Bryant locker room speech to incoming freshmen
Recruit - Proj. position at CU - HS - any film - vitals - rankings from Rivals and some of our thoughts after looking at their film.
Justin Parker - OLB - Beaufort HS, SC - 6'3 230, 4.65 40, 4-star OLB - Beaufort HS - #11 in SC. Shrine Bowler. Recorded 142 Tackles, 12 TFL, 2 INTs, 7 Sk, 5 FF as a Senior, 97 tackles as a junior, 65 tackles and intercepted 8 passes as a sophomore. Has excellent range and instincts, really a smart football player on the field and makes lots of plays. Has the physical makeup to play immediately at Clemson. Offered by SC, LSU, UGA, GT among others. Recruited by Dan Brooks.
D.J. Howard - RB - Lincoln HS, AL - 6'0 195lbs, 4.5 40, 3-star RB - #15 player in AL, #40 RB nationally. Runs a 10.8 200m. A back with good foot speed and he keeps his legs moving. He plays hard and lowers that shoulder when he sees someone coming, which I love. Benches 370. Could play at Safety or RB but prefers RB. Had his offer pulled by Auburn late, likely because he visited Clemson secretly. He took a recent visit to Kentucky as well. Recruited by Andre Powell.
Garry Peters - CB - Heritage HS, Georgia -film, film 2 - 6'0 173, 4.5 40, 4-star Cornerback - #27 in GA, #20 nationally. Slated to play Corner but played a lot of WR in HS, so he is a bit raw at CB. Does appear pretty physical though, and changes directions quickly. He'll have to work on technique quite a bit, but CB is a position where a freshman can contribute earlier. Offered by Bama, FSU, UNC, Auburn. Clemson has not signed a 4-star DB from Georgia since Jeff Francoeur. Recruited by Chris Rumph.
Peters is a burner with legitimate 4.5 speed who has a chance to compete for playing time in Clemson’s secondary almost immediately. Because of his speed, he also could see time as a kick returner. Last year, he caught 26 passes for 361 yards and five touchdowns, rushed the ball six times for 146 yards and had nine kick returns for 217 yards.
"They told me that everybody has a fair chance to compete for a spot," he said. "I really believe that I am one of the best out there. So I am going to go in early, work my butt off, and get that job. As soon as school is over here, I am going to go to Clemson and get enrolled in classes and get going." (source)
David Beasley - OG - Carver HS, GA - film - 6'4 287, 3-star OL - #39 player in GA, #22 nationally at Guard - Twice All-State. This guy could contribute earliest of all our OL commitments. He plays to the whistle, and pushes his man all the way down the field. Big and strong and actually moves his feet well. I'm surprised he's not rated higher by the recruiting services, because I really love what I see on his film. Offered by UGA, SC, Miami, Arkansas, Ole Miss, UCLA. Recruited primarily by Charlie Harbison.
Martin Jenkins - CB - Centennial-Roswell HS, GA - film - 5'9" 170, 4.4 40, 3-star CB - #38 cornerback in the nation by ESPN.com - 10.6 100m. Offered by Syracuse. Recruited by Kevin Steele and Harbison.
Jake Nicolopulos - LB - TL Hanna HS, SC - suffered a stroke and will be on a medical hardship waiver. Does not count towards the class scholarship count as such, and will likely never play ball again.
Darius Robinson - CB -Westlake HS, GA - film 1, film 2 - 6'0 170, 4.41 40, 4-star CB - #20 in GA, #16 national CB. -Tall and skinny, with quick feet and he executes the backpedal well. I like his ball instincts from his film. Offered by Miami, Auburn, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Michigan, UCLA, Stanford, Michigan State, and Georgia Tech late. Recruited by Charlie Harbison.
Tavaris Barnes - Strongside DE/DT - First Coast HS, Jacksonville FL - film 1 - 6'5" 250, 4-star DT - #47 player in FL, #29 at his position nationally - 80 tackles with 25TFL and 9 sacks in '09. Barnes said that even though he is listed as 255 pounds right now, he is actually 238 pounds, and that the Tigers will probably let him compete for playing time at strongside defensive end next season while waiting for him to fill out more. Once that happens, he could move back inside to defensive tackle. (source) His pad level appears a little high from his film, but he really has a quick first step and is fast. He really has a motor. Clemson took his commitment from FSU earlier, but he was offered by SC, and UNC. Recruited by Jeff Scott.
Kalon Davis - OG - Chester HS, SC - film (note this film is of currently 2011 commit Tony McNeal, but Davis plays with him at LT). - Already Enrolled. - 6'5" 325lbs 3-star OL - #27 in SC and #34 at his position nationally. ...#30 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN. 1st team All State. Davis reported to Clemson at a whopping 368lbs and will need to be down to the 320-330 range before he plays. Reportedly played soccer at one point, but as slow as he appears on film now, I think any David Bechham comparisons are over. He is big and strong though, and his older film shows that he did have some footwork. Offered by NC State, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Wake Forest, Wisconsin. Recruited by Jeff Scott.
Josh Watson - DT - Hargrave Military Academy -film - Already Enrolled. 6'3 285lb 4-star DT - Reported to Clemson at 238lbs. Plays mostly 2/3-technique DT, quick first step and shoots gaps well in his film. I'd compare him to Trey Tate, and I expect him to play this fall, though unless he puts on a fair bit of weight immediately it could be at End. Offers from Duke, UNC, BC, and FSU, though it was really a race between Duke, UNC, and Clemson. Recruited by Danny Pearman.
Vic Beasley - TE - Adairsville HS, GA - film 1,Live commitment film,film 2 - 6'5" 213, 4.47 40', 3-star Athlete - #37 player in GA, #37 athlete, #16 by ESPN - Offered by Bama, Duke, and ECU as well. He had favored Alabama earlier in the process but when they filled up, he backed away. Clemson held off Auburn to wrap him up. Beasley has the frame to be moved to OLB, though I expect him to stay at TE at least initially due to our lack of depth.120 rushes for 828 yards and seven touchdowns as a RB. Recruited by Billy Napier.
Bashaud Breeland - FS/SS - Allendale-Fairfax HS, SC - 6'1 190, 4.41 40' 3-star Athlete - #15 player in SC, #55 national athlete. Shrine Bowler. Played QB/OLB in HS, but he will be slated to play Safety at CU. He's alot like Joe Craig but a step slower (10.9 200m, state champ in the 400m). Appears very fast on film, takes good angles and gets around blockers, but undersized to play LB in college. Offered by Penn State, Michigan, VT, Tenn, SC. One of the state's fastest players. Recruited by Chris Rumph.
Martavis Bryant - WR - T.L. Hanna HS, SC - film - 6'4" 190, 4.4 40', 4 star WR - #10 WR and #6 player in SC, #84 in Rivals 100 - The headliner of the class with DeAndre Hopkins and Justin Parker. Rivals100 player. 43 overall player in ESPN150, and the #4 WR. Shrine Bowler. 1st team All-State. Army All-American. Tall and lanky, and will need to put on about 10-20 lbs in college, but could compete for an outside WR position immediately. He is really fast on film. He also needs to work on catching passes with just his hands, not his body. Had 47 receptions for 803 as a soph, 44 for 776 as a Junior. Offered by nearly everyone but has been solidly Clemson since February 2008, the first commit for this class. A potential academic casualty, though his coach projects him to make it. Recruited by Brad Scott and Napier.
Demont Buice - RB -film 1, film 2, film 3, film 4 - 6'2, 205, 4.5 40, 3-star RB - Gaston HS, AL - #17 in Alabama, #40 nationally at RB - Has the makeup to play OLB if needed, but would have to put on some weight. He has the frame to do it in my opinion. Broke his ankle this season in the 4th week. Had 2300 yards as a sophomore, 1600 yards and 26 TDs missing 4 games last year. 5500 yards total in HS. Finalist for Mr. Football in Alabama. Buice is a James Davis type back, has good size, vision, and breaks tackles but doesnt have elite speed. Offered by Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ole Miss. Recruited by Charlie Harbison.
Joe Craig - WR - Gaffney HS, SC - 6'0 170, 4.4 40', 3-star WR - #45 athlete and #14 player in SC. Won the state 200m. Is really raw, as I watch Gaffney every week. Played QB in 2008 for Gaffney, WR/CB and KR/PR this year. Is really explosive, but highly underutilized because of poor QB play at Gaffney. He'll require a lot of coaching to play in the slot at Clemson, and I'd expect him to redshirt. Won the state 200m with a 10.4, and ranks 3rd in Rivals athlete rankings in speed. A potential academic casualty. Recruited by Jeff Scott.
Sam Cooper - TE - 6'5" 230, 4.73 40', 2-star TE - Ensworth HS, TN - Considered a sleeper, and plays in a run-oriented offense. Offered by Michigan State and Duke. Mike Palmer was a 2-star. Recruited by Dan Brooks.
Ricky Chaney - SS - 6'2" 200, 4.45 40', 3-star OLB - Battery Creek, HS SC - #21 player in SC, #72 nationally at OLB - currently in the most jeopardy academically. Appears to have good range on film and will be moved to SS. Had interest from other schools, but no offer, likely because of the academics. Recruited by Dan Brooks, but was offered by David Blackwell initially.
Corey Crawford - Strongside DE - Carver HS, GA - film 1, film 2 - 6'5" 235, 4.76 40, 4-star DE - #30 in GA, #20 DE nationally.18 defensive end in the nation and 9th best player in Georgia by Scout.com- Offered by Auburn, Ole Miss, UGA, Florida, Florida State. He's big, strong, and fast and gets after the QB with some good technique. 72 tackles and 7 sacks as a Jr., 87 with 9 sacks as a senior. He even shows some skills in dropping back into coverage as an OLB in Carver's 3-3 Stack defense. Clemson could move him to SAM linebacker, as I think he's going to be a Kevin Alexander type. Recruited by Charlie Harbison.
DeAndre Hopkins - WR - Daniel HS, SC- film- 6'2, 194, 4.55 40, 4-star Athlete - #12 nationally, #8 in SC, Rivals250 player (148) - been committed since early March and has not wavered. 1st team All-State. I don't think he's 195 lbs, more like 180. Finalist for Mr. Football in SC. Played both Safety and WR in HS with excellent ball skills (14 INTs as a Soph, 9 as a Jr) and can jump, but he's not lightning fast. Shrine Bowler. Offered by Michigan, SC, Tennessee. Recruited by Andre Powell and Jeff Scott.
Tra Thomas - DT - 6'1, 271, 3 star DT - Anson County HS, NC - #28 player in NC. Offered by Michigan State, West Virginia, Duke, ECU. Shrine Bowler. Kind of an undersized guy, and will need to put on a little weight but appears really strong and uses his hands well. Will probably play on the Nose. Has two teammates as juniors who will be two of the best players in NC, one is already committed (Brandon Ellerbe) and another is a top target next year.
Gifford Timothy - OT - Middletown HS, DE - 6'6" 288lb, 3-star OT - #3 player in Delaware - A diamond in the rough player, lightly recruited, who will need good coaching. Really long arms and good athletic ability. He keeps his feet moving and plays to the whistle and plays mean. Graded out over 90%. I'm surprised he was lightly recruited considering his size and ability to move. Offered by Boise State, Utah, BYU, Maryland, Rutgers, UVA. Expects to take his Mormon mission after college. Recruited by Andre Powell and Pearman.
Reid Webster - OT - Etowah HS, GA - 6'5" 270, 3-star OT - #51 in GA, #46 Tackle nationally - 1st team All-State. Late offers this spring by Miami, FSU, Ole Miss, NC State. I suspect he'll be at RT or Guard, though he played LT in HS. Has good knee bend with quickness and speed. Recruited by Billy Napier.
Desmond Brown - S - Cherokee County HS, AL - 6'0 192, 4.5 40, 4-star Safety - #12 player in Alabama, #24 nationally - Played RB, WR, and DB in HS. Missed part of his junior year due to a HS transfer. Was going to UT until Clemson offered. Offered by Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, Miss. State. I suspect that since he was not offered by Saban, his ball skills are lacking somewhat, thats usually Saban's deciding factor. From his film it doesnt seem like he is nervous with the ball in the air, and he looks like a good hitter at Free Safety. Recruited by Charlie Harbison.