Since it is a slow time for recruiting news I'll be sharing some of the best Clemson stories every week.
Trevor Lawrence:
The first thing this week happens to be recruiting related. Trevor Lawrence is the number one player, regardless of position, nationwide in the class of 2018, according to 247 sports. He also just so happened to release his top two schools recently.
Clemson already has four-star QB Zerrick Cooper coming to campus in the fall and project star Hunter Johnson joining the team in 2017, but it never hurts multiple elite quarterbacks on the roster, just ask Ohio State.
Dabo Swinney:
Clemson sports are still relatively new to me. I'm from Maryland, I got to UMD and I did not attend the school during the ACC days so we've never played Clemson during my time (except for when my heart broke during penalties in soccer last year). But one thing I've always loved about Clemson is Dabo Swinney; he's just great. Solid sound bytes, a really good personality and he looks like he'd be a blast to play for.
So, this quote about Congress from his appearance on Mike and Mike does nothing to change that. It only makes me like him more.
"I think the game has never been better. I think there is an agenda. I think when North Korea gets a nuclear bomb, it is going to be football's fault. I think we are in a culture where everything is football and it is because football has the stage, but football, and I don't care what people's agenda is. Yes, we must improve, we must always get better, we must always learn. We have to always have to create ways to protect our players. But at the end of the day, I have all kinds of education. I have business degree. I have an MBA. But the greatest education I got is in between the lines.
"The other thing I tell people is that football is a great example to this country. Football unifies. Football brings people together. I go to Death Valley and there are 85,000 people in those stands and they packed. You know what, a lot of those people Monday-Friday probably will not talk to each other because they are different religions, they are different colors, they live in different neighborhoods, they drive different cars, they have different bank accounts. But on Saturdays when the Tigers score, they are hugging on people's necks, they are high fiving. I have brothers for life that I met in between the lines. When you put that helmet on, it does not matter what color you are or what religion you are. It is a singleness with purpose. Nothing brings people together like the game of football.
"You want to fix congress, lets go create some football teams. Let's have some inside drills. Some one-on-ones. You will bring people together real quick." [h/t r/cfb]
I completely agree. You learn the best lessons on the field and maybe this will teach our lawmakers how to work together.
Markquese Bell:
Markquese Bell, a four-star athlete from New Jersey, recently did an interview with Tigernet.com and discussed his recruitment. In the article, he mentions that Clemson is "pretty high" on his list, despite not releasing an official top-7. He also said that he is considering announcing his commitment via Bleacher Report, similarly to five-star receiver Tee Higgins. He also said that he will announce his decision on December 1st, because he plans to enroll to wherever he attends in January.
The full interview can be read
here.
Brianna Rollins:
Coming into this summer only one woman in Clemson's Women's Track and Field team's history had made the Olympics. Earlier this month, that changed. Brianna Rollins entered the Women's 100m hurdles qualifier facing off against nine of the top 10 women in the world; only the top three would represent the US in Rio.
Rather than crumble under the pressure, Rollins dominated. She jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, finishing the race in 12.34 seconds. Now, she enters Rio as one of the favorites to win the event.
ACC Network:
The ACC Network has finally been announced. This deal should give every school in the league a nice bump in revenue, but there is one important twist in the deal. To simplify it, the ACC now owns each teams revenue rights, regardless of whether or not it remains in the ACC, for the foreseeable future. This means, essentially, no team will be leaving the league anytime soon because there is no financial gain in the move.
While the TV station does not go up until 2019, their online channel will launch this fall and carry 600 live events per year, according to ESPN.
More information on the move can be found
here.
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