Who Plays and Who Doesnt?
by DrB on Aug 26, 2011 8:33 AM EDT
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PrintThings became a bit clearer today out of camp with the announcement of some redshirts for the season, but I think we should approach this with a healthy amount of skepticism. They have not shown us that they won't waste a year for the player by giving him a pittance of snaps. Darius Robinson and Justin Parker both received ~70 snaps or so last year, which I consider largely a waste of a year for a player to the longer-term detriment of the team.
- Dabo has said that Adam Humphries will avoid a RS at WR. With Peake and Bryant both getting snaps, along with Watkins, Jones, Hopkins, Craig, and McNeal playing, along with the common use of a TE (both Allen and Ford) as one flexed-out TE, in a 3-wide set, just how are they going to get Adam Humphries the ~150 snaps to make a development year worthwhile? Seckinger is the only one to take the RS, and we think he grows into another Brandon Ford someday....this along with the fact that we have Hopper coming in. The offense will only get 80 snaps per game when its clicking. Do we need that many receivers to rep in practice?
- Eric MacLain will redshirt, with Ford and Allen as the pass threats ahead of him. Darrell Smith has been praised as a blocker, and we still have Traylor and Sam Cooper. This one is a no-brainer and good idea.
- Its not announced as definite, but Tony McNeal will take the RS year. Morgan Roberts is one I might leave the RS off of so I don't have to have him 5 years on scholarship. Cole Stoudt will be the #2.
- Colton Walls and Lateek Townsend are taking the RS. B.J. Goodson is on the bubble, but the smart move is to RS him too if he's only getting Justin Parker-numbers of snaps this year. Steward and Anthony will play.
- SS Robert Smith is likely to avoid RS'ing just because of depth at that position. Garry Peters is also likely to compete at FS/SS.
- DeShawn Williams is likely to avoid RS at DT, and eventually will take the 0/1-technique spot behind Thompson and Shatley. I could see him as a guy who you could flip/flop between the nose and the 3-tech, while Shatley is a nose all the way. Grady Jarrett I would give the RS to change his body composition. I think playing Jarrett would be a declaration that Tra Thomas and Josh Watson are not gonna get it done. Maybank will RS to lose jello, and Rod Byers needs the year of development too.
- Joe Gore will RS, but for medical reasons. He'll be at OT eventually. Shaq Anthony's pass blocking stood out on his HS film, and we hear that has been the same thus far, but his run blocking and strength need to be elevated and he'll RS. Spencer Region will RS for the same reasons Jarrett and Maybank should.
- Ryan Norton is a unique case where we need another C badly, and need Cloy to be able to spell others at G. I always think an OL should get a RS, but we may have little choice but play him.
- Cortez Davis will very likely RS, and I think he put some muscle on and ends up at FS next spring.
- Ammon Lakip's RS totally depends on Catanzaro's performance. Benton can't do it, he's not accurate enough.
- It was announced that the Long-snapper is again on scholarship. We do not know for sure who went off to give him that, because by our count we were already at 85. I suspect Kantrell Brown, but do not know for sure.
- Its obvious that Sammy Watkins will play, but why is Dabo talking about him like he's been anointed already? Tell me he's the next Spiller after we see him do something. You don't have to pimp him up before he's ever seen the field Dabo.
What do you think of the decisions at key positions?
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Watkins.
I am sick and tired of Dabo talking about players like this in the media. A coach should never talk about a player the way he has about Watkins, much less a freshman that has not even been on the field yet. Hell, talk like that is saved for ring of honor ceremonies. It is a double edged sword talking about your stars like that: 1) they get complacent and think they have already arrived 2) the teammates hear and read all these quotes and human emotion/jealousy creeps into the mindset of players. It is almost like Dabo is still trying to recruit the kid. I am a firm believer that you need to be harder on the better/more gifted players and that will increase everyone’s work ethic.
WR
I also heard Dabo’s high praise for Watkins and while I dearly hope that it is true the fact remains that until we actually see it during game time….well we also heard that Catman was perfect in practicve last year as well….Moving along from that scary thought I still can’t understand the Humphries move. IF the kid is that good than we got blessed with an under the radar player and should be careful with him. I just don’t see the snaps. Unless he’s good enough to take the 2 deep from either Craig, McNeal, or eventually Brown then a RS is absoultly neccessary. Do you think he’s good enough to move into the 2 deep and take it from an upper classman? If that’s the case then I’m okay with it.
Also about B.J Goodson, Steele doens’t over hype poeple often. This being the case, do you think that he might have a reason for not RS him? Especially with the talent in front of him?
Parker
I know it’s a bit reckless to waste a year of a kid’s eligibility, but any chance Parker avoiding the red-shirt last year was related to the recruitment of Anthony and Steward? Either to encourage them to sign or because they predicted limited playing time a few years down the line?
No, the defensive staff most likely thought he was further along than he really was and/or that he would be able to pick up enough during the season to get significant snaps. That never happened and, hence, 57 defensive snaps—all of them against Wake, Presbyterian, Maryland, and N. Texas and no more than 18 in a single game.
Further, there was no certainty that we would land the LB class that we got, especially this time last year when the decision to not redshirt Parker was made.
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watkins and Dabo
I am not a sunshine pumper however I am not a negative nancy either. I think it is great Watkins is getting praise. On one hand we want our veteran recievers to step up and we love when Morris challenges them, but when Dabo praises a kid for doing the right thing as a freshman i.e. work ethic, film study, and other tangibles you can gather just from practice everyone is bashing him? C’mon man. He is excited to have a tough freshman just as I would and I would expect big things from him if I was Dabo. Plus if you give all this praise to him early and he can have two really good gamese against Troy and Wofford then It will be harder for Auburn and FSU to focus on Hopkins like they did towards the end of last year.
I dont see anyone "bashing" Watkins.
I dont like overhyping guys before they touch the field, period.
And they didnt focus on Hopkins last year, they didnt have to. He didnt get bracket coverage any more than Allen did. Parker just sucked.
Bashing?
I didn’t say bashing. Anyway, all this can be said during practice if it is to motivate the veteran recievers. IMO putting these expectations on Watkins will do nothing but put more pressure on an 18 year old kid. I think everyone expects big things from him, but the things Dabo are saying to the media does absolutely NO good. I have heard great things about Watkins like everybody, but I worry that the sweatshirt has a history of pumping sunshine with other players (Parker) and it comes back to bite him in the ass. As far as focusing on Hopkins, I don’t think they focused on any reciever as long as Parker was back there throwing across his body. Oh yeah, last year Parker was supposedly a NFL caliber QB.
Honestly not sure this is totally fair comparison...
Parker actually looked pretty good IMO prior to taking the helmet shot to the ribs in the Auburn game. After that he was playing scared and had checked out on that team.
Not saying I agree with Dabo hyping players at all or that he wasn’t embellishing but prior to the season Parker had the potential to be a damn good QB, but as many of us feared he was not committed and was in no way a leader.
Parker always had arm strength
But he was 6’ with shoes on. It’s tough to make it to the NFL at that height. Plus, in two year he never showed the ability to read a defense and work through his progressions.
I agree
No way in hell was Parker NFL material, but I do think he was capable of being a playmaker with weapons around him. In a way I was glad he and the team imploded. Couldn’t have hurt replacing coaches and for a second I thought Dabo had learned a lesson about hyping players, apparently the second part wasn’t true…
On Humphries...
The reason I see them not redshirting Adam Humphries is 30% on talent, 30% on what Tyler Grisham did at Clemson, and 40% because someone much wiser than Dabo knows how highly-touted Clemson receivers can choke during a season. Even if him playing wastes a good opportunity to redshirt, the coaching staff knows they must have consistency…no matter the “weapons” we have at wide out. Like the writer, I agree there are only so many plays in a season (900-960 max) and with run first, I don’t see where we get the ball to Humphries that many times.
by tigerfromtheridge on Aug 26, 2011 10:38 AM EDT reply actions
Humphries has had a pretty good camp. There are two reasons that the staff is going to RS him. First is that this kid can catch the ball w/o dropping it. When we go 4 wide + a TE, imaging the following . Hopkins, Watkins, Peake, Allen, and Humphries. Who’s the worst cover guy going to be on? Yep, you got it. Throw to Humphries right at the 1st down marker. The kid’s got hands and can do what you tell him to do… namely move the chains… possession guy all the way. The 2nd reason is that if you don’t RS him, you only have him 4 years… he’s not going to put on 30lbs of muscle or grow another 2 inches or get much faster. It’s just now worth the extra year of scholly and he will be plenty good by his junior and senior year.
With the amount of motion in this system, I don't think you can be assured they
put the worst cover man on Humphries at all.
That really only works with opponents that play M2M all the time, and even then when you motion in the backfield this much, they get exploited in matchup problems more often.
Just Dabo Being Dabo
Its pretty disappointing to me that he’s still doing this. I had hoped he had “gotten wiser.” He doesn’t have to say this in public. We’ll all see if the guy can play. Dabo can pat his head and tell him he’s great behind closed doors if he wants.
These kind of comments can really make him look clueless later on and help justify criticism. As an example of that, check out last year’s hype. Notice that the date is late September and how many times he says the WRs are making “big plays.”
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/sep/29/widening-the-search/
"If I had one thing that I'd want in a football team it would be toughness."
-Danny Ford
I agree with yall, but will wait to see what actually happens.
First, there is no sense in raising the expectations on Watkins like that. Poor kid. What does he have to do to live up to those comments? I hope he does, but I just don’t think he needs the added pressure.
Second, if Humphries is that good, then why don’t they redshirt Bryant? You wonder how these guys will get enough snaps, but if we run 80 plays a game and the starters only get half of those, (I think I read where a starting reciever would only get about 45 snaps), then you will probably play a lot of guys at that position. Also, maybe he is playing because they don’t want him on schalrship for five years? It is entirely possible that he is great at catching the ball, running routes, and doing what he is told to do, but does not have much upside. I just don’t know.
Third, I think Parker played because they promised him he would during the recruiting process.
"Clemson is coming!" - Stephone Anthony
by Tigerplowboy on Aug 26, 2011 12:33 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
The more I think about it, the more I think that is the case.
I just don’t see him having much upside. Dabo is just trying to sugar coat the situation.
"Clemson is coming!" - Stephone Anthony
by Tigerplowboy on Aug 26, 2011 8:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Would Humphries even be wiling to take a red shirt, or would he bolt?
If they make him take a red shirt, what does his future look like at Clemson? He falls behind his peers and maybe becomes a starter his senior year— or maybe his junior year if he’s lucky? I wonder if he’d stick around or just transfer. Seems like that probably factors into the decision.
All I am saying is other coaches hype of freshman. The two most prominent examples I remember in the past years is Julio Jones – Nick Saban and AJ Green and Richt….. I honestly could care less. I don’t think it is something we should harp on either way…..I could care less also if Dabo sounds clueless to the media and us. If he wins football games he can wear a helmet around campus and lick windows for all I care. Just win baby win.
Did anyone see USAToday's college preview section in their paper today?
I read it but just chuckled and put it down the moment I saw that “Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper look to provide a good running game”. LOL I think they also thought we’d be 4th best in the Atlantic Division (going off memory here for both things).
Also, if Benton can’t do anything why are we wasting a scholarship on him? I too question the decision on Humphries at WR. We have a real glut of talent there, it’d be nice to spread it out just a little so we don’t lose it all at once, and can’t use them all at once, on a consistent enough basis.
Question?
Is the ability to redshirt forfeited after a player plays one snap of football? I assume so but i’m not sure. I cant see wasting a year of eligibility if Humphries isnt going to see the field.
by PennTiger on Aug 26, 2011 1:55 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Not necessarily
You can play a certain number of snaps (not sure how many) and still get a medical redshirt.
Yes, other than medical situations.
In a medical situation, he has to have been in no more than 40% of the games played that season.
So basically if he’s hurt before game 4, he can apply for a medical exemption.
Mum's the word
I like Dabo’s spirit, but wish he would become more like Saban or Belichick when dealing with the media. Just be a total asshole to them. Don’t tell them anything they want to hear, and especially don’t let them hear anything along the lines of buiding up an unproven player.
I’m glad he’s excited about Watkins, but a simple: “He’s coming along real well” would suffice…at this pace, Watkins’ number is going to be retired during the First Friday parade next week.
Remember HS kicks from the 40
Benton can kick it far enough from our spot and gets good enough hangtime, plus he’s pretty consistent with it.
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