Sunday Thoughts (Monday Edition)

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

You wouldn't think you'd need to tell the competition committee anything. I assure you guys like Rodney Williams are all over this.

This recruiting cycle sucks so far. Coach Dabo and crew have really dropped the ball which results in the crap we've seen lately. These aren't just five star Dabos we are offering to augment the class, this class is shaping up to be complete shit. We have a staff full of recruiters and so far have missed the boat. If we miss this bad in February someone must be held accountable. It really helps that West Virginia dropped 70 on our defense and South Carolina has physically dominated our team year over year. If you were a prospect, what would you think of Clemson? An ACC Championship should result in better gets thus far, and if it does not pick up in June (camps) then we're in deep trouble.

Onto the 2012 season. As we told you, our offensive line sucks. We were thin and the reason none of the youngsters played last year is because they underperform. Recall, the offensive line was thin and suspect/pitiful a year ago. What do you expect? We will get our ass kicked up front all year, worse than last year. The coaches point to 2013 but without significant improvement up front next year I cannot approve. We have heard rumblings from the staff from our recruiting connections. We hear Patrick DeStefano is helping us carry on the tradition of shitty ass offensive line as well. He won't see the field at Clemson. Another possible waste of a scholarship. DrB saw plenty of him in Dorman contests, and reiterates that he needs serious strength gains or he will be a waste.

In the spirit of shitty linemen and wastes of scholarships, Jerome Maybank is high on the list. The staff is already looking to move him to the offensive side of the ball? Didn't we predict this when he signed? That is one heck of a job the CU staff did recruiting him. Yet maybe they are moving him to the offensive line because what we have now is so shitty it is laughable. And that includes our All-American center who complains about not having a scouting report for the Clemson defense prior to scrimmage time.

Clemson golf slipped to 11^th overall and misses the tournament. This was quite a shock after the boys were fourth earlier in the week. We still think Penley is the best coach on campus.

As for the golf game, I think I have the coming over the top issue fixed. Now I have follow through issues. Should be corrected in a couple weeks.

Hopefully I'll have more positive items to chat about next week. Enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend and we'll fire them out as we see it.