Buyers remorse

It could be worse...though I admit, I'm not sure how. The Tigers have to pick up the pieces and move forward somehow. The good news is that the schedule is much easier the next three weeks - The Citadel, N.C. State and S.C. State. That said, if they don't improve N.C. State could pose a test. Who would have thought that just a couple days ago?

There's one theory that says it is better to have a game like this in game 1 because now you know where you stand. Clemson stands in the middle of a giant stinking pile of crap right now and a victory over The Citadel ain't going to help much.

Most of the teams goals are still out there, the Atlantic division title, the ACC title, a BCS bid and a victory over South Carolina are all still possible. I said at the beginning of July that this team, though talented, did not have the talent of a national power. Boy was I right! My hopes were pinned to an ACC title, so all is not lost for me at this point. That said, the way the Tigers lost is what pisses me off.

The coaching was absolutely pathetic. Horrible from the top down. The team was unprepared and unfocused. Horrible. Horrible.

Speaking of horrible, the ACC was horrible over the weekend. There's no two ways about it. Horrible. East Carolina beats Virginia Tech, South Carolina crushes N.C. State, Bama annihilates Clemson...Maryland edges FCS member Delaware, UNC has to rally to beat McNeese State and on and on it goes.

Heres the breakdown for the ACC:

vs. FCS (I-AA) teams 5-0
vs. SEC 0-2
vs. PAC 10 0-1
vs. MAC 1-0
vs. C-USA 0-1
vs. Big 12 1-0

The only thing that went right was that I was 9-2 straight up and 6-0 against the spread with my week 1 ACC picks.

After Monday's games we'll have our first power rankings for the teams and conferences. Look for Clemson to drop like a rock (and a win over The Citadel won't help much here either) and the ACC to be the lowest ranked BCS conference.

As if you needed it, here are a couple of national stories about the Bama/Clemson debacle.

Youthful Tide ahead of schedule

Clemson fails to capitalize...again

Wilson carries Alabama to win over Clemson

And finally, mark one down for Colin Cowherd. Cowherd and Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution were right on with this game (some others were correct, too) and take the early lead among the "mouths".

Disaster

Completely and utterly owned. Not much more to say.

Final thoughts on the Alabama game

It's become apparent with the shut out of N.C. State by South Carolina, the loss by Virginia Tech to East Carolina, and the early 14-0 lead by USC over Virginia, that Clemson is the ACC's only hope for some resemblance of respectability this weekend. Man, what a bad conference.

With that in mind, here are my final thoughts on the Clemson/Alabama game:

1. Run the ball. If Clemson can't at least have the threat of a running game, that spells trouble. Remember, the Tigers are undefeated the last three years when JD goes over 100 yards. A home run from CJ Spiller wouldn't hurt. Let's not forget Jamie Harper on short yardage - assuming his ankle is ok.


2. Don't give up big plays on special teams. Javier Arenas is good. Real good. The Tigers have iffy return defense (sometimes terrible). Critical.


3. Touchdowns not field goals.


4. Bowden must hold his own against Saban. Not beat the "genius", just hold his own.


5. No dumb penalties. I've seen it all over the TV today. If you even look like you are going to celebrate the refs will call a penalty. Crucial.

Friday's news and notes

One day away from the season opener! Here is what is in the news on Friday.

Kelley doesn't dwell on the one that got away

McDaniel placed on deferred suspension

Alabama pressure helped Bowden prepare to coach

Young LBs ready to prove mettle

Practice report

Long road home for Kelley

Spiller focuses on blitz pickups

Thursday's news and notes

Wednesday's practice tidbits

Danny Ford profile

McDaniel likely to avoid suspension

Blackwell high on LB corps

Renewed Grant finds his place

Lambert: Offensive line motivated

O-Line ready to answer questions

Maye can't wait to face Alabama

Bowden lasts through turbulent times

Week 1 ACC Picks

Here are my week 1 picks for the ACC games. Bold means I pick that team to beat the spread.

(NL) means there is no line on the game. In those instances I picked the game straight up.

South Carolina 21 (-13 ½) over N.C. State 7
Wake Forest 23 (-12) Baylor 10
Miami, FL (NL) 38 Charleston Southern 13
Georgia Tech (NL) 46 Jacksonville State 9
Boston College (-9 ½) 17 Kent State 3
Clemson 20 Alabama (+5) 16
USC (-19 ½) 41 Virginia 13
Virginia Tech 17 East Carolina (+ 9 ½) 13
Maryland (NL) 27 Deleware 16
Duke (NL) 30 James Madison 12
North Carolina (NL) 42 McNeese State 18

3 days away from football season, but...

for the first time in years I am actually excited about the basketball team. Last years team got over a hump so to speak, finishing third in the ACC and making the finals of the ACC tournament. Sure, the first round loss to Villanova hurt, but the foundation is being laid for a solid team year in and year out.

I could see this years team winning their share of games, maybe even 21 or 22 in the regular season and again finishing in the top 3 in the ACC. We'll see how that turns out, but the future looks mighty bright for the basketball Tigers.

Wednesday's news and notes

Lots of news over the last couple of days about defensive coordinator Vic Koenning's "joke" about Alabama recruits driving Escalades - I'll keep that to one story here. A pretty big blunder by Vic. We'll see how it all plays out, but here's the other news and notes.

Tigers' RBs to see Burns once again

Koenning creates stir with comment

A change of luck in Atlanta?

The ACC, Clemson need to step up

Tuesday evening tidbits

Clemson-Alabama preview and prediction

Clemson offense vs. Alabama Defense
The Tigers have formidable skill players, no matter what league they play in. C.J. Spiller leaving the Auburn Tigers in the dust in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl proved that.

Despite Spiller’s 83 yard jaunt the Tigers had trouble moving the ball against Auburn gaining only 106 yards on the 39 other carries (2.7 ypc). Some of those issues were probably related to Cullen Harper not being full strength coming off shoulder surgery, but Clemson has to be concerned about moving the ball against a big, physical SEC defense.

The Tide gave up 3.4 yards per carry last year and while they return 5 of their top 6 defensive linemen, the one loss was huge – Wallace Gilberry accounted for 10 sacks and 17 tackles for loss.

The Alabama linebackers are a concern when you face a team with a short passing game like Clemson. Injuries, suspensions, and arrests have left this group a huge question mark for the Tide. Expect Clemson to exploit this area.

The Tide has a decent secondary, but lost two starters including All-SEC performer Simeon Castille. Alabama has young, but unproven talent. Clemson’s starting receivers are veteran and experienced.

Clemson may have some trouble running the ball with an inexperienced, though talented offensive line. Look for Alabama to do what has worked for other teams – stop the run first and force the Tigers to pass. A healthy Harper and a healthy Jacoby Ford will make a huge difference, and let’s face it – Alabama ain’t Auburn.


Clemson defense vs. Alabama Offense
John Parker Wilson doesn’t scare many defenses and he won’t scare the Tigers, though word is Wilson is thriving in the Tide’s new offense. Despite the loss of Rashaad Jackson to injury the Tigers remain a stout defensive unit returning 7 starters (not including Jackson). Jackson will be replaced by two serviceable former 4 star recruits in Jamie Cumbie and Jarvis Jenkins.

The Alabama offensive line is the strength of their offense and is a very good group, led by left tackle Andre Smith. Terry Grant had a solid freshman year at Alabama and will thrive as a receiver out of the backfield in the new offensive scheme, which brings us to the Clemson linebackers.

Much like with Alabama, a big question mark for the Tigers is at linebacker. All three starters are gone for the Tigers, leaving a talented, but inexperienced group of young players. The play of this group is a key for the Tigers defense. The potential is there, but so is youth and inexperience.

Clemson has solid, if not spectacular, defensive backs that few have heard of outside of the ACC. The Tide lost 3 of their top receivers, but also have three very talented freshman to replace them, including Julio Jones. The question is will this group make an impact in game 1 or game 6?

Special Teams
Leigh Tiffin is an excellent kicker, making 25-34 FGs last year including 2 over 50 yards. Mark Buccholz was inconsistent for Clemson outside of 45 yards, but has a chance to improve now that he is focusing solely on football.

Senior Jimmy Maners is in a battle for his job with freshman Dawson Zimmerman at Clemson, and it’s all about hang time. P.J. Fitzgerald is a good punter for Alabama.

The bad news for Clemson is that the Tigers allowed over 14 yards per punt return last year and Javier Arenas is a good one for Alabama. The Tigers also finished 88th nationally in kickoff return defense and guess who returns kickoffs? Javier Arenas. Advantage Alabama.

Clemson has speed on their end when returning punts and kicks, so the potential is there for huge plays for both teams in this area.

Coaches
Tommy Bowden vs. Nick Saban. Advantage Saban, especially with an offseason to prepare. Bowden needs to be on his game, put his team in a position to win and let his stars shine at crunch time.

What happens?
Clemson’s young offensive line struggles to open holes for Davis and Spiller against an improving SEC team. Cullen Harper uses short passes effectively to move the Tigers down field. Clemson’s ball control, don’t turn the ball over, offensive scheme eventually wears down the Alabama defense to allow some type of running game.

Alabama meanwhile is able to move the ball on the ground against Clemson with a veteran offensive line and a good stable of running backs, but Clemson’s pass defense stops Wilson and the Tide offense from creating big plays.

It’s game one, so look for big special team plays – perhaps from both sides.

In the end, Clemson’s experienced play makers do just enough for the Tigers to hold on against a young but improving Alabama team.

Final: Clemson 20 Alabama 16

Corso breaks Howard's Rock

Not really. This is the ESPN Game Day promo that shows the Game Day crew running by and touching Howard's Rock. Of course, Corso screws it up. Pretty humorous.

More predicitions

This should be the final list as we keep track of some of the predicitions throughout the year. Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN offers these (and much more) in his annual "Herbie Awards":

Conference Champions:

1. ACC - Clemson
2. Big East - South Florida
3. Big 10 - Ohio State
4. Big 12 - Oklahoma
5. PAC 10 - USC
6. SEC - Florida
7. C-USA - Tulsa
8. MAC - Central Michigan
9. Mountain West - Utah
10. Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic
11. WAC - Fresno State

Monday's news and what's ahead

Monday's news is below, but on Tuesday I will have my analysis and prediction for the Clemson-Alabama game, which has become the second hottest ticket (behind USC-Ohio State) this year according to stubhub.com.

Spiller and Davis - Running mates

Three issues facing the Tigers

Fans back Bowden

Clemson's schedule - Game by game analysis

Just always wanted to beat Alabama - Tyler Grisham

Bowden, Phillips face tough decision on McDaniel

Lifting the weight off the 1991 team's back

Sunday News

Here's the news on the Tigers today and a little blurb on the Tide playing so many freshmen.

Growing together

The favorite, but can Clemson finish the job?

Kelly keeps Tide connections in the background

Jeff Scott got coaching bug from his father

Wife of Clemson's Austin helps strengthen line's bond

Tigers are the hunted instead of the hunter

Clash with Tide extra special for Tigers Grisham

Up to 10 Tide freshmen will play against Clemson

Saturday news and notes

There's a fair amount of news today, but not much exciting or new due to the fact that there is no media access to the players until Monday. So with that, here is the news of the day.

Davis eyes record

Three keys to success

Hamlin opens up

Bowden enters 10th year

Can Clemson close the deal

McDaniel accepted into PTI

I'm still struggling with the McDaniel issue. It seems to me by accepting this deal he has acknowledged some sort of responsibility. Shouldn't there be some consequences?

Firday update

Tiger news for Friday

Talent reaches new depth

Freshmen defensive pair to redshirt

Tigers make conscious effort to build speed

Linthicum surprises in camp

Lewis moves forward

Notebook

Super freshman likely to start Alabama game

Big season for Bowden

Thursday's News

Clemson looks to finally live up to expectations with loaded backfield

Q&A with Clemson president James Barker

Tigers need a mean streak

Preseason ACC Recruiting Rankings

Yep, we came up with our own. It wasn't all that complicated, but lets call it a "hybrid". I've never completely trusted the recruiting services and how they rank the classes. It's easier trying to split the atom than trying to understand the rankings. You ask the question and it goes unanswered or better yet is answered by the phrase "you'll have to ask one of the national guys", etc.

The basic concept of our rankings is average star ranking and number of players committed. That's it. We don't try to award more points for "positions of need" and other ridiculously arbitrary measures, though more weight is given to the stars vs. the numbers. How good and how many. Sounds good.

So, with that in mind here are the standings. Next to each team is the number of players committed, average number of stars, and our total points for that team.

1. Florida State - 18, 3.58, 100.3 points
2. Clemson - 12, 3.67, 80.7
3. Virginia - 20, 2.55, 76.5
4. Maryland - 19, 2.63, 76.3
5. Duke - 22, 2.36, 75.6
6. Miami - 11, 3.50, 73.5
7. North Carolina - 13, 2.92, 67.2
8. Wake Forest - 16, 2.56, 66.6
9. Georgia Tech - 11, 3.05, 64.0
10. Virginia Tech - 13, 2.50, 57.5
11. North Carolina State - 9, 2.50, 47.5
12. Boston College - 4, 3.00, 42.0

The surprises here are North Carolina and to some extent Miami. Butch Davis has had two outstanding recruiting classes, but he has some work to do. Same for Randy Shannon. But, it's early and it appears that the teams directly ahead of these two are done or almost done and before it's over I would bet that UNC and Miami are in the top 4 in the league with FSU and Clemson.

Wednesday's News

Lots of articles today as the Tigers take the day off and begin preparing for Alabama on Thursday.

Bowden calm in the face of pressure

Veteran players treated to downtime

Family Tides break upon Clemson coach (Dabo Swinney)

Camp finale not a snap

Tigers lack urgency in final preseason scrimmage

Tigers have luxury of depth at TE

Tuesday's Update

Not much other than the Jamie Harper injury updates from all over the place. We'll spare you from the repetitious reporting. Fact is, it appears no one will know Harper's status until at least Thursday.

One thing I find interesting is reading the different interpretations that different reporters get from essentially the same information. An example would be Jamie Cumbie's broken hand and it's effects on his effectiveness. In one place we read that the injury has become an "extreme limitation". In another we read that Cumbie reports that the hand didn't bother him during practice and his teammate said it has actually improved Cumbie's pad level and made him a better player. No mention from the writer of this story how the hand "limited" Cumbie.

I know - one was reported by the player and teammate and the other by a supposedly objective reporter. But still, they are diametrically opposed to each other and you wonder how two people can look at the same injury and come up with such vastly different reports.

I'm not questioning the reporters belief in what was written. I am questioning whether either did anything more than assume how the injury is limiting Cumbie (or not) based on anything other than how similar injuries have limited others in the past. Who says the injury is an extreme limitation? The injured player? His coaches? The teammates? The reporter based on his observations? We're left to guess.

Same for the other article saying the injury has helped Cumbie. You would expect the player and teammate to play up the positives and limit (or exclude) the negatives. Did you ask his coach? Did you see him practice and your observation was that the injury isn't causing a problem? We're left to guess.

My guess is that neither of these guys saw Cumbie practice and have no idea how the injury is or isn't effecting his play. One assumed it was very limiting because of his position and height. The other talked to his teammate and got a totally different impression without (apparently) confirming this with the coaches or another source outside of the players.

Great reporting.

News
Here is one story about the punting battle. From no punter to having three options in a little over a year. I'm voting for Maners, because of experience. Zimmerman is the punter of the future, but the last thing we need is a true freshman lining up against Alabama in front of 60,000 with a history of shaky special teams.

And what's up with Richard Jackson?

More Phil Steele

A while back I questioned the overload of sometimes contradictory information Phil Steele’s magazine. While doing the research for that piece I did discover some interesting nuggets.

Steele has a “system” based on returning/lost lettermen which says:

1. If a team has 79% or higher of their lettermen and 18 or more starters returning you have an 80% chance of improving your record.

2. Conversely, if a team has 60.5% or less lettermen returning, 11 or less starters returning and no returning starter at quarterback you have a 75% chance of having a weaker record.

Let’s tackle number 2 first as it seems to make more sense to me. The only two teams that fall into this category in 2008 are Virginia and Air Force who both happened to have 9-4 records in 2007. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you have a relatively small amount of lettermen returning, at least half of your starters gone and a new quarterback that it’s going to be a tough year. Especially if the year before you won 9 games. Simple – I think Steele’s hit the jackpot here.

Item 1 gets a bit stickier. The teams (2007 records in parenthesis) in this category are: Temple (4-8), Northern Illinois (2-10), Ohio State (11-2), Texas Tech (9-4) and Florida Atlantic (8-5).

It’s not hard to fathom Northern Illinois winning 3 games. Ohio State, barring injury, should go 11-1 at worst and have a chance to improve their record in a bowl game, but as we’ve seen the last couple of years that’s a risky proposition with the Buckeyes. Temple has all 22 starters back, but a couple of those wins were close and things may not go their way in 2008 – I’d say, at best they win 5.

Texas Tech’s non-conference schedule makes them a lock to win 9 unless they collapse, the question is will they win 10. Probably.

Florida Atlantic opens at Texas and then goes to Michigan State and Minnesota back to back in weeks 3 and 4. Last year they upset Minnesota at home, I doubt they are as lucky this year. Assuming they lose all three would mean they would have to go 9-1 the rest of the season (including bowl game) to improve their record. The Owls play in the Sun Belt Conference so it’s possible, but...I’d say that is a long shot at best.

Here’s my guess: Yes – Northern Illinois, Texas Tech and Ohio State. No – Temple and Florida Atlantic.

It’s important to note that Steele’s percentages are tracked over multiple years. These teams may or may not hit the averages this year, but over time Steele’s hypothesis is that teams in category 1 improve their record 80% of the time and those in category 2 get worse 75% of the time.

Star Gazing

When Rashaad Jackson was injured got injured I got into a discussion with a friend who said, "I looked him up and he's only a two-star, so you're probably better off, assuming his replacements are rated higher." To which I replied, "Yeah, but...he's a senior, a leader....blah blah blah". It got me to thinking (again) about how much emphasis is put on stars and the assumptions that go with the stars. Star freaks go nuts when Korn is dropped to a 4 star, and now even when Clemson signs a three star player, or god forbid, a two star the star freaks go crazy.

Spurred by my conversation, finding out that Laurinaitis was only a 3 star and the previous research we did on Athlon’s top 40 recruits of 2003, many of which you have never heard of, I decided to do a little research. I looked at the 2007 AP All-American team, researched their "stars" and what I found is below. Who would have guessed that there were actually more 2 star players on the team (5), than 5 star players (4). Are you kidding me? There was even a non-rated walk-on player on the team (Jordy Nelson).

What does it all mean? I only looked at one year, but I think the point has been made. You can't assume how good someone is by only looking at his stars (especially someone who has been in the program for 4 or 5 years, is a starter and was rated four years ago).Would I want Clemson to recruit nothing but two star players? Of course, not. My guess is these guys made AA with the help of their highly rated teammates, but it does point out the fallacy of looking at stars and assuming you know which player is better or worse when you are ignorant of the team and players you are talking about.


Tim Tebow - QB - Florida -5
Darren McFadden RB Arkansas 5
Kevin Smith RB Central Florida 2
Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech 4
Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State 0
Martin Rucker TE Missouri 3
Jake Long OT Michigan 4
Anthony Collins OT Kansas 2
Duke Robinson OG Oklahoma 4
Martin O’Donnell OG Illinois 5
Steven Justice C Wake Forest 3
Offense Avg 3.36

Chris Long DE Virginia 4
George Selvie DE South Florida 2
Glenn Dorsey DT LSU 4
Sedrick Ellis DT USC 4
James Laurinaitis LB Ohio State 3
Dan Connor LB Penn State 5
Jordan Dizon LB Colorado 3
Aqib Talib CB Kansas 2
Antoine Cason CB Arizona 3
Craig Steltz S LSU 4
Jamie Silva S Boston College 2
Defense Avg 3.27

5 stars = 4
4 stars = 7
3 stars = 5
2 stars = 5
0 stars = 1

Jamie Harper story

Really only one story of note on the Tigers today, but it is a nice one. Bart Wright of the Greenville News profiles Jamie Harper's rise despite being a true freshman in a backfield with James Davis and C.J. Spiller. Wright hints that Harper could be used in short yardage situations as I discussed a while back in my "10 things I want to see" post.

This could be the "missing link" in the Tigers' offense. For all the firepower, Clemson has settled for a lot of field goals after not converting on third and short. Word is Harper "moves the pile".

However, Larry Williams on the Post and Courier also hints that Harper's injury may keep him from being 100% against Alabama, which would be a shame. Here's to letting Harper rest for the next week to give him the best shot at being ready for that game.

A back that can "move the pile" is something Clemson desperately needs.

Sunday Tiger News

Time to shine

Two minutes with Michael Hamlin

Six points

ACC Predictions (Larry Williams - Charleston Post and Courier)

Living up to the hype?

Tigers earn consensus top 10 nod

Tigers searching for depth

Harper not sure Tigers are top 10 material


Alabama stories:

Julio Jones stars in scrimmage

True freshman moves to LB

Saban pleased with scrimmage

Jamie Harper hurt in scrimmage

Jamie Harper suffered a sprained ankle in today's scrimmage. No word yet on the severity of the sprain. I say: We already know what he can do. Let him heal until Alabama.

We interrupt football coverage

to bring you this story from a couple of days ago on 5 star power forward Milton Jennings, a 2009 Clemson committment. Refreshing to say the least.

Predictions from ESPN The Mag

Some interesting stuff and stats buried in these charts and assumptions, but here goes:

1. Oklahoma will win the Big 12
2. Ohio State will win the Big 10
3. West Virginia will win the Big East
4. USC will win the PAC 10
5. Clemson will win the ACC
6. Georgia will win the SEC
7. BYU will crash the BCS party

Friday's news and notes

Sapp dominating

Marquan Jones learning curve

Bowers carrying his weight

Sapp out to fill up on QBs

Tide's youth movement

Thursday's News and Notes

Some interesting stuff from today's news (and a couple from yesterday):

Korn, Wade ready to contribute if needed

Study in contrasts at strong-side linebacker

O-Line quickly approaching first test

Clemson ready to put questions aside

Buchholz confident about season

Practice report

Cloy tries to snag a big role

Grisham ready for opener against Tide

Of most concern to me is the inconsistency in the kicking game (not expected) and offensive line (to be expected at this point). If the kicking game is not a strength for the Tigers this year trouble looms.

Information Overload

I love stats. Well, most of the time I do. Stats can tell you a lot about teams, coaches, programs and players. My love of stats goes back to my roots in baseball, a stat driven sport.

Sometimes they can be over done. Way over done. You can spend too much time focusing on the minutia and forget the big picture. You know, can’t see the forest for the trees syndrome.

I also enjoy reading Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine each year. Steele includes tons of stats, some useful some not. Reading the magazine a little closer this year for the blog I noticed something strange – Steele often contradicts himself in different places in the magazine about how a particular team is going to fare in a particular year. Why? He attempts to provide every possible angle and compartmentalize everything into stats and what they mean.

We’ll use Clemson as our example. Phil thinks Clemson will win the Atlantic division. Heck, 3 of his 8 power ratings say that the Tigers are going to go 12-0. Steele’s Power Poll, which combines all 8 sets of power ratings, has the Tigers at number 7 and his Preseason Top 40 has Clemson at #5 because of their relatively easy schedule. It’s all good. Or is it?

Towards the end of the magazine Steele writes his yearly column on turnovers, the gist of which is that if you benefited from a positive double digit turnover differential last year, you probably won’t this year. As a matter of fact he puts a number on it – teams with a positive double digit TO ratio had weaker or the same records 77.6% of the time since 1996. The Tigers were at +13 in turnovers last year.

We’re not done yet. A few pages later Steele analyzes the difference between team's schedules last year and this year and tells us that Clemson’s schedule is 34 places easier in ’08 and than it was in ’07 and they “should have better success in 2008” because of it.

Let’s review. 3 of 8 of Steele’s Power Ratings say the Tigers are going 12-0. Steele predicts the Tigers will win the Atlantic. Steele has the Tigers as the 7th most powerful team in the nation. Yet, there’s a 77.6% chance the Tigers finish with the same or worse record because they were double digit positive in turnovers last year. And oh yeah, Steele thinks the Tigers will finish 5th in the country due to their easy schedule.

The Tigers finished 9-4 last year, so if my math is correct Steele has predicted the Tigers are the 7th most powerful team in the nation, will finish 9-4 or worse, win the Atlantic Division and finish 5th in the country. As my buddy AJ would say, “What? Huh?”

Five other teams that could win it all

Good stuff from Matt Hayes at Sporting News, though he takes the typical stance of it being Clemson's psyche that's the potential stumbling block and not, say, the inexperienced offensive line or 3 new starting linebackers. At the very least he should have included the weak points on the physical abilities along with the psyche blast.

Haters out in force

A couple stories that don't like the ACC or the Tigers.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportsline spends a page bashing the ACC and telling us why Tommy Bowden and the Tigers will never win the ACC and the precedes to pick them to win the Atlantic.

Then Alan Schmadtke of the Orlando Sentinel questions if the Tigers belong in the top 10. If you saw my analysis of talent, you'll know I agree with some of his points.

Wednesday's Tiger News

All sorts of news out there today about the Tigers (and some from the Alabama side).

Buchholz ready to avoid repeat performance

Clemson boasts seasoned secondary

Hairston makes leap from anonymity

Bowden, Tigers looking to get over hump (yesterday)

Jacoby Ford a threat for Clemson

Tuesday practice tidbits

Fast Friends (Spiller and Davis)

Phillips supports Bowden, policies

Phillips defends system


Alabama's side:

Jackson becomes young leader of secondary

Hall makes inroads back to Tide team

WR Mike McCoy comfortable with system

More early predictions

Back in July, I gave you a list of early predictions that we are going to keep tabs on during the year to see how well the "mouths" do at predictions - after all, it seems no one holds them accountable.

For the sake of keeping score, we are only keeping track of the predictions that have a yes/no possibility. Predictions like "Florida State will improve" may or may not be easy to determine.

With that in mind here's a couple more for your viewing pleasure:

Ross Lucksinger, Scout.com

1. Virginia Tech will win the ACC.
2. Missouri will win the Big 12.
3. West Virginia will win the Big East.
4. Ohio State will win the Big 10.
5. USC will win the PAC 10.
6. Georgia will win the SEC.
7. BYU will have an undefeated regular season.
8. Chris Wells will win the Heisman.
9. USC will win the national championship over Georgia.

Pat Forde, ESPN.com

1. Georgia/Florida winner will play for the national championship.
2. Nick Saban will beat either Clemson or Auburn.

Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com

1. Clemson won't win the ACC.
2. Georgia Tech will play in a bowl game.
3. Duke will win more games (at least 3).

Some of these guys took the easy route - USC to win the PAC 10? Ohio State to win the Big 10? Crazy, I tell ya!

Some hedge their bets along the way! Alabama will beat either Clemson or Auburn. Not one, not the other, but one or the other. Wow, brave.

Nonetheless we'll keep tabs. Let us know if you find others for us to keep track of.

Ranking the conferences

Yesterday I gave you my preseason top 25 that will be the beginning point for our power rankings after the season starts.

Today, I rank the conferences based on the preseason rankings of all teams (1-119). It's important to note that this is not necessarily a "which conference has more good teams" type ranking, as it includes all teams in every conference. Too often supporters of the Big 12 will say, "Look at OU, Texas and Missouri" and forget about Baylor and Iowa State. Same thing for the SEC and the ACC.

Secondly, the number to the right of the conference name is the average ranking of all teams in that conference in our preseason poll. Using this method Baylor counts just as much as Texas does, and Duke counts the same as Clemson.

With that in mind here we go:

1. SEC - 32.67
2. Big 12 - 36.33
3. Big 10 - 38.09
4. Big East - 38.63
5. PAC-10 - 40.40
6. ACC - 43.75
7. MWC - 69.67
8. WAC - 81.89
9. C-USA - 84.75
10. MAC - 91.46
11. Sun Belt - 103.63

There's obviously a huge drop after the first 6, and actually quite a bit of difference between 1 and 2 and even between 5 and 6. Simply put, the ACC has a long way to go to make up any ground. Can it be done? Sure, just win on the field and it will take care of itself.

There are ample opportunities for the ACC to change the perception that it is a weak conference this fall. A review of the schedule shows that the ACC has 10 games scheduled against the SEC, 4 each against the Big 12 and Big East, 2 against the PAC-10 and 1 against the Big 10. That's 21 games against other power conferences.

The rest of the ACC non-conference schedule looks like this: FCS teams (14), C-USA (5), Independent (4), MAC (2), Sun Belt (2).

The Greatest Conference Debate

In preparation for our preseason conference rankings due out tomorrow, here's a pretty nice piece by Stewart Mandel of SI.com.

I do believe the ACC will regain prominence within the next 5 years - whether it will overtake the SEC, I don't know, but Florida State and Miami have too much talent to remain down.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I think UNC and Butch Davis are going to be a factor within a couple of years.

Tony Barnhart - Finally Clemson's year?

I'm not sure Barnhart answers the question, but the thing that interests me in these two stories is the talk about is it good for Clemson and Alabama to be playing in game 1 and the two coaches' take on what the positives of the situation are.

First, on Friday, Barnhart asked if Alabama benefits from playing Clemson in the first game, win or lose. Saban's answer was basically, "You find out a lot about your team real quickly by throwing them into this situation. You know what you need to work on to beat good teams".

Today, Barnhart follows up with "Why is Clemson playing Alabama?". Saban wants to throw his young team in to the deep end of the pool and see how they do. Bowden on the other hand says it's all about recruiting - win or lose this game generates publicity for the program.

The contrast in the comments of the two coaches is intriguing. Bowden's been criticized heavily for his press conference style and avoiding answering questions since day 1 at Clemson, but I don't think there's a whole lot to criticize him for in this case. He's right - the publicity surrounding this game has done nothing but help Clemson's profile since it was announced back in January. Face it - if Clemson was playing Louisiana Tech it wouldn't be on national TV and wouldn't have the interest of the national media.

Saban on the other hand knows his team is young and needs to find out who can play and who can't. He's got to get ready for a conference full of tough teams which have talent that either equal or better Clemson's. While not your typical SEC pre-conference fodder, the Tigers don't scare Alabama. For Saban it's a no lose situation - win and you started the season by beating a top 10 team. Lose and you weren't supposed to win any way (except to your fans and alumni).

Both schools heavily recruit Georgia. Clemson has 7 players on it's roster from the state of Alabama. It's a natural. It's exciting.

For me, my job isn't riding on the wins and losses of the Tigers (as Bowden's is) so I love the thought of playing Alabama on national TV on the season opening weekend instead of playing Louisiana Tech at noon. I've got a little bit of both coaches in me - hey, it can't hurt recruiting (Cullen Harper and James Davis are from the Atlanta metro area after all) and if this Clemson team is going to do some of the things written about it there is no better time to start that than in game one against an SEC team in prime time - we'll learn more about Clemson in this game than we ever would if they were playing Louisiana Tech.

Monday's News

We've already posted on the Rashaad Jackson injury, so here is a smattering of the rest of Monday's Tiger related news:

Anticipation can get in the way of a good thing

Defense searching for a vocal leader

McDaniel agrees to PTI

Tiger fans swoon as Bowden preaches humility

Tailbacks expect greatness

Tigers meet and greet on fan appreciation day

Tigers need leadership from quiet defensive front

It's pretty clear that the big story is that DeAndre McDaniel will evidently enter a pre-trial intervention program.

McDaniel's record will be cleared upon successful completion of the program, but the decision to accept this deal has to be viewed as an admission of some responsibility for the events that took place. However, it is also is indicative of the solicitor's office not having enough evidence to prove the charges levied in a court of law. All of which leads me to believe some type of punitive action is warranted by Tommy Bowden, perhaps a 2 or 3 game suspension.

McDaniel hasn't nailed down a starting job at this point, but he was in serious competition with Scotty Cooper for the SAM linebacker spot, so at the very least this would be a blow to depth at that position for as long as McDaniel is out. Add that to the Rashaad Jackson injury and you could argue that Clemson could be without two of it's top 12 defenders on August 30th in the Georgia Dome.

Make no mistake about it - McDaniel should serve a suspension, based on what I've read, and the acceptance of the PTI only reinforces that belief. The question is how long of a suspension does he deserve and that's a question that only those with the complete facts of the case can answer.

Injury Bug Bites Clemson

Rashaad Jackson injured his knee during Saturday's scrimmage and is out until at least midseason.

Jamie Cumbie and Jarvis Jenkins will share time in Jackson's place.

2008 CU Orange Preseason Top 25

As always, the caveats:

• These are not our rankings. They are a compilation and average of the following preseason polls: Athlon's, Lindy's, Phil Steele, Rivals.com, SI.com and CFN.com.
• Why were these used? These sources ranked all teams from 1-119. Polls that included only a top 25 and "others receiving votes" were not considered. The goal is to track all 119 teams.
• I will use this as the beginning point for the CUOrange Power Poll that will be updated each week throughout the season.
• First place votes are in parenthesis after the school name.
• As we start our power rankings each team will be assigned a power index that will reflect their wins/losses and strength of schedule. No other measures are used in our power index.

With all that said, here we go:

1. Ohio State (1)

2. Georgia (1) tie with USC

2. USC (1) tie with Georgia

4. Florida (2)

5. Oklahoma

6. LSU

7. Missouri

8. Clemson

9. Auburn

10.West Virginia

11.Texas

12.Wisconsin

13.Texas Tech

14.Kansas

15.BYU

16.Tennessee

17.Oregon

18.South Florida

19.Arizona State

20.Penn State

21.Virginia Tech

22.Illinois

23.Pittsburgh

24.Wake Forest

25.Florida State

The conference breakdown goes like this: SEC (5), Big 12 (5), ACC (4), Big 10 (4), PAC 10 (3), Big East (3), MWC (1).

Other notables in our initial rankings: 26. Alabama. 27. South Carolina, 49. Texas A&M, 51. Notre Dame.

There is a precipitous drop off after numbers 1-6. The top 6 are consistently ranked higher across the polls where the teams immediately following had some ups and downs in the different polls creating a wide schism.

Tomorrow I'll rank the conferences.

Sunday's news roundup

For champions, self talk comes through loud and clear

Jamie Harper shines during scrimmage

Clemson works on problem areas during scrimmage

Clemson practice report


And finally, one that was overlooked yesterday:

Punters on the clock

Saturday News

After all the news from yesterday, there's not much today. The Tigers do hold their first scrimmage today, so we are looking forward to the results of that, but other than that here is I've found:

Bowden wants to gauge kicking game during scrimmage

Tribble Reese earns starting job at Charleston Southern

Clemson releases results of drug tests and list of secondary violations

Fully Loaded!

Great press for the Tigers on SI.com. On the cover, within the ACC preview and in the top players in the ACC list.

Corico Hawkins to Clemson

Corico Hawkins chose Clemson over a virtual who's who of college football this afternoon. Hawkins, who is a cousin of former Clemson LB and current Seattle Seahawk Leroy Hill, chose Clemson over Florida, Florida State, Miami and Auburn, among other offers.

CFN ACC and Clemson Previews

Richard Cirminiello over at CFN.com jumps in with his predictions on the ACC, agreeing with me on some (North Carolina vastly improved, Clemson winning the Atlantic, Virgina Tech winning the Coastal - despite what he writes about the Hokies) and disagrees on others (Duke improving). We'll see who is more right (or less wrong is probably more like it) at the end of the year, but here's his ACC preview.

Ciriminiello also predicts the Tigers to go 10-2, but inexplicably predicts a loss to a Virginia (this must be the "brain cramp" game he writes about) team that I think will be way down, so we'll see on that account, too. Interestingly enough Ciriminiello predicts 7 wins for the Cavaliers, but those 7 wins include victories over the teams he predicts to have good years - Clemson and North Carolina. Who knew the home field advantage was so good in Charlottesville?

Friday's Tiger News

A trip through various news items on the Tigers:

Spiller's newfound interest may help Tigers

Sapp aims for breakthrough season

Maye making most of opportunities at Clemson

Page continues to mix it up

Schedule has dangerous bookends

Scuffles show Tigers' intensity, emotion

Clemson in new role (yesterday - CBS Sportsline)


From the Alabama side:

Tiffin shrugs off All-SEC preseason hype

Davis nears starting role

A nice group of articles on the whole. The article on the schedule is an interesting one as it points to two SEC games as the "dangerous" part of the schedule, while glossing over the ACC for the most part. OK.

While it's true that Alabama and South Carolina have comparable talent, I am of the mind that the important thing here is to win the ACC and THEN take the next step in the coming years.

Do I think Clemson will lose to Alabama and South Carolina? No. Is there a possibility the Tigers lose to one or both? Of course.

One could make the argument that the Alabama game is actually more important (at least until the Tigers take the field against the Gamecocks in November). If the Tigers lose to Alabama you can forget all the positive press - it will be all negative, no matter how many ACC games Clemson wins in a row. On the other hand, if you beat Alabama, there is a distinct possibility the Tigers will be 5-0 and sporting a top 5 ranking heading into Winston-Salem on October 9, giving that game importance on the national level, not just the ACC level.

Previewing the Atlantic Coast Conference

Conventional wisdom says that Clemson has the most talent in the ACC. While that may be true at the skill positions, analysis shows that's far from the truth for the team as a whole when looking at two-deep lineups. As a matter of fact, Clemson comes in 3rd in the ACC using this measure, and barely third at that, just above North Carolina.

Miami has far and away more talent than any team in the ACC, followed by Florida State. Interestingly enough these are the two teams that have “been down” in recent years and given credence to the ACC bashing that is so prominent today.

If these teams are so talented why haven’t they performed that way on the field? I would venture to say coaching is a huge part of the answer – one hasn’t been there long enough and one has been there too long. Both however have made recent changes (Jimbo Fisher to FSU and a new defensive coordinator at Miami).

I look for Miami and Florida State to make big strides this year, though I don’t predict either to win their division. Simply put, much of the talent on these teams is young. Is that an excuse? No, just an observation.

In addition, neither has proven talent at quarterback. Yes, I know Drew Weatherford has 33 starts under his belt at FSU, but he's inconsistent to say the least. Miami, on the other hand has 0 experience at QB. Sometimes that works out (Clemson in ’07), sometimes it doesn’t (Clemson in ’06). But both of those QBs (Proctor in ’06 and Cullen Harper in ’07) had years in the system, where Miami’s QBs don’t have that luxury.

Below is the analysis I’ve done on the talent level of the two-deep lineups for the ACC teams, first with all teams combined, and then broken out by division.

ACC Talent Level - All Teams

1. Miami - Offense 3.41 Defense 3.55 Total 6.96

2. Florida State - Offense 3.09 Defense 3.23 Total 6.32

3. Clemson - Offense 2.95 Defense 3.14 Total 6.09

4. North Carolina - Offense 2.82 Defense 3.18 Total 6.00

5. Virginia Tech - Offense 2.76 Defense 2.65 Total 5.41

6. Maryland - Offense 2.55 Defense 2.64 Total 5.19

7. Georgia Tech - Offense 2.32 Defense 2.77 Total 5.09

8. Duke - Offense 2.55 Defense 2.50 Total 5.05

9. Boston College - Offense 2.45 Defense 2.55 Total 5.00

10.Virginia - Offense 2.55 Defense 2.45 Total 5.00

11. Wake Forest - Offense 2.18 Defense 2.32 Total 4.50

12. North Carolina State - Offense 2.09 Defense 2.27 Total 4.36

Atlantic Division

1. Florida State - 6.32

2. Clemson - 6.09

3. Maryland - 5.19

4. Boston College - 5.00

5. Wake Forest - 4.50

6. North Carolina State - 4.36

Coastal Division

1. Miami - 6.96

2. North Carolina - 6.00

3. Virginia Tech - 5.41

4. Georgia Tech - 5.09

5. Duke - 5.05

6. Virginia - 5.00

It’s obvious from this research what everyone has been saying for the last two years – Jim Grobe is doing a masterful job at Wake Forest, while Frank Beamer is doing something similar over a longer period of time at Virginia Tech.

Below is my best guess on how the ACC races will play out, based on the information I have at hand. The biggest factors here are talent, experience, scheduling and coaching. As mentioned above, Grobe and Beamer have the biggest effects (positively) on their teams. Despite their relative weakness in player ratings, they will have their teams in contention and I even think Virginia Tech will win their division. Meanwhile, Butch Davis is quietly assembling quality players at North Carolina.

FSU has Wake, Clemson and Boston College all at home – I expect they will win 2 of the 3. Clemson plays FSU, Wake and Boston College all on the road. I expect Clemson will lose one of those three.

Miami and North Carolina aren’t quite ready to make the leap over Virginia Tech yet, but if the current trend (recruiting) continues, look out.

I expect North Carolina to be the surprise team of the ACC. I believe they will win 9 regular season games in Butch Davis' 2nd year.

One other thing, and try not to laugh – I expect Duke to make some noise (relatively). They are surprisingly strong (relatively) coming in with the 8th most talent in the ACC. Not sure what that says about the ACC, but I expect the Blue Devils, with improved coaching, to win an ACC game this year (most likely over N.C. State) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they won 2 (the Devils play both N.C. State and Virginia at home). And one last little Duke nugget - they received 16 verbal commitments for 2009 in the month of July - 16 in one month! - to bring their total for 2009 to 21. Though, admittedly these are mostly recruits that top flight schools aren't recruiting, make no mistake about it - this program will be vastly improved in the years to come under Cutcliffe.

Atlantic

1. Clemson

2. Florida State

3. Wake Forest

4. Boston College

5. Maryland

6. North Carolina State

Coastal

1. Virginia Tech

2. Miami

3. North Carolina

4. Georgia Tech

5. Virginia

6. Duke

I expect Clemson to end up 10-2 or 11-1. Who are the Tigers going to lose to? Let's not forget the Tigers have some holes - offensive line and linebackers are two areas that need to be addressed. There's talent, but not much experience. Oh yeah, and special teams, let's not forget these seem to bite the Tigers at least once a year. These facts along with playing an improving Alabama team in a neutral setting to open the season, Florida State and Wake Forest on the road, and oh yeah, Spurrier and the Gamecocks will be coming off an open week when they meet the Tigers in Clemson in late November, lead me to believe that 12-0 is a stretch. Impossible? No. But also not likely.

Thursday's news and notes

Here's the news from today:

Maye's emotion tough to harness

Bowden likes Tigers' effort

Clemson practice report

Healed Jacoby Ford ready to run wild

Lambert works into leadership role

Koenning unplugged/Sorting out the freshmen (August 6 entry from Strelow's blog)

Out of all of that information the thing that concerns me the most is the issues with the kicking game that appear to be surfacing again (see Clemson practice report). Missed field goals and inconsistency on punts. How many times have we heard this?

What's coming and Wednesday's News

As mentioned yesterday I am working on an ACC preview that should be out in a couple days. Also, I have almost wrapped up my preseason rankings, which should be out either Sunday or Monday. These rankings will be the starting point for our rankings during the season.

Here's today's news on the Tigers and a tidbit about Bobby Bowden maybe retiring if FSU has another so-so year.

Tigers line remains a work in progress

Smith running out of time

Humphries has edge at right guard spot

Clemson linebackers unproven

Tigers' newest players making a splash

Clemson QB gets a surprise

The last one above, isn't a very well written or thought out article, in my opinion. Harper completes 65% of his passes for almost 3,000 yards, 27 TD's and only 6 interceptions and is considered by many the best senior quarterback in America and yet this fool thinks it's somehow a "surprise" that he was voted as the preseason player of the year in the ACC and guesses it's because he plays QB. Incredible. No wonder this guy is "writing" for the Raleigh News & Observer.

Finally, the story on Bobby Bowden considering retirement if Florida State doesn't improve.

Tuesday update and news round up

I'm working on a piece about the ACC races this fall and I think you'll be surprised and intrigued by what comes out of that, but that is a few days away from being final. So until then, here is a round up of news from today:

1. Da'Quan Bowers gets his first lesson as a Tiger
2. Freshmen tailbacks look for an opportunity
3. Spiller sees room for improvement


From the Alabama perspective here are a couple:

1. McClain riding high for the Tide
2. Steele takes pragmatic approach

And one note from Florida State: They've apparently added a 6'6, 305lb Junior College OL to their roster. Not sure how good he is, but the Seminoles sure need the help.

Monday Press

I'm not quite sure what to make of this article from the Greenville News on "stacked" offense at Clemson. On one hand I like the idea of not trying to get to fancy (I was at Clemson during the Danny Ford era), but on the other hand there will be times and games where "creativity" is necessary. Here's hoping Spence knows when to say when.

Here's a couple articles from the Alabama point of view, one talking about subtle title changes on the defensive side of the ball and another focusing on the new offensive coordinator.

Tigers leaning on JD and a cohesive offensive line

Larry Williams of the Charleston Post and Courier on the work in progress that is the Clemson offensive line and Ed McGranahan of the Greenville News on James Davis shouldering the load.

Top 40 players from 2003 (Part IV)

In our first installment we looked at players 31-40 and in installment II we looked at players 21-30. Installment III looked at players 11-20. In our final installment we look at players ranked 1-10.

The same caveats apply, namely:

1) Obviously the grades are subjective.

2) The grades are split into 5 categories:
a. Bust
b. Marginal Contribution
c. Solid Contribution
d. All-Star
e. All-American

3) In one case, a player’s career was permanently ended early by an injury. This player was given an incomplete. With those in mind here are #'s 1-10:

10. Antonio Cromartie – DB – Florida State (Tallahassee, FL) – Only played two seasons at FSU. First team All-ACC as a sophomore in 2004, but college career ended in July of 2005 with torn ACL. Sat out 2005 season and then was drafted by San Diego in the first round of the 2006 draft. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

9. Lamarr Woodley – LB - Michigan (Saginaw, MI) - Transitioned to a hybrid DE/OLB was the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 and Lombardi Award Winner. 12 sacks as a senior, 24 for his career. School record 10 forced fumbles. Selected by Steelers in 2nd round of ’07 draft. Final Grade: All-American.

8. Nate Robinson – DL – Miami (FL) (Irvington, NJ) – Signed with Rutgers after not meeting entrance requirements at Miami. Injuries limited time as a freshman and was kicked off the team after sophomore season. Transferred to Akron where he was a reserve in 2006. Started six games in 2007, recording 26 tackles including 2 sacks. Final Grade: Bust.

7. Prescott Burgess – DB – Michigan (Warren, OH) – Moved to LB where he had a solid career. Two year starter, but never made first or second All-Big Ten. Selected by Baltimore in the 6th round of the 2007 draft. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

6. Whitney Lewis – WR – USC (Oxnard, CA) – Caught 0 passes in two seasons at USC. Transferred to Northern Iowa where he played RB in ’06 and receiver in ’07. Final Grade: Bust.

5. Jamarcus Russell – QB – LSU (Mobile, AL) – 25-4 as a starter, first team All-SEC in 2006 including SEC title and Sugar Bowl victory. Set school record by completing 67.8% of his passes in ’06 and tied record of 28 TD passes. Finished career third on Tiger’s all-time passing list with 6,625 yards. Number 1 overall pick by Oakland Raiders in 2007 draft. Final Grade: All-Star.

4. Tony Hills, Jr. – TE – Texas (Houston, TX) – Suffered a knee injury as a HS senior and moved to OL at Texas. Earned a starting position in 2007, but was injured against Tech and missed the A&M and bowl games. All-Big 12 in 2007. Selected by Pittsburgh in the 4th round of ’08 draft. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

3. Reggie Bush – RB – USC (Spring Valley, CA) – One of the most decorated college football players of all time. Heisman Trophy winner in 2005 with 2,890 all purpose yards, including 1,740 rushing (8.7 per carry) and 16 touchdowns. Finished career with 3,169 rushing yards and a 7.3 average per rush. Left school with a year of eligibility left and was the second overall pick of the ’06 draft by the Saints. Final Grade: All-American.

2. Ernie Simms – LB – Florida State (Tallahassee, FL) – Started final 24 games and was All-ACC as a sophomore in ’04 and honorable mention in ’05. One of 10 semi-finalists for the Butkus Award in ’05. Left school a year early and was the 9th overall pick of the NFL draft in ’06. Final Grade: All-Star.

1. Kyle Wright – QB – Miami (FL) (Danville, CA) – 18-11 as a starter, 5,835 passing yards, 59% completion percentage, 38 touchdowns, 31 interceptions. Never more than honorable mention All-ACC (2005). Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

Practice notes from Friday

Stories from the Post and Courier and the Greenville News on the Tigers first day of practice for the 2008 season.

Top 40 players from 2003 (Part III)

In our first installment we looked at players 31-40 and in installment II we looked at players 21-30. In this installment we look at players ranked 11-20.

The same caveats apply, namely:

1) Obviously the grades are subjective.

2) The grades are split into 5 categories:
a. Bust
b. Marginal Contribution
c. Solid Contribution
d. All-Star
e. All-American

3) In one case, a player’s career was permanently ended early by an injury. This player was given an incomplete.

With those in mind here are #'s 11-20:

20. Ofa Mohetau – OL – BYU (Euless, TX) – Started 8 games as a true freshman before redshirting in ’04. Transferred to the College of Sequoias in 2005 where he played one year before transferring to Texas Tech. Started two games for the Red Raiders in ’06 before leaving team before the Insight Bowl. Did not play football in ’07. Final Grade: Bust.

19. Chris Leak – QB – Florida (Charlotte, NC) – Started 47 games at Florida, SEC Freshman of the Year in 2003, 2nd team All-Conference in ’04, ’05 and ’06. Holds school records for attempts, completions and yards. Led Florida to 2006 National Championship. Signed with Bears in ’07, but did not make the team. Final Grade: All-Star.

18. Earl Everett – LB – Florida (Webster, FL) – Started 42 games during his career. Second team All-SEC (coaches) in 2004 and first team in 2006. 85 tackles during Florida’s 2006 national championship campaign. Currently on Falcons practice squad. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

17. Greg Olsen – TE – Notre Dame (Wayne, NJ) – Transferred to Miami before enrolling at Notre Dame. Caught 87 passes for 1,215 yards in three seasons (two as a starter) and 6 touchdowns. Left school with one year of eligibility left and was selected as the 31st overall pick of the 2007 draft by the Bears. Final Grade: All-Star.

16. Lawrence “Moe” Dampeer – DL – Oklahoma (Decatur, IL) – Redshirted in ’03, lettered in ’04. Transferred to Joliet (IL) Junior College in ’05 and broke his foot after one game. Attended Division II Lane College in the spring of ’08 hoping to become eligible for the fall. Two years of eligibility left. Final Grade: Bust.

15. Donte Whitner – DB – Ohio State (Cleveland, OH) – Two year starter at safety and an elite DB as a junior. First team All-Big Ten and All-American in 2005. Left school after junior season and was selected with the 8th overall pick by Buffalo. Final Grade: All-American.

14. Jorrie Adams – OL – Texas A&M (Jasper, TX) – Switched to TE, redshirted in ’03. Moved to DT in ’04 where he played in every game recording 22 tackles. Dismissed from team in June 2005. After sitting out two years enrolled at Division II Angelo State in August, 2007. Played OL for the Rams in ’07 and has two years of eligibility left. Final Grade: Bust.

13. Mike Jones – OL – Iowa (Oak Lawn, IL) – Three year starter, honorable mention All-Big 10 as a sophomore, first team as a senior. Undrafted. Signed with Bears in December, 2007. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

12. Eric Young – OL – Tennessee (Union, SC) – Two year starter, injured in game 8 of senior season, but still named second team All-SEC (AP) despite missing 6 games. Not drafted. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

11. Andre Caldwell – WR – Florida – (Tampa, FL) – Finished career as Gators all time leading receiver with 185 catches for 2,349 yards and 16 touchdowns. Never made first or second team All-SEC. Played key role in 2006 National Championship team. 3rd round choice of Bengals in 2008 draft. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.