He was a terrific student, a hard worker during practice, a leader...he was everything college athletics is all about from a positive standpoint. He represented our football program, our university and his family with great distinction.

"One thing I remember about Brian was how happy he was when he heard what our offense was all about. He knew he would get a lot of opportunities as a receiver in our offense and he made the most of it."

Please keep the Wofford family in your prayers and also think about the young man who was also in the accident. All signs point to him not being at fault but just being involved in such an incident has to be really tough.

Another tough item to chat about and really shows how petty football and college sports really are is Phillip Price's accident. Price was seriously injured but survived. He went through surgery to repair his complex fracture of the femur. Others were not so fortunate. Keep Price and all others involved in this instance in your thoughts and prayers.

On to less serious but Clemson related items. We really have no positive items to chat about regarding Clemson football. We expect to hear some news this week about Sammy Watkins' punishment and would not be surprised to see him on the sidelines for three games. Dabo will send a message and, I assure you, the three games will reverberate especially since one of the three is against Auburn.

Unlike other internet blogs and "sources," we have no solid evidence Clemson is moving to the Big XII. The sources that others are using are all Big XII-linked -- not Clemson people. Clemson people are not talking. We believe Clemson representatives are open to talks, that phone conversations have taken place, due diligence is being done to the financials, and also are confident that Clemson and Florida State are tied together. Shit moves quickly, but we do not believe that Clemson currently has any official offer on the table. As FSU goes, so will we...so keep your ears toned to Tallahassee not Pickens County. Anything about Miami, GT, or Louisville is smokescreen at this point, though they are possibilities for a movement to 16.

With the recent SEC/Big XII agreement, Swofford got outflanked and punked. The humility is that this deal comes immediately after his failed television negotiations. There is way too much money out there for Clemson to lose and I think the crowd will out-vote Barker and Wilkins if it comes to that. Do us all a favor and email these guys to tell them we want out of the ACC (and that we think UNC can kiss our ass). They responded to you when you raised hell two years ago, so do not think your voices do not have power.

david.wilkins@nelsonmullins.com (David Wilkins, Chairman of BOT)
tbrown@theamickcompany.com (Bill Amick) - even if its just to cuss him out
bsmith@redrockdevelopments.com (Will Smith Jr. Vice Chair)
drleesoffice@bellsouth.net (Ronald D. Lee)
hortcola@aol.com (Louis B Lynn)
lcs@cdsfunds.com (Patricia H. McAbee)
tbmcteerjr@aol.com (Thomas B. McTeer Jr.)
asmith@alicemsgco.com (E. Smith McKissick)
nickym@defenderservices.com (John McCarter)
JBARKER@CLEMSON.EDU
PTERRY@CLEMSON.EDU
berthso@clemson.edu
mahonyr@clemson.edu
cbussey@clemson.edu
jwhite@clemson.edu
wjennes@clemson.edu
jcouch@clemson.edu
dunham@clemson.edu

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We previously discussed general "Pistol" formation information and identified specific Pistol formations that fit nicely with Clemson's offense. Today we will look at other formations that more closely resemble "conventional" looks. Clemson features a spread attack that uses the tight End as more of an H-back than a conventional TE. That being said, these formations likely won't be featured significantly. We are showing them to better educate folks on the fact that the Pistol is simply a formation and it is a dynamic formation. Chad Morris has these options at his fingertips should he think that one of these alignments provides a strategic advantage. As always, realize that different coaches use different terminology for their formations. Thus, you may see some of these items given different name sets in other locations and with other offensive staffs.

First we'll discuss Pistol I-Right (Left).

This formation features a tight end on the LOS and an H-back/wingback opposite the TE. The Right/Left nomenclature identifies the formation's strong side which is the TE side. This formation very much resembles the Pistol Ace formation (shown below). The Ace formation takes replaces the wing with a slot receiver-denoted "A" below.

The Ace formation spreads the field and is frequently used to drive defenses to make formation and coverage call adjustments.

Similarly, a team may wish to keep the wing in the game and either flex the TE or substitute for him. In this case, the "Slot" position is used. This position features effectively two split ends and a slot receiver opposite the formation of the wing. Again, this spreads the defense while maintaining an extra blocker inside the box similar to Ace.

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Shout out to all the moms--enjoy your day as you've earned it. On to my babbling

Another Saturday in May...this means more lacrosse on ESPN prior to the golf then the race. As stated last week, I don't know jack about lacrosse but the more I watch it the more I respect/like it. First off, it is the sport that the Ivy Leaguers still roll, so it must be either (A) extremely strategical or (B) so out of the main stream it's not pursued by the masses. The thing that I dislike is all the damn games on AstroTurf. Nothing is more annoying than the fake grass combined with the field being lined up for every conceivable sporting event. Dude has the ball in the endzone which is really lined off for the soccer goalie which shows 3-4 out of bounds lines for each. I understand the need for multipurpose facilities but it is flat out confusing.

Committed to the ACC...that is the word out of both Clemson and FSU's athletics departments. We'll see how the chips fall. As you saw earlier this week, the Big 12 did a much better job than Swofford at negotiating a television contract. More money to keep up with the facility upgrade wars is a necessity. One thing is for sure, the ACC doesn't give a shit about football or the schools that care about the sport. Will Barker/TDP will grow some stones or simply be bullied as they have to this point? These decisions will shape CU athletics for some time to come.

Clemson news is slowing down. We have the top ranked ‘Noles in town this weekend. Clemson needs a good performance here for seeding purposes instead of the usual war for the ACC. It has been a confusing year for Leggett and crew and we are not sure this won't become the norm. Clemson lost a ton of great talent from its coaching staff and doesn't appear to have backfilled/doesn't commit necessary resources as well to date. We identified this issue a while back and aren't really shocked. I hope we get hot and carry it into the postseason but each time you think this baseball team has it pulled together they take a step back. Picking up the win last night was a good start to the series and, hopefully, the start of a good run moving forward.

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Formations are critical for football strategy. We realize that the formation along with personnel in the game dictate how a defense will work against any given offense. Today we'll chat about a formation I noticed through Auburn film study. Clemson lined up in the following fashion several times in the home win against the Alabama's Tigers.

Schematically, here is what this formation looks like:

The first item you probably noticed about this set was Tajh Boyd under center. This is unique for 2012 Clemson but not the focus here. The most interesting aspect as the player identified as "5" is covered by the "9" receiver and is ineligible. The right tackle is uncovered and is an eligible receiver. Covered and uncovered are as follows:

Any player who is on the line of scrimmage (LOS) and "inside" another player who is on the LOS is considered covered. Anyone off the LOS or on the LOS but outside of other players on the LOS is an eligible receiver. Covered players are not eligible to receive forward passes. Covered and uncovered players are shown in the illustration below. Note the QB (1) and deep back (4) are not on the LOS and, thus, are both considered eligible.

Why in the world would one ever want to cover up an eligible receiver? Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't. This receiver cannot catch a pass or run downfield in passing situations. In fact, a formation like this typically tips off the defense that the play will be a running play. In the couple plays I saw out of this formation against Aubun, that was the case. The above shown play was a pitch play to the three receiver side.

Are there any advantages with this formation? I suppose the offense could try and substitute a TE or apt pass catcher into the game for the right tackle. It is not common to have a tackle eligible so such a move could confuse the defense and potentially provide a gimmick play. You probably also realized that the defense, if it did not recognize the "slot" receiver was ineligible, wasted a defensive back covering a guy who cannot catch a forward pass. An offensive coordinator could bank on such and use this to his advantage. The offense could also try to utilize better blocking receivers and run the ball to the trips side against extra defensive backs. If anyone else has ideas, let them fly.

We expect base formations out of the Pistol formation to be similar to other formations Clemson uses with Chad Morris' standard gun applications. The real differences lie in the backfield positioning. As we discussed earlier, the QB will be approx. 3.5-4.5 yards behind the LOS and tailback will be 7 yards off the LOS directly behind the QB and center.

We gave a primer on what to expect formation-wise out of CM's HUNH offense prior to last season. Most of the items discussed there will carry over into Pistol looks as shown through illustrations. Nothing is necessarily new, as Clemson used some of these concepts last season:

We'll first delve into the nomenclature of the Clemson offense and attempt to stay consistent with this information through our progression. We tried to tweek our original player description to match what we'll see in Pistol and here is what we came up with:

• The 1 - the quarterback
• The 2 - a WR who will constantly be moving around, mostly in the slot position to the left or outside on the right. He'll be aligned off the LOS usually, essentially a Flanker/Z position. The 2 will frequently get the ball on sweeps as well. The 2 is the primary running threat in the WR group.
• The 3 - an inside receiver to the left, he'll be used like an H-back, a RB, and a slot WR all in one. In a nutshell, this player is a tight end who can also be trusted to take handoffs. In 2-back sets he'll take on more a of a traditional I-formation fullback or H-back role, and a lead in stacked sets. Dwayne Allen was a 3-back but not a ballcarrying threat, and JJ McCullough is the type of guy who fills this role moving forward. This spot is meant to utilize a "tweener".
• The 4 - The tailback, aligned 1.5 yards directly behind the QB in Pistol. He calls protections in this offense and he has to be able to pick up a blitz. This player can be motioned out of the backfield or intentionally lined up just outside of the tackle.
• The 5 - the best receiver, with the best hands. This will be a guy that goes deep quite often. He aligns inside and on the right usually, on the LOS. He'll get bubble screens quite often as well. Expect the player at this position to be a featured WR in the offense.
• The 9 - A true WR, aligned on the outside to the left normally. This would be like the Split End/X position. Clemson currently features Nuk Hopkins in this role.
• Splits between all the WRs and the linemen will be as wide as possible to create spacing issues for the defense and take as many defenders out of the box as possible.

**Note, depending on hash position, some of these roles will alternate. For instance, Watkins will roll into either the 2 or 5-whichever is away from the boundary. We'll also make TE adjustments between 3 and 5 based on field orientation and matchups.

The original Pistol as developed by Chris Ault at Nevada was a morph of the I-Formation and, thus, lined the TE up regularly in a three-point stance on the LOS. Clemson will likely steer away from such and stick with items currently in the HUNH offense. We'll focus on what we expect out of the Tigers this fall in this post then give potential options that require some changes in a future article.

The first formation we'll look at is the base formation. This is the Spread Doubles (or Flex Ace) formation.

This is Clemson's current base formation and I assure you the Chad will incorporate it into his pistol arsenal.

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I was hoping this week's discussion would be relatively low key due to the semester winding down and our Tigers taking a weekend off from ACC action to host the College of Charleston. This obviously changed with developments involving superstar wide receiver Sammy Watkins. I'll get to that in a second, but first we want to introduce the newest contributor to the STS crew, QuackingTiger. QT will focus on Clemson recruiting items but is knowledgeable on all things Clemson. We are excited to add his capabilities to the folks we currently have on our writing/editorial board.

The NASCAR folks are in Talladega and this may be Jr's week to win. Also, the PGA Tour is at Quail Hollow, so if your are in the Charlotte area you may wish to hi that bad boy up. Should be a great day to (A) play golf (B) watch the race (C) watch the Tour golfers. Obviously, if you live near Clemson you will be watching our Tigers play C of C.

By now, you all are aware of Watkins' legal trouble following a traffic stop Friday night. His transgressions are typical of college students nationwide. That is not an excuse but a generalization. Yes Sammy is a role model for many youngsters out there but he is also a freshman in college and still has some maturation ahead of him. He made a mistake and will pay for this mistake no doubt so I will not persecute him further. I believe Watkins is a good guy and carried himself well prior to his recent arrest. Assuming SW's record is clean, he will likely receive some sort of probationary punishment from the law and will hopefully use this experience as a positive lesson moving forward. His punishment on the field, however, will be more severe.

The receiving star will likely see an impact to his playing time. I would not be surprised if he were suspended for the season opener against Auburn. Watkins' teammates will likely be without the young superstar and will have this as a distraction heading into the 2012 season. Further, this will be an issue when he moves on from Clemson and into the league. While he can overcome this item with NFL teams, it will be something that is on the back burner heading into draft time. In all, it will be a tough lesson for a young man who was on a meteoric path in the football world. Obviously we will be interested in how this situation plays out and wish Sammy all the best dealing with this setback. Based on his work ethic and the talent we've all seen on the football field, there is little doubt that Watkins will rebound and be a resounding force when he does take the field this fall.

In a bit of uplifting news, Clemson and UGa are upping the ante to keep their upcoming series on pace. A cancelled game would ding one school a cool $3 million. This almost assures we'll play the two games as giving up that much cheese along with outlash from the fans following the cancellation of a game would be over the top. Since it is on, I recommend going ahead and getting your Georgia hate on. Each morning you should roll out of the rack, put the paste on the toothbrush, splash your face with water, then yell "Fuck Georgia" at the top of your lungs just to get ready for this one. I recommend repeating the yell portion immediately after you park your sled at work, prior to your post lunch siesta, then at night before heading back to the rack.

Other rumors continue to swirl regarding Clemson's future in the ACC. It is obvious (particularly following the slap on the wrist given to Swoffy's Alma Mater earlier this spring by the conference) that this is a league dominated by the Tobacco Road schools. These schools' agendas clearly trump what's best for other member institutions and what is best for the conference as a whole. I am still bummed out with the addition of Syracuse and see this move as a dilution of an already mediocre football conference. Would Barker allow his Alma Mater to entertain advances from another conference? I sure hope so given the huge piles of cash at stake due to television contracts. If the Big 12 came calling, I would sure entertain their advances even if it means dealing with a group largely dominated by Texas' wants and demands.

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There has been a bit of a buzz this offseason regarding wrinkles Chad Morris and the offensive staff will incorporate moving forward. A topic that is of particular interest amongst Tiger fans is the Pistol Formation. We will highlight how Clemson can take advantage of this formation and how we foresee its use in Clemson's attack. We took some time several years ago to briefly look at the Pistol, so these articles are a good place to start for those relatively unfamiliar with the formation and how others have used it in the past (Theory and Evolution and Basic Running Plays). I'll try to avoid overlap with those pieces and focus more on Clemson's use from a strategic point of view.

First and foremost, the Pistol is a formation, not an offense. Use of this formation will center around creating defensive mismatches and mitigating tendencies through formation. These concepts allow Morris to exploit opponent weaknesses and reduce pre-snap defensive anticipation associated with other offensive sets--particularly the gun formations used last season. Specifically, the Pistol formation combined with basic strategies is used to manipulate the defense (spread defenders across the field), controlling the first two defensive layers, and reading defensive coverage tendencies.

I'll also point out that the Pistol is not a specific formation but is dynamic and allows for multiple offensive looks. As always, concepts from this formation must be adapted to utilize the personnel and skill sets available to the offense and to defeat the opposition. Proper formation and player management will allow Clemson to be successful either running or throwing out of the Pistol.

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The NFL draft took center stage earlier in the week. I particularly like how the commish decided he would bearhug then nearly make out with each first round selection. I also like how Roger broke Melvin Ingram off with a sick post touchdown handshake. Since they are apparently boys, maybe Rog will let Melvin kick it at the scrip club.

Another feature of the draft allowed guest introductions by former great players. I think next season the NFL should kick it up a notch and bring back draft busts. "For announcement of the Chargers' second round pick, here is Ryan Leaf..." or "Charles Rogers will announce the Lion's 2^nd round selection." The only issue, as one of my buddies pointed out, is that they would need to broadcast remotely from San Quentin. Here's how that bad boy would open..."Live from Leavenworth, the NFL Draft continues here on ESPN."

Then there is Jet-fan. This may as well be their Super Bowl because those guys go all out. There are few things more consistent than turning on the tube or firing up the internet box on draft day and seeing Jet-fan all liquored up acting a damn fool. Set your watch to it...they'll boo Goodell intensely for the first 10 picks and consistently throughout the draft. Then the cameraman will pan the crowd only to find Jet-fan has set up some sort of makeshift bar and are out of control...half an hour into the draft. Then "J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!" chants. Then Roger gets on the mic to announce the Jets pick. He is initially booed until Jet-fan realizes it's Rex's turn to pick so they begin to cheer...until the draft choice is announced at which time they promptly start screaming bloody murder. To be fair, idiocracy by NY's front office and Jet-fan reaction is half the reason I watch the draft. It's been going on for years so don't take it personally New York.

Here is Slam Man's take on Jet-fans at the draft:

The actual draft was much less exciting than the shenanigans pulled by Roger and Jet-fan. I am not sure how any NFL GM can honestly get behind picking up Ryan Tannehill within the first ten picks. I get it, Mike Sherman was his coach at A&M and is the Dolphins OC. Dude is definitely a project. In fact, Sherman thought so much of his quarterbacking skills that he ran him at the receiver spot for two plus seasons. Memo to Miami...you effectively made this guy your franchise QB with the 8^th overall pick. Good luck with that one.

Also, a guy like Stefon Gilmore at the 10 pick to Buffalo? Really Buffalo? Gilmore had an excellent freshman season then fell off the map at Carolina. Maybe Gilmore is just much smarter than I thought. Maybe Gilmore blew it out of the water in year one then put it on the shelf until draft time. Not a bad strategy to avoid injury and such. Whatever.

Dontari Poe at #11? This guy wasn't even first team Conference USA. Yes, he has size and skills but essentially wasted his talent at Memphis and was drafted highly because of his bench press skills and a good combine. #11 pick in spite of his college career.

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We stumbled upon some great information regarding receiver play during the 2011 season and want to dissect some mined information from our good friends over at www.footballstudyhall.com. This past January, these folks compiled receiver target, catch, and yardage information. We pulled the Clemson information together and will analyze these statistics in this article. We already looked at the receiver statistics and formed an opinion of their play back in February. We'll discuss standard stats at some point but today's information is related to the unique information derived from the source above. Directly from the source site, here are some definitions for you:

Targets = receptions plus incompletions targeting a given receiver. (NOTE: there is no target data for passes that were intercepted or for some throwaways. In the end, about 85-90 percent of passes have target data. I thought about adjusting for that in some way, but since it is the same for every team, I did not. Just keep that in mind.)

Catches = receptions.

Yards = receiving yards

Catch Rate = catches / targets

Yards Per Target = yards / targets

Target % = the percentage of a team's passes targeting a given receiver.

Target No. = the rank of a given player in terms of his team's targets.

%SD = the percent of a players targets that came on standard downs. As you'll see, this varies greatly from player to player.

I'll note that the source data had Jonathan Meeks listed with one reception. That item is incorrect but will leave this in the data. Otherwise I believe this information is correct. The nice item shown within this data is what is referred to as the "Target" statistic. This item counts the number of times a player was thrown to/towards. While some of these "Targets" are passes in which the QB was simply throwing the ball away, these numbers also indicate who will be in the spotlight when the ball is in the air.

The overall data from last season are shown at this article's end. There are really no surprises...Sammy was the target receiver nearly ¼ of the time, Nuk over 21% of the time, and Allen over 18% of the passes. If you include Jaron Brown's 9.8% target rate, these four players accounted for ¾ of the team's targets last season. As expected, Ellington led the backs with over 7% of the total targets. Overall catches pretty much fell in like (ranking-wise) with the targets. The exception was Adam Humphries who caught 15 of his 17 targets for an impressive 88.2% of catches to targets.

When we look at the overall catch rate, Adam Humphries led the group and clearly took advantage of the 17 times thrown to. Joe Craig caught three of the four thrown to him. Else, Sammy and Nuk each caught about 2/3 of their looks and Allen nearly 54%. I'll point out that these stats don't show drops so it is impossible to tell from these numbers whether balls not caught were catchable or throw-aways.

Data was also filtered on a situational basis. Below is a presentation of similar data from above filtered for "standard downs." I cannot confirm this, but my interpretation of a "standard down" is first and 10 or fewer yards, second and seven or fewer yards, and third and 4 or fewer yards. If pressed, 4^th and three or less would also apply.

What we saw here was Sammy targeted over 26% of the time, Nuk 22%, and Allen 15.7%. Again, Humpries was impressive 12/13 catches under these conditions. Sam Cooper caught the only look he got. Both Sammy and Nuk were in the 66-67% range and Allen caught just over 51% of his looks last season during standard downs. Jaron Brown and Brandon Ford each brought down over 64% of their target attempts. Again, Brown, Hopkins, Watkins, and Allen accounted for roughly 75% of targets in this scenario. Ellington accounted for 6.8%. (hit the jump for more).

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In news that is no surprise to anyone, the ACC was unwilling to enforce extra penalties on the University of North Carolina. The Tarheels' transgressions were extremely serious and place the UNC AD in the "rogue institution" category. Still, your favorite commissioner and North Carolina graduate ensures that his Alma Mater doesn't get what Clemson got back in the day.

Here is the line I really love (per the ACC website):

"The ACC's balance of academics, athletics and integrity will continue to be the cornerstones by which this league operates," said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. "As I have said previously, it is disturbing anytime one of our member institutions has NCAA infractions issues. Such issues are counter to the goals and aspirations of our conference."

What he forgot to include was that none of this crap really applies if your commissioner attended your university. The ACC really showed its concern about academics when it barely slapped UNC's wrist following blatent academic fraud within its football program and enabled by the program's head football coach and staff members-allegedly. Let Clemson or Virginia Tech pull this crap and see how far under the bus Swofford throws these schools.

Hell, look at Georgia Tech. Their kids got a couple watches and t-shirts and the NCAA declares their ACC Championship null and void. The ACC did nothing to defend one of its institutions. If this were a Research Triangle school you can bet your ass the league would have raised all kinds of hell in their defense.

Long and short-the favoritism received by North Carolina is nothing new. It is also nothing new that institutional members take it from the league and don't fight back. Make no mistake about it, a message was sent and that message is UNC is the bell of the ball and will receive favorite son treatment no matter the level of impropriety. Everyone else in the league (particularly schools located outside of the state of North Carolina) should just bow down to the Tarheels and let them do whatever the hell they want.

Here is the contact information we found:

Atlantic Coast Conference 4512 Weybridge Lane Greensboro, NC 27407 Phone: (336) 854-8787 jswofford@theacc.org

I want to highlight an S&C video PenthouseTiger posted earlier this week. Here is the video if you missed it:

I am not sure why the Batson and the Athletic Department released this fine piece of cinematography. What we see here is extremely poor technique and an overall lack of intensity we see out of other programs. We can debate S&C strategies all day but one thing that is unquestionable is the crap in that video is a disservice to the players in the program and a hindrance to moving forward in the fall. My guess is "Coach" Munson just rolled into the weight room and started filming. As soon as it hit the net, I am sure the S&C folks were concerned.

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We've now examined the entire ACC in terms of recruiting over the past five cycles. We also need to look at a few of our SEC foes to better compare ourselves to those we recruit against. The teams chosen for this examination include Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina. Also because there has been I believe that Clemson and FSU were the two best recruiters in the ACC over the past half-decade, I went ahead and placed Florida State in this comparison as well.

And....the typical disclaimer:

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles and the data presented here. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on all information available to you. When evaluating a particular player, we encourage you to view film for yourself and form your own opinions about a player. This article shows recruiting data for individual teams. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

The following Figures and Tables associated with those figures (scroll to the article's end) illustrate the recruiting star per player ranking for each team as well as the players signed data.

Continue reading this post »

We compared Clemson's 2012 recruiting class to others in the ACC Atlantic and ACC Coastal previously. We also need to look at a few of our SEC foes to better compare ourselves to those we recruit against. The teams chosen for this examination include Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina. Also because there has been I believe that Clemson and FSU were the two best recruiters in the ACC over the past half-decade, I went ahead and placed Florida State in this comparison as well.

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles and the data presented here. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on all information available to you. When evaluating a particular player, we encourage you to view film for yourself and form your own opinions about a player. This article shows recruiting data for individual teams. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

The Table below shows core data for the 2012 teams within the Atlantic Division of the ACC. The charts that follow give a graphical description of the date featured in this table.

Continue reading this post »

I was not able to attend Clemson's Spring Game yesterday for various reasons, but was not too concerned as ESPN pimped that ESPN3 would have full coverage of the game. No problem, right? Well, it didn't exactly work as planned, as my view of the Spring Game was the following:

I am not sure what drove the blackout. Potentially it is related to CSS's 7 pm delayed broadcast, but I don't know that for sure. What I do know is DirecTV does not offer CSS and it screwed quite a bit of the Clemson Nation. That being said, one would assume ESPN3 will lift this blackout sometime this week so those who couldn't make it to the game may be able to view it at some point.

Onto the game. As I previously stated, I didn't see a lick of it. I got some updates from Dr. B and have second-hand information from around the net, so my takes revolve around this information (take that for what it's worth). The first item is one that we were concerned about and will remain concerned about: the offensive line. Apparently they looked like complete crap yesterday. The guards were eaten up and my level of concern keeps rising.

Other portions of the offense include decent numbers out of Tajh Boyd sans the interceptions. Nuk continued his excellent spring with 120 yards and a touchdown. Bryant had a nice day, as did Sammy, and Peake had five grabs for 75 yards. If we can get any production up front the Clemson WR position is loaded and could crush more than one opponent this season.

Jarrett was a beast up front, showing that the work ethic and drive that was present in his recruiting film. Clemson's defensive front scored seven sacks (Orange Team) and four sacks (White Team) total. Don't get too excited, though, as I am more concerned that our offensive line sucks. The defensive line may be better than I originally thought, though I will not be fully convinced of such until we see this group in the fall.

Travis Blanks had a productive afternoon per the stat sheet. He was easily the best newcomer to camp and contributed to with seven tackles. Clemson returns all but Sensabaugh this season and if Hall can successfully come back from last season's injury/offseason surgery, one must assume that the DBs will be a competent group based on talent and returning experience. After looking at the stat sheet, I am still concerned about what seems to be a large number of tackles. The majority of Clemson's snaps likely was out of nickel, so that may explain more about the statistical breakout.

It is tough for me to form an opinion on the linebacker play without thoroughly watching the film. I heard that fundamental play improved, saw that Parker contributed significantly, and have heard that Townsend was progressing all Spring. Still, this is a sticking point for everyone. We have the talent to have a great group here but the results will depend on their ability to master fundamentals and play more instinctively.

I was initially surprised to see Coach Dabo require this practice to go into double overtime. As the game was in a blackout, the original thoughts I had revolved around most coaches general disdain for Spring Games and their desire to get their team off the field as quickly as possible to avoid injury. Thankfully, the squads didn't go at it in two real overtime periods as I originally feared. The game was decided via a kicking contest (fair enough). I was a little surprised there as well. I would have expected the Sweatshirt and Coach Munson to put together something a little more exciting for the fans like, say, a dance-off or a hotdog eating contest. In all seriousness, I'll applaud Dabo for the decision to kick field goals to break the tie instead of the full contact overtime period I originally thought took place.

Baseball has a chance to take the series against Top 20 NC State this afternoon. If you cannot make it to Beautiful Tiger Field this afternoon, ESPN3 will be streaming the 1 PM first pitch (assuming there is no blackout!). We really need to maintain momentum built from last weekend's sweep through a series win today.

Another reminder is the golf down at Harbour Town this afternoon. Kyle Stanley and Lucas Glover made the cut and will be finishing up this afternoon. Many other local golfers are participating in this event. The big item I took from the scoreboard was John Daly sitting at -1. I will be rooting for some improbable JD run dropping a 61 on the field to put him squarely in contention as he enters the clubhouse. Freaking JD.

Today is a very popular day around the Southeast. Many schools opted to hold their annual Spring Games this afternoon and, to everyone's good fortune, most of these contests will be covered either through an internet stream or on one of the ESPN channels. Use this thread to sound off on Clemson and/or other schools hosting their annual practice game. Clemson tees it up at 4 PM EDT on ESPN3. If you are in Tigertown today, baseball game is at noon. Here is a link to activities at CU this weekend.

Clemson will be without a couple players today, most notably Andre Ellington and Stephone Anthony. Both of these guys should be at 100% for Fall Football. I have a couple areas of interest in this football game. We've been harping on depth and experience up front for quite some time now and nothing has changed. Clemson is relatively inexperienced on both the offensive and defensive line. In addition, you have guys like Dalton Freeman complaining that the Clemson defensive front confused them in practice. Hopefully this group won't look quite as confused today.

I will be particularly interested in the play of Travis Blanks. We told you here last summer that Blanks would likely be the best recruit of the '12 class and would impact immediately. Again, STS looks to be on target there. Blanks will play predominantly at the Nickel and, with Clemson's offense showing spread looks for the most part, Blanks will get his fair share of playing time today in a 4-2-5 look.

I have few questions about the receivers. We've all heard that they got better over the past three months, making them very, very, very dangerous for opponents. Tajh had some mechanical issues I hope were corrected and Mike Bellamy has impressed the staff since being reinstated following the Bowl. He is an athlete who could really be special if he can get it all together off the field, gain some quality muscle pounds, and better secure the football.

Linebacker improvement is something we expect. We've know that Steele's defense was more complicated for the backers. Venables' strategy is not as complicated but he has admitted to installing it here at a patient pace. What I take from that is that we should be watching fundamentals and instinct for now and be a little more forgiving of schematic errors because (A) some things have not been installed and (B) the defense was stripped to its core and the new defensive coordinator is keen on building it slowly around fundamentals.

The ACC Spring games fall out as shown below. All of these games sans Wake will be shown on ESPN3. Florida State will additionally be shown on ESPNU.

1 p.m. ET--Wake

2 p.m. ET--Miami

2:15 p.m. ET--Virginia

3 p.m. ET--UNC

4 p.m. ET-Clemson, FSU

Here is the SEC schedule for today (all of these will be shown on ESPN3)

1 p.m. ET--South Carolina

3 p.m. ET--Alabama, Auburn, Georgia

7 p.m. ET--Vanderbilt

We recently looked at the 2012 recruiting cycle for the ACC Coastal. We do realize that one recruiting class does not make a program. Accordingly, we want to put this class in perspective by looking at ACC Coastal schools' results over the past five cycles and compare them to Clemson. Five cycles were chosen because these are the only cycles that directly factor into the 2012 teams because players signed in 2008 and redshirted will be seniors this year (and all future classes have eligibility as well). Here is our analysis and comparison between Clemson and the ACC Atlantic over the past five cycles.

And....the typical disclaimer:

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles and the data presented here. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on all information available to you. When evaluating a particular player, we encourage you to view film for yourself and form your own opinions about a player. This article shows recruiting data for individual teams. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

The following Figures and Tables associated with those figures (scroll to the article's end) illustrate the recruiting star per player ranking for each team as well as the players signed data.

Continue reading this post »

We compared Clemson's 2012 recruiting class to others in the ACC Atlantic previously. Now we'll make the same comparison with our Coastal foes and gauge how our Tigers' entering talent matches up with others on the conferences' other side.

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles and the data presented here. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on all information available to you. When evaluating a particular player, we encourage you to view film for yourself and form your own opinions about a player. This article shows recruiting data for individual teams. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

The Table below shows core data for the 2012 teams within the Atlantic Division of the ACC. The charts that follow give a graphical description of the date featured in this table.

Continue reading this post »

Spring is officially here with Easter Sunday and Masters Golf. Wet weather heading into the tournament lengthened the course but likely provided some relief on some approach shots. Nevertheless, SubAir at premier golf courses allows golf course managers to assure putts are quick and fast-as expected at Augusta. I will say that the ability to catch tons and tons of coverage through the Masters website as well as extra channels through DirecTV is freaking awesome. I get to catch early coverage over the internet then tune into the "Masters Mix" and don't miss a thing. Technology is really making life better and I am eager to see how they improve on these great ideas.

Thursday saw Stenson get off to a fast start before stumbling down the stretch. Lee Westwood, former #1 looked good early as well. Tiger could not control his driver else he likely would have been pressing the leader early. Friday was fantastic as my main man Freddy Couples reeled off a round of five under. This placed him in the lead when he walked off the course and got Couples' crew all fired up. Phil's back 9 run put him squarely into position entering the final round. What a run he put together to finish round #3 (30 on the back with a birdie on 18 is flat out killing it). This should be another great Sunday at Augusta. I am still holding out hope Freddie can slaughter the course and take his second jacket.

Is it just me or are golfers looking more and more like jackasses every year? All the Euros rock skin tight gear and break the "white before Easter" clothing rules. Miguel Angel Jimenez looks more like Diamond Dallas Page than a country club member. Then some of the American players choose to take the appearance of complete assclowns. Hunter Mahan has that skateboarder/pornstar/I'm gonna wear this shit in spite of better judgment look going for him. While I won't call for the plaids and pastels of years past, I'll say to the players, "Tone it down a bit!"

I've got to apologize as I am clearly not paying enough attention to Clemson because I am just finding out that the Sweatshirt's fantasy camp was cancelled for the summer. Maybe I missed it because I could care less about such an event. Maybe I missed it because I wouldn't be willing to fork over the cash to attend in the first place. Still, I shouldn't have to rely on Cockfan to pass along such information and should have been taken shots at this item months ago. A quick sweep of the internet shows it was cancelled prior to the end of February. For those of you who are unaware, this camp (dubbed the "Uncle Rico Football Camp" by others around the web) is an opportunity for a bunch of geezers to put on the pads and run through some drills with members of the Clemson coaching staff. Got a couple grand you cannot find a use for? The Dabo Swinney Fantasy camp is your ticket. (more after the jump)

Continue reading this post »

We recently looked at the 2012 recruiting cycle for the ACC Atlantic. We do realize that one recruiting class does not make a program. Accordingly, we want to put this class in perspective by looking at ACC Atlantic schools' results over the past five cycles. Five cycles were chosen because these are the only cycles that directly factor into the 2012 teams because players signed in 2008 and redshirted will be seniors this year (and all future classes have eligibility as well).

And....the typical disclaimer:

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles and the data presented here. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on all information available to you. When evaluating a particular player, we encourage you to view film for yourself and form your own opinions about a player. This article shows recruiting data for individual teams. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

The Tables and Figures below/after the jump illustrate the recruiting star per player ranking for each team as well as the players signed data.

Continue reading this post »

We have a couple loose 2012 recruiting items to tie together to compare Clemson's class to others around the ACC and the Southeast. We featured Clemson's class extensively earlier through a recruiting class overview and a "Did we fill our needs?" article. If you have particular questions about how we fared in the '12 cycle I highly encourage you to check out those articles.

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles and the data presented here. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on all information available to you. When evaluating a particular player, we encourage you to view film for yourself and form your own opinions about a player. This article shows recruiting data for individual teams. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

The Table below shows core data for the 2012 teams within the Atlantic Division of the ACC. The charts that follow give a graphical description of the date featured in this table.

We don't generally harp on players signed for a particular cycle unless the number is extremely low or high-though some schools strategically oversign players for various reasons to try and gain an advantage. Long and short, the NCAA allows 85 scholarship players and allows schools to grant 25 scholarships per recruiting cycle. So long a coach stays within these boundaries, he can utilize his resources in any fashion. We believe there is merit in consistently getting a minimal number of players at a couple positions but also understand there will be some variability in numbers signed based on scholarships and talent available. We also, though, understand that teams who consistently weed out the weaker players annually have more scholarships to give. Thus, while this statistic is not an end-all-be-all, it does serve some purpose particularly when you look at teams who are routine winners. Thus, high signing numbers indicate (A) oversigning, (B) reaction to the environment, (C) an unusual event-i.e., Clemson's 2009 class was small because of a coaching change, thus future class sizes had more scholarships to give, or (D) turnover within the football roster. From the data above, you can clearly see that Clemson is right at the average by signing 20 this cycle. (FYI, the Clemson-excluded average class size is 20.4)

The per player star rating data gives us different information. Average star rating generally shows the quality talent a team pulls. Here you notice that Clemson is significantly better than all other ACC schools sans FSU. Florida State had a monster class and Clemson did pretty well as well, so there are really no surprises there. The other schools averaged between 2.66 and 2.83 stars per player-well below Clemson's 3.4 stars per player average.

In short, this picture is very familiar. Clemson and FSU routinely out recruit other ACC Atlantic schools on a star per player basis. Both schools are near the middle statistically in players per class. My opinion is that Clemson brought in a more talented class than the rest of the division sans FSU based on these numbers. As we all know, the end result of this recruiting will be apparent in four years and will be dictated by more than players' talent coming out of high school.

Due to AT&T's inability to shore up network issues, this Sunday/Monday thoughts is clearly delayed. I apologize and tried to explain to ATT folks overseas how important getting online was-to no avail. Better late than never, though, so here we go.

We were very pleased to see that TDP woke up and took a call from the UGa athletics department. The result was a commitment to play the home and home with Georgia. Fantastic news. I wish to hell, though, that these two universities could come together and agree to play every year. I know that is greedy but we really should play the Dawgs annually.

Spring practice has produced little surprises for me. Whatever you hear out of Dabo-per usual-we recommend you ignore or filter significantly. We knew that Clemson's offensive and defensive lines would have issues and there is no shock at the concern out of the coaching staff. Venables appears to be slowly implementing his style but the thin depth up front really has reared its ugly head now and will be an issue this fall. They will sugar-coat it in the spring, but there is no way to hide the issues we have up front (on both sides of the football) once the games start in September. As predicted, Blanks will be the nickel and is head and shoulders ahead of the other freshmen. Expect to see a lot out of him this fall as he will be too good not to play and is turning heads as a jam up 5^th DB.

Who isn't excited about some golf? Tiger is playing well as is Phil, Rory, Hunter, and a gang of Clemson golfers. Per an email received through another SBN site, former/current CU golfers Byrd, Mills, Glover, and Stanley will be in the field this week. The weather should be jam-up and the players look to be ready to make this year's Masters a damn good one. It has been quite some time since there was this much commotion about the field at Augusta.

Continue reading this post »

This article takes a backseat to the Clemson baseball information that comes about on most Sunday afternoons, so "Sunday Thoughts" will be a Monday activity through the next couple months. I'll go ahead and praise Mr. Woods golf performance then move along as follows (as I stated weeks ago, this year's tournament in Augusta should be epic).

Yesterday I chatted with STS reader PabstTiger about many items and I want to highlight this talk today. The first and most important portion of this discussion was the selfless donation made to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is the following (per the website):

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

PabstTiger donated 24" of his hair to this cause and will positively impact someone's life because of this act. While we do not showcase all the great acts that we or our readers are involved with, we are cognizant of the great things that are done and encourage everyone to help others as you see fit. We know that many folks are involved with great caused an I'll encourage you to discuss these items in the comments section of this article.

The Clemson item that PabstTiger discussed involved focus. Today's Clemson improvement chat evolves into themes from Jim Collin's fantastic read Good to Great. The initial statements I hear from Clemson fan on "the street" revolve around Clemson's historical success against our in-state rival. While those victories should not be ignored, we all need to come together with a new vision and new expectations that are greater than a simple victory over South Carolina. While we should expect wins out of our team against these folks, we need to expect more.

This site was established for one reason. DR. B AND I ARE FOCUSED ON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. This whole site is around because we think that Clemson has all base items to win the crystal football and we can do so with the resources Clemson offers. We want to present all items so that everyone has a clear (non-orange tinged sunglass look) at what is going on with our Alma Mater and how we can improve. The first step in our program's improvement is for all the Clemson fans to quit making excuses and say "Damnit, we need to win a National Championship."

Before I get too far into this discussion, I'll tell you my personal preference that resides after winning the grand prize.

(1) Beat Georgia-Beat Georgia's damn ass...if you are a Clemson fan you hate Georgia, period. We need to play them every year, end of conversation.

(2) Win the ACC-we own the trophy though there was a long stretch where we wondered if it would ever come back to Pickens County. That thing should rotate between Clemson and Tallahassee then make the occasional appearance in Blacksburg. Historically, Clemson (then FSU) was ACC football and Clemson has to make itself a perennial player to win big consistently.

(3) Beat South Carolina-I am sick and tired of hearing Cockfan talk trash to me. Yes the football team is much better than five years ago but the number of bandwagon fans and their obnoxiousness is exponentially higher than half a decade ago.

Continue reading this post »

We compared Clemson's AD budget to other ACC foes earlier and feel that we need to discuss how our athletics department compares to those in the SEC. I'll warn you, the information that you are about to divulge is fairly staggering. The schools we compare both make a lot of money and spend a lot of money too. Again, if you are interested in the nuts and bolts behind the CU/IPTAY budgets, we discussed them earlier and they can be found here and direct information used below is shown in the first link.

A year ago we compared Clemson to SEC schools over a lengthy time period as shown here. As discussed in the ACC comparison, information for the previous SEC article was attained from www.usatoday.com. USA Today has not appeared to update data since our article last season so all information seen below was attained from http://ope.ed.gov. If USA Today does update their database, I will try to look at their data and compare it to the data shown below and identify differences to create continuity and give a year over year apples to apples comparison. The bottom line numbers shown below, though, are consistent with those from the USA Today data though the presented granularity is different and, in some instances, not as fine.

Further, the data shown below are provided by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education and collected through a database that "consists of athletics data that are submitted annually as required by the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA)" (per their website).

These budgetary numbers are comprised of operational expenses such as salaries, student aid, operational expenses, and recruiting costs. Revenues were fairly vague and include miscellaneous items. We suspect there are programs out there who boast their reported earnings by claiming various donations and such. Again, our article earlier this month featuring the CUAD/IPTAY numbers do give more specifics on CU's numbers.

We quickly point out here, like in previous posts, that these numbers do not directly indicate failure or success. You cannot simply throw money at an item to achieve results. Success comes from successful planning and implementation though having more resources should enable a program to more easily attain success.

Below is the mean and median data for all SEC schools' overall budget and how it compares to Clemson's.

You don't have to be a math-wiz to understand that CU is far, far behind the SEC schools' numbers in each of these categories as reported by the institutions. Below is how Clemson compared to the individual schools through overall budgetary metrics.

As you probably picked up, Clemson was dwarfed by all schools sans the two from Mississippi and Vanderbilt in overall revenue and expenses. Clemson, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee were the only schools in this survey whose AD profit did not exceed $1 million on the year. Alabama's reporting showed their AD a staggering $31+ million in the black while the other schools profited between $3 and $12 million during the sample time frame.

Continue reading this post »

Again, we will showcase how Clemson's Athletics Department's revenues, expenses, and profits compare to others around the conference. We looked at the CUAD/IPTAY budget earlier this month. Last year we compared the ACC member universities' operational budgets from '04-'05 to '09-'10, so use this link as a reference moving forward. I'll point out that the information for that article was attained from www.usatoday.com. USA Today has not appeared to update data since our article last season so all information seen below was attained from http://ope.ed.gov. If USA Today does update their database, I will try to look at their data and compare it to the data shown below and identify differences to create continuity and give a year over year apples to apples comparison. The bottom line numbers shown below, though, are consistent with those from the USA Today data though the presented granularity is different and, in some instances, not as fine.

Further, the data shown below are provided by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education and collected through a database that "consists of athletics data that are submitted annually as required by the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA)" (per their website).

These budgetary numbers are comprised of operational expenses such as salaries, student aid, operational expenses, and recruiting costs. Revenues were fairly vague and include miscellaneous items. We suspect there are programs out there who boast their reported earnings by claiming various donations and such. Again, our article earlier this month featuring the CUAD/IPTAY numbers do give more specifics on CU's numbers.

We quickly point out here, like in previous posts, that these numbers do not directly indicate failure or success. You cannot simply throw money at an item to achieve results. Success comes from successful planning and implementation though having more resources should enable a program to more easily attain success.

We'll begin with Clemson's numbers. Here is a general breakdown that focuses on football, basketball, then other sports while illustrating how men's teams compare to the women's

Other granular information such as coaching coasts, recruiting, student aid, etc...can be found below.

So how does this compare to the rest of the ACC? Below is revenue/expense data shown graphically then distilled into one chart.

Continue reading this post »

Our Tigers finished up the initial portion of Spring drills last Wednesday. The team takes ten days off for Spring Break. We need more of this piss and vinegar (and bitchslap) on the team:

However, here is some footage of Wednesday's session courtesy www.clemsontigers.com.

As we always discuss around here, don't take too much from anything you hear out of the football program in March/April as these are simply teaching sessions not game preps. I will say, though, that my concern up front has not and will not be quelled until September. I am concerned with the performance and reviews of Shatley. I am not upset that he moved positions and is making an impact on the offensive line but am concerned that (A) the staff had him in the wrong position for quite some time and (B) the guys he is competing with are quickly getting passed by a guy who has not played on the offensive side of the ball at Clemson. The last point is most discouraging as I expected Shatley would need all of the Spring to work on technique and possibly press in the fall because the other guys were better/had further progressed.

For those who purchase your duckets through Clemson, the University released its ticket pricing earlier in the week. A season book retails at $320 ($11 more than last year) and individual game sales are as follows: $35 for Ball State and Furman, $50 for Maryland and the Textile Bowl, $55 for GTech, $65 for VTech, and $75 for the Gamecocks. I sure as hell hope Clemson shows up against USC because 75 bucks is way too much to watch this team get manhandled by the school out of Columbia for another game.

Along the same lines, the University also released its designation for each game. The ones that stick out to me are Hall of Fame Day against GaTech, Military App. Day with VaTech, and Homecoming vs. Maryland. They really should have lobbied to get Va Tech and Military appreciation day later in the year to assure Coach Dabo can rock the sweatshirt/fatigue pants combo. Since the game is on Oct. 20, there is a potential for warm weather which means the Sweatshirt may have to kick it in a camo/T-shirt look. A night game would solve all these concerns but we haven't hosted many night games lately.

Here is the official Clemson University release (courtesy www.clemsontigers.com):

I still don't know how to get in touch with Swofford. You would think that little weasel would man up and tell everyone why his university gets preferential treatment and why he wasn't raising all kinds of hell for the other ACC institutions to slap additional repercussions on a school whose actions were simply out of control. That jackleg had the nerve to call together all member institutions sans Clemson and seek an anonymous vote to kick Clemson square in the balls following the NCAA's decision back in the early ‘80's. I want the same for North Carolina. I want the ACC to name them a rogue university and their football transgressions an embarrassment to the conference. I then want Swofford to crucify his Tarheels in the same fashion he screwed our Tigers. Kick them while they are down just like you kicked Clemson or man up and tell us why it was alright to throw Clemson under the bus and not do the same for the Tarheels. Nothing like the bullshit that is "ACC Fairness to all Member Institutions."

Along the same lines of ACC member institutions who are clearly better than their peers, wasn't it great watching Duke get beaten by Lehigh. Yes, I know our team didn't even make the tournament but seeing the Rat lose a first round game as a two seed is pretty gratifying. You get this type of in-conference hate when the powers that be clearly tell you that since your school isn't located on Tobacco Road, you are a piece of crap...well, that and I don't think anyone who isn't a Duke fan can actually stand those rascals.

A couple months ago Clemson played in the Orange Bowl against West Virginia. We did not take the time to evaluate how this squad’s recruited talent compared to our Clemson Tigers at game time and have been requested to supply this info. Before we get into the analysis, I’ll point out that I have taken the depth charts for both teams DIRECTLY from the Clemson website (www.clemsontigers.com) within the "2012 Orange Bowl Guide" that was placed on the site back in January. I will go ahead and tell you that because of injuries and Monday depth chart adjustments, some items here may end up a little out of place come game time so, in an effort to maintain consistency, I’ll use both teams’ depth charts as presented on the official Clemson Athletics website.

We should not have to tell you this, but some folks debate what to take from these articles. We expect you, the reader, to form an opinion of your own. Often we will give you our take on things, but you should independently form your own thoughts based on information out there. This article shows recruiting data for the depth chart roster as referenced above. It does not weigh experience nor does it evaluate coaching, preparation, etc... We think this is an interesting and valuable tool that is useful in overall program evaluation because there is a link between these star ratings and other metrics in both college football and the NFL.

Keep in mind as you look through this data that only players who were officially signed were given a "Star Rating". Players who were not signed could not be quantitatively assessed a recruiting rating. Such players get a "NA" rating and were not included in the averaged data. Again, all data was attained from www.Scout.com and www.Rivals.com. A player whose Scout/Rivals data was not available but was signed was assigned a "NR". We picked carefully through the data and believe all is correct. However, if we've overlooked an item we apologize in advance and ask that you point it out so that we can make the correction in our database.

We all know what happened in the game, so I won't rant and rave again here but do encourage you to share your thoughts.

Figure 1 and Table I both show an average of offensive players, defensive players, and specialist listed on the two-deep roster. Tables II through IV show the two-deep roster used for analysis along with the recruiting ratings for each player on the roster.

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It is tournament basketball time and for the first time in quite some time, our Clemson Tigers are not a part of this year’s Big Dance. We have a lot to improve upon moving forward if Clemson is to get back to the tournament next season. This was a tough year for our basketball program but I will say I did see improvement over the course of the year—though this should not be a surprising because of the very, very slow start this team endured prior to ACC play.

The biggest surprises that I saw this week were Florida State and Vanderbilt’s surprise conference titles. I thought there was no way that FSU could beat Duke and North Carolina in consecutive days. I did not think there was an SEC team out there that could defeat Kentucky, period. I guess this goes to show you that anything can happen in tournament basketball and shows that this really is an exciting time in college sports. We’ll see who scores the big upsets in the first couple rounds.

Overall, we’ll continue to watch the basketball and move forward throughout Clemson football spring practice. In case you, like the rest of us, are jonesing for some football, here is the latest video update from Clemson chronicling the progression towards Fall 2012.

Here is an overview of Clemson's Pro Day as well

Spring is always a great time—particularly following Daylight Savings Time. It is baseball time which means our Tigers are back into conference play and the Braves will be kicking their regular season off soon. We also get the opportunity to mix in nine holes after work in addition to watching the great golf on television. I run my mouth about the PGA and teeing it up at the local track and such talk can only intensify with the warmer weather and bigger professional tournaments forthcoming.

I was not previously aware of the hatred between the "U" fans and Florida State. After chatting with a Miami fan for about a half hour Friday evening, he immediately went to his car and returned and handed out a couple custom tee shirts blasting Florida State. I cannot reprint what the shirts said or show pictures of these items because they would violate all kinds of site rules but trust me when I say these were pretty rough. Maybe Miami fan just flat out gets after it or maybe the rivalry there is rougher than I previously thought.

We, like everyone else, lauded the efforts made by Chad Morris and the Clemson offensive staff over the course of the 2011 season. Now we want to further examine outcomes of the Tigers' drives throughout the season, show how Clemson performed in redzone situations, and better understand durations within each drive.. We'll begin with unfiltered overall stats for the season. These items do not account for individual game conditions nor opponent-each of which impacted gameplay. All data shown below was originally attained from www.clemsontigers.com.

Here is a drive overview taking into account all drives from the opening against Troy to the conclusion of the Orange Bowl.

Here is the distribution of results:

What you probably noticed was that Clemson either put the ball in the endzone or attempted a field goal on over 43% of the drives on the season, either turned the ball over or failed to convert on a 4^th down attempt 16.4% of drives, and had a drive end on a punt 35.4% of the time. Clemson was able to score a TD or kick a field goal on nearly 85% of drives that culminated in the redzone. Approximately 11.5% of these drives ended via turnover or on downs.

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