Building a defsensive class

taken by Ken Lund

Building a defensive recruiting class after the loss of Robert Nkemdiche. This has been the top issue for Dabo Swinney the last two days. Everyone has been so focused on the comings and goings of the top defensive end, they have failed to notice some of the other notable additions to the Clemson lineup. Clemson has recently added Scott Pagano, the Hawaiian defensive tackle, and also have been trying to coerce Montravius Adams, another defensive tackle into becoming a Tiger. While the Tigers have slowly been chipping away at becoming a top 10 team, it is becoming more challenging for the recruiting staff to keep players away from Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss. Through the months Clemson has lost several good commits to these other schools. Dabo and his recruiting staff have added several important defensive backs to the depth chart. The staff will be focused heavily on bringing a unstoppable defensive to Death Valley next year. If they get whip the defense into shape, next year the Clemson Tigers can be on of the top ranked teams in the NCAA. 

Breaking news on 5 star recruit Robert Nkemdiche!

The soap opera story of Robert Nkemdiche has encountered a new twist. The number one Defensive End recruit has been committed to Clemson University for months, but several weeks ago, his mother's interview cause doubt in the minds of the Clemson staff. The local newspaper interviewed Robert's coach asking about his commitment information, and he confirmed that the young player has officially uncommitted from Clemson University. He says that the final answer was a family decision. The head coach continues on later to say that the Defensive End is still highly interested in becoming a Tiger, but he has an older brother that plays for Ole Miss and he would like to be closer to his family. This issue is something that has been a concern for the Clemson staff ever since Robert's mother got involved in his college decision process. His mother was interviewed after he officially made his decision, which gives a lot of insight into the real issues behind the college choices. This is a difficult pill for Clemson fans to swallow, but the staff will be trying extremely hard to change his mind.

Quin Blanding the five star safety!

The highly watched safety has finally narrowed down his college choice to ten. Can anyone take a guess which university has made his final options? If you guess Clemson, you would be right! The 6'2, almost 200 lbs. safety from Virginia has had numerous offers from schools across the nation. Clemson is going to have a difficult job trying to beat out the other nine schools for the right to have him in spring practice. Some of the other schools recruiting the player include; UNC, Florida, Florida State, and Ohio State. If Blanding does become a Tiger, it will be a huge asset to the Clemson secondary.

Scott Pagano. Another defensive recruit

Scott Pagano committed to play for Clemson in August. He will add yet another 4 star recruit for the Clemson Tigers, and also another star defensive lineman to the team. This young man will be apart of the highly recruited defensive team that will hopefully lead Clemson to having a stronger defense. The 6'3, 280 lbs players picked Clemson over LSU and Alabama. When asked why he only stated that felt comfortable at the school (anyone see a trend?). With Clemson having some of the top recruits, this class is going to be one of the most closely watched freshman classe in the nation.
Thankfully it seems like Dabo's recruiting staff is staring to focus on improving their defensive struggles. If they are able to secure a top defensive squad, the Tiger will be unstoppable next year on the gridiron.


P.S. Picture courtesy of Sweet Carolina Design & Photo

2012 Recruiting Rankings No. 16: Clemson Tigers | AthlonSports.com

2012 Recruiting Rankings No. 16: Clemson Tigers | AthlonSports.com 
A little old, but still a great article on the 2012 recruiting! Gives some amazing information on early enrollments. Some positions that will be lacking next year, and some of the top recruits! Go check it out all you Tigers!

What Clemson has, needs, and did. Duke recap.

With the Duke game in the record books, we can look back at what Clemson should focus on recruiting, what Clemson already has, and how amazing they did. Well as any Clemson Tiger fan knows, the one thing we have is Wide Receivers. The last two years, the Tigers have had some of the best receivers in the league. In the Duke game, "Nuke" had three touchdowns...in his first three receptions. Sammy had 98 yards and a touchdown. These clues lead us to believe Clemson is obviously a offensive team (Duh!), which is why the recruiting staff should focus heavily on the defensive side of the ball.
While the Tiger defensive looked above average on Saturday, I would say that was more of a Duke lack of offense. Through the season we have watched countless offenses get behind our linebackers catching a long pass for a touchdown. Even Duke was no exception to the rule. This should be one of the coaches and recruiting staffs primary concerns. Without a semi-decent defensive, Clemson will never be able to run with the big dogs.

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is producing another recruit!

The MD high school has provided college football with several good players in the past, and now Clemson has committed one of their players. Dorian O'Daniel has given a commitment to the Tiger's to come join them for the next season. The senior plays both running back and linebacker, and excels at both positions. With almost 140 rushing yards a game and averaging 4 tackles a game, this 6'2 football player has quite an impact on the field.

Clemson in the fight for another top recruit

Montravius Adams says he has narrowed down his college choices down to five final top choice, and it just so happens that Clemson is one of them. The other four of his top choices are Alabama (obviously!), Florida Gators, Auburn (The other "tigers"), And Georgia Bulldogs. Adams has had offers from 20 other universities. Several experts are saying that Alabama is the most obvious choice for the 6'4, 310 lbs. defensive lineman, but he has not officially made a decision yet. The big advantage that Clemson has, is the fact that have already committed the number one pick for next season. This young defensive star would be a great addition to the Tiger's line, hopefully Dabo will be able to charm this young man into joining the Clemson family.

Where do recruits come from?

I'm sure you've been sitting around watching college football and thought to yourself, "Where do the coaches find these guys?" There are numerous ways a coach or recruitment staff can discover a young player. Through local high schools, word-of-mouth, or junior colleges. But for Clemson, Dabo refuses to recruit any player from a junior college. But unfortunately Clemson administration has strict rules on transfer players. With any type of junior college player, they must be able to transfer in a certain amount of hours into a degree to make them eligible . Many people have assumed that Dabo will not recruit these types of players, but his lack of junior college players is actually a restriction put in place by the administration, not on Dabo's personal preference.

Invterview with Demarcus Robinson

TigerNet got to have a personal chat with the Georgia Wide Receiver and find out more about the Clemson Recruit! Asking him what he wants from college, to what superpower he would like to have, and even who his dream date would be. Now all you Tiger fans, go check it out!

Jae'Lon Oglesby

Jae'Lon Oglesby a high school junior from Daniel High school (just a few short miles from Clemson University), helped lead his team in a huge victory. In a recent title game Oglesby rushed for 380 yards, which contributed to his overall 2000 yards for the season. This 2014 commit still has one year to go before he will be running down the hill, but he has already expressed extreme interest in wearing orange every Saturday. This young man will be a great addition to the Tiger's offense, but unfortunately, as we have seen all season, the offense is not something Clemson struggles with. It's the defense.

Elijah Daniel Uncommitted ... maybe?

Elijah Daniel the top Defensive End recruit for Clemson, may have uncommitted from attending Clemson University. He sent out a Tweet on October 20, saying that Clemson "Did not feel right", and also that his family didn't think so tho either. When questioned about the tweet, (which is now deleted) Elijah says that his account was "hacked", but it is well known that Ole Miss was trying very hard to try and have him commit. If these two events are connected, only time will be able to tell.

High School Junior Gaining Attention of Clemson

Kwamelle Barnes, a high school junior from Saluda, SC, has quickly been gaining recognition from several recruiting staffs. The 6'4, 280 lbs., with a size 17 shoes, this defensive and offensive lineman is beginning to make quite a stir within the Clemson Tiger's recruiting team. While he is only a junior in high school, it is never too early to start taking offers on star looking prospects. Barnes believes his first offer to a school should be coming soon. He says that he has interests in several different schools right now, but has not visited any yet.

Recruiting article

While browsing through the local newspaper's archives I happened across a informational article dealing with Clemson recruiting. While the article is a couple of months old, there is still some great information in there, with a couple of quotes from Dabo about his recruiting style and some things that should be expected. Head on over and check it out!

Peach County's Wide Reciever

Any Clemson fan would know that one thing Dabo does not lack is wide receivers, but Clemson is trying to take hold of yet another star receiver. The Tiger's are a strong offensive team, with several leading receivers, and hopefully will have another in the next season. The recruiting staff has committed Demarcus Robinson from Peach County, Georgia. The 6'3 football player has over 400 yards receiving in this season with an average of over 100 yards per a game.

TigerNet, another great way to stay connected

If your like me and can't get enough of Clemson Tiger info, then you should hop on over to TigerNet. They have a lot of great information with all things Clemson Tiger related. You can become a member and help start sharing your love for Death Valley.

Elijah Daniel Highlights

Elijah Daniel, a strong-side defensive end from Indiana, has been recruited to play for Clemson University. Daniel is just one of the numerous defensive players that Clemson has recruited for the next season. The 6-4, 250 lbs. recruit has been committed to Clemson since June, but some people still think that he might end up at LSU or Florida, but Clemson is doing everything in their power to keep him a Tiger.

Robert Nkemdiche and .... his mother

Robert Nkemdiche, the top defensive end from Georgia, has been committed to play for Clemson for a couple months now, but unfortunately his mother is still not happy about the decision. Robert says that Ole Miss is still a strong contender in his college decision, which would make his mother happy. Ole Miss is also where Robert's brother is a red shirt freshman. Only time will tell on who gets to make his college decision. Him or his mother.
For more info on the Nkemdiche legacy, here is a great article of the on-going drama of his recruitment process. 

Top Recruits of the upcoming freshman class

We might only be half way though the football season, but a lot of people are already looking ahead to the next year's freshman football class. With several games under each team's belts, it's starting to become clear what positions will need to be filled or improved for the next year. There are numerous amounts of blogs and experts out there who have named their top 15 recruits for the High School class of 2013 and while nobody will ever agree, there are several must see players. Rant Sports does a great job of outlining some key High Schoolers that will have a heavy impact on the college gridiron next year.

Clemson Recruiting Needs

With the top defensive end in the nation committed to join the Tiger club, Dabo can now focus on finding some great players for the other areas that are lacking. The Bleacher Report did a great job in creating an overall look at which players will be essential for the recruiting staff at Clemson to focus on over the next few months.