Clemson accepts commitment from LB Colton Walls
by DrB on Jul 14, 2010 3:48 PM EDT
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PrintColton Walls, a 6'2 225lb MLB from Latin HS in Charlotte NC, son of former Carolina Panther Wesley Walls, has been offered and committed to Clemson today. He is Clemson's 16th commitment (and first LB) and had official offers from Memphis and Duke, with interest from UNC and Vandy. He was recruited by Dan Pearman with Kevin Steele, who coached for the Panthers while Wesley was in his heyday at TE.
From looking at his film though, I see nothing that would cause me to offer. It is just OK. He does not have great speed (4.7 40), but seems to read his keys properly. His size is good and he has good strength so he gets off blocks fine. Technique in pass drops is average and needs work. I will point out that LB film is tougher to gauge in a few minutes than is lineman film.
There is no one to my knowledge at this HS we are going for that is a bigger name either.
Walls had 115 tackles and 7 sacks last season as they won the state championship.
We should take 3 or 4 LBs in this class, and 21-23 signees overall, and this one is in my opinion a waste of a scholarship. They could've done better here and this is as bad a take as Adam Humphries.
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Latin HS is in some NC subdivision
looks private to me, not competing with the big boys of 4A, perhaps someone else can fill me in?
Charlotte Latin is in the NCISAA. Play teams like Charlotte Christian and Charlotte Country Day. Strong conference for a private school. Beat Christian in the State Championship who had 3 linebackers going D1 (Ohio State, UNC, Duke). He will be just fine, he’s a dedicated young man to say the least.
Considering the attrition we always seem to have at LB
And the ones that don’t pan out, maybe we are lucky to get anyone who is willing to sign.
Maybe he is a “project” player. Or maybe they are just scrambling to get some LBs because they know somethign we don’t.
Hes not a fallback, they actually want this guy.
you offer the fallback guys verbally and then wratchet it up late in December when someone doesnt go your way. You don’t take guys like this in July.
We’re still in it with Townsend, Anthony and AJ Johnson. If youre in a numbers crunch, then this one makes no sense at all to take.
You're still in it with Steward as well
he thinks he will start.
This team will improve in '10... on its 16-16 conference record over the last 4 years.... after losing 20 games in the last 4 years... after having the 7th worst major-conference defense... after not even winning its own division in the ACC in the last 4.
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he probably will
i don’t see anyone on our roster thats going to keep him from stepping in right away
by Tigershine88 on Jul 19, 2010 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions
NFL genes and smart enough to get an offer from Duke?
I’m sure the coaches see something. I have a feeling this kid will surprise everyone.
Duke has been changing how they recruit the guys
who you wouldnt call smart. That is almost a non-issue.
Cut seems to be making more of an impression on the higher-ups in the Duke AD when it comes to squeezing in less-academically gifted players.
Colton
Full disclosure here, my best friend is Jay Spence a former UNC backup quarterback that I played with. His little brother Sam Spence is the quarterback of Latin and Colton’s best friend. I’ve been to almost every Latin game since Sam took over as the starting quarterback and have gotten to know Colton from being around the Spence household.
He’s a great kid. Works hard in the weightroom, practice field and is what I like to term “a football guy.” He’s a linebacker first and an athlete second, gets downhill after the ball and brings his hips.
The numbers you’re hitting on re: Height/weight/speed are crucial and I think he’s a bit short but he’ll fill out into that 235-245ish range given his commitment to weights in the last year plus. He’s not going to wow you with 40 times but he’ll get to the football.
As a best and worst case scenario this is how I view it:
Colton can take a redshirt season, be a serious fixture on special teams and in his final 2 seasons be a contributor in the rotation at LB as a worst case.
Best case he plays special teams early, breaks the starting rotation and is a Mark Paschal (UNC) type of heady, reliable linebacker.
He’s not going to be Rolando McClain or Rey Maualuga but he’s bigger than Cody Grimm from VT and should be better equipped.
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 7:52 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
No, not saying that at all
I wasn’t implying that all. But of the 4 others how many will you land vs landing at least one guy for sure and hoping to split those other 4 guys.
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions
True, we wont land all 4.
At best I’m hoping for two, perhaps 3 of them. Townsend I think, and Nicholson.
But do you not agree that this is a Dec/Jan take, rather than a July take?
On the surface yes
I was surprised he committed this early period. I thought he was waiting on Ole Miss and UNC to offer quite honestly and to see what happened over the season. For Clemson to offer this early it means:
1) they really like him and didn’t want other schools to get into play
2) they don’t have a good feeling about the other guys, either academic or commitment-wise
3) some combination of those two that made Dabo/Steele make the early offer
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions
All indications point to #1
We remain in good standing with Townsend (final 5, former commit), lead for Steward, and are top 2 for Nicholson. Anthony I feel is SEC-bound.
Its intriguging to me that an Ole Miss legacy does not even get a token verbal offer.
More to it than that
Less of a snub than you suspect. Lots of layers to that story.
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions
As for #1
If they like him then that’s a good thing. Steele’s a smart man and if he sees something he likes or wants to work with I’d trust it.
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree that this makes no sense to me either given what we know about Walls and our recruiting situation right now. However, I don’t think Steele is a fool. I don’t think Dabo Swinney is a fool either. So when you see smart people do foolish things, one of a couple of things are going on. There is information that you don’t have and these folks are making the correct decision or these people (who know more about football than any of us ever will and whose jobs literally depend on how these kids perform) are making a stupid mistake. Which of these is more likely? We’ll know in time.
Give him a chance.
The coaches must think he can play. So what if he red shirts and doesn’t play until he is a junior. If he develops, and contributes, it is a good offer. If you want to criticize someone, pick on some of the 4 and 5 star guys who just went through the motions at Clemson. Ricky Sapp and Rendrick Taylor come to mind. You can judge the offer after the players career. There are plenty of guys in the NFL who didn’t start until their junior or senior year in college. In fact, some guys go the NFL and never start in college. It seems that the Clemson fans want to criticize first. In fact, Ard, Williams and Bartow at TI are always negative and encourage a negative attitude with the fans. I don’t get it. If you are a fan, then act like one and encourage the recruits, players and coaches. If they don’t work out, you can be critical later.
I'll hold you to that big man.
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Might be right but I just disagree friend haha
http://inthebleachers.net
by InTheBleachers on Jul 15, 2010 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Give him a chance.
We have had some excellent players who did not have a lot of stars. Michael Palmer comes to mind.
Some of you probably hated the offers to Chris Hairston and Palmer from the 2006 class, both non rated 2 stars. We would not have won the Atlantic last year without them both. A 2 star that is coachable, willing to work hard may be a much more productive player over 5 years than a 4 star that only stays 3 years.
I trust the coaching staff to evaluate talent more than I trust the national star ratings.
I didnt even mention any star rating, I ignore those.
I rated his film as I watched it, and he doesnt even dominate relatively weak private school competition.
stars in the eyes.
2 star players from
2007: Brandon Maye, Chad Diehl
2008: Matt Skinner
All are now starters for our Clemson Tigers!
Matt skinner is a long snapper
Brandon Maye lost his starting job to a redshirt freshman, has serious competition at Will and isnt even listed as the starter there.
Diehl is a blocker with no demonstration of passing skills or running skills. At best Walls is his replacement.
And as i said, we dont put significant stock in the star rating. Jarrett is a 2-star who should be much higher.
Diamonds in the rough
I have not looked at his film so I’m just speaking in general terms. I think it is fine to look for diamonds in the rough in January. But I think Clemson should be trying for Johnson, Steward, Townsend, and Anthony first, with a back up plan to sign guys like Walls in January if they miss out on the big dogs.
Maybe he was not dominate
But he was not dominated either!
Walls had 115 tackles and 7 sacks last season as they won the state championship.
We will see what happens.
If he turns out to be another Chad Diehl then I say it was not a waste of a scholarship. Also, it is not as though he does not have good bloodlines.
There is something in these Hills!
If you had any knowledge of Charlotte football, I would maybe listen to you, but the fact of the matter is that you do not. Latin has won 4 of the last 5 State Championships. They finished 8 in the state last year in all divisions and 3 years ago finished 1 in the state ahead of both Independence and Butler (The preseason #1 this coming year). Cut the kid some slack, he’s going to work to contribute, I’d be optimistic.
Finished 1st in the state
for all divisions?
Does NC have an inter-divisional playoff, or was this just a poll?
If just a poll, I gotta call BS on whether a school that size could really be that good.
I mean, I’m just relaying what I read and have seen. I’m just trying to point out that he’s not coming from a push-over type of conference like most private school divisions. However, I can’t argue if you think his film is weak or not, I haven’t seen it. Clemson obviously thinks that his ideal-ish size, background, and work ethic will build him into a college level LB or FB. I do agree that this is really strange that they offered a player of his caliber so early. Not saying that he’s bad by any means, he’s just no mind blower.
Um... this kid couldn't even start for many of the best programs in Florida
This team will improve in '10... on its 16-16 conference record over the last 4 years.... after losing 20 games in the last 4 years... after having the 7th worst major-conference defense... after not even winning its own division in the ACC in the last 4.
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Dr B
Tell us how much football you played? U finished Clemson in ‘03, so you have no kids playing sports. Your comments don’t help Clemson in any way. maybe you can get a job with TI.
You dont have to keep reading them.
If you want someone to pump sunshine no matter what and never question the staff, go read TigerNet.
I think this is the best Clemson site on the internet, and I for one want to hear honest opinions.
That being said, I trust Kevin Steele and Dabo more than anyone on the internet, and believe they know what they are doing. If it turns out they missed on a ton of prospects a few years down the road, then I probably will not trust them very much.
Also, I agree with the poster above that you could have a situation where the staff did not feel good about their chances of landing some of these top flight LB’s such as Steward, Johnson, Townsend, ect. While I REALLy want to sign those guys, I also realize that we better sign at least three LB’s or we will be in trouble.
There is something in these Hills!
by Tigerplowboy on Jul 16, 2010 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
The reason I read this site is because they don’t try to put a positive spin on every angle. Keep it up guys.
Although the rivals rankings are not the end all be all (meaning, you can find a few 2 stars that make an impact) please take a look at the teams at the top of the recruiting rankings and the teams that consistently end up in the top 10. Pulling in 4 and 5 star players are key to being an elite program. And since we are still in it for a number of these elite athletes, I’m not sure why more people are not taking exception with an early offer and commitment from an unknown player with offers from Duke and Memphis?
by ggggmen08 on Jul 16, 2010 7:21 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
We started this website to speak (what we honestly believe) is the truth about Clemson sports. The problems that we have seen over the last few years have been covered up by people wanting to go all Curtis Martin (Keepin’ it Positive) on us. There are both good decisions and bad made by those in charge. We do our best to give our honest opinion(s) on both. While I respect your opinion, part of the reason Clemson athletics—football in particular—have failed is because the fan base refuses to take off the orange glasses and call a spade a spade.
We want Clemson to do well, but will not overlook the facts. That is why we started this site and we will not pump sunshine where we think it is undue. If we are wrong, we have no problm admitting our shortocommings. IF an opinion we have is incorrect, neither Dr. B nor mysef has a proble saying we are wrong and will elaborate on how incorrect we are.
That being said, neither of us has a probem being critical of what is being done by our coaches and administration. I think more objective views are necessary IF we want to win and win big.
Furthermore, we try to be fair and will not hesitate to tell you what is really going on and what we really feel about things.
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<<And since we are still in it for a number of these elite athletes, I’m not sure why more people are not taking exception with an early offer and commitment from an unknown player with offers from Duke and Memphis?>>
We have 16 commitments, we have room for 26 or more depending on how many come in in January. Colton Walls is unknown to you and me but not to the Clemson coaches, they have evaluated him and think he can help the program. One recruit last year was a full back in highschool and is now on the 3 deep for nose guard or defensive tackle. I do not know what they see in them but I trust their evaluation more than rivals or scout or DrB.
I am interested in how this player will do. A 5 year 2 star may do more to than a 3 year 5star. I remember a few recruits with lots of stars that committed but never made it into Clemson. This will be a big recruiting class and most of them will not see playing time next year. The rest will red shirt, few 4 and 5 star players are willing to redshirt.
I also like this site, the articles and discussions.
I think Walls was ready to end the recruiting and if Clemson had not offered him now he would have been at Duke or Mississippi. In the last game of the year the film may not have been impressive but maybe you too little film was seen. The stats are impressive!
“In the state independent schools championship game, Walls had 17 tackles, an interception, a pass broken up that turned into an interception, a blocked punt and a sack.
Hawks said that Walls may be the strongest player ever at Charlotte Latin. Walls bench presses 360 pounds, squats 450 and can power clean 275 pounds five times."
Greenville news.
Not fast enough??
So how fast is fast enough?? a 4.7 40 was the AVERAGE for linebackers at this years’ NFL combine, but not fast enough for a high school senior? Also, I’m not sure what film you’re watching, but this young man is ALWAYS where the ball is, and gets there in a hurry. Sure, he looks like he could use some work in coverage, but he wasn’t asked to do that much in high school. He reminds me of Brian Cushing when he was at Bergen Catholic, but he wasn’t highly recruited, either. Maybe Colton’s lack of melanin is holding him back.
by John Blackburn on Jul 29, 2010 12:51 PM EDT reply actions
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