1st and Ten – Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid –
If you’re a defensive player in the ACC, you’ve got to just hate
seeing James Davis in the backfield. #1 in the shotgun. He’s
handed the ball and gets a couple of blocks in front of him.
All of a sudden, 215 pounds of angry Tiger running back is
headed your way somewhere on the field. So, do you try to come
up and lay some wood on him and risk the embarrassment of being
swatted away like a fly? Or, do you come up and grab some
shoelaces and risk being exposed for being a Nancy-boy? Tough
choice, huh? Well, okay, so maybe it’s not so drastic, but what
is now well-known around the ACC is that Davis is quickly
becoming a force in this league. The true sophomore from the
ATL took over as the #1 running back, leading Clemson with 879
yards, missing 1,000 only because he sat out the Temple game.
Davis and Reggie Merriweather form the best 1-2 punch in the
ACC, and the return of both backs will give offensive
coordinator Rob Spence the luxury of running the ball,
literally, as much as he’d like, which helps when you lose a QB
like Charlie Whitehurst. Davis combines power, speed and vision
into one heck of an explosive package. He had four hundred yard
ball games and was the only running back all year to go for 100
yards+ on Colorado, which he did in the Champs Bowl where he
piled up 150 on 28 carries. The last two games of the season
were when Davis really took his game to another level, and that
should lay the groundwork for at least 1,300 yards this season
and first team All-ACC honors. And, perhaps, if he’s good
enough, he may lead his Tigers on a little trip to Jacksonville
in early December.
2nd and Seven – The Dean of
Kickers – Okay, there’s really only one way that you’re ever
going to get any love as a kicker on these pages and that’s,
well, there’s two. One, you knock guys out on the kickoff
team. Uh, what’s the other? You’re the most clutch kicker in
the nation. Ding! That’s got to be Clemson’s Jad Dean. His
first victim was Texas A&M, who saw him kick a school record six
field goals, including the game winner, and they weren’t the
only ones. Dean finished the season 24 of 31 (two of which were
blocked) and led the ACC in scoring. Sure, the Clemson faithful
would like to see him kicking the one pointers this year,
instead of the triples. But, when the game is on the line,
there’s no other kicker in the nation that Clemson fans would
want on the field other than Dean.
3rd and Three – Five Fingers
Acting as a Fist – There are two types of coaches – those
who worry about everything and those who have their entire
offensive line coming back for another year. Alright, maybe
there are some levels of in-between, but the point is that Tommy
Bowden and Spence have to be ecstatic to have all five offensive
line starters back for 2006. As you watched Clemson last year,
you could see progress as the Tigers quintet learned Rob
Spence’s balanced, power attack. Those five starters, Barry
Richardson, Roman Fry, Dustin Fry, Nathan Bennett and Marion
Dukes, will make up one of the best offensive lines in the
nation and they could pave the way for Davis and Merriweather to
both go over 1,000, if all parties stay healthy this year.
4th and One – Living on the
Edge – The Clemson defense has a few holes this year. Tye
Hill is running fast for the NFL and should have a new home on
Saturday. Charles Bennett is out of eligibility, as is former
Ed White star Jamaal Fudge. But, the man that created the most
havoc for opposing offenses will return this year – Gaines
Adams. The fact that his name is Gaines is highly ironic for
ACC offenses as they tend to lose yardage when Adams turns the
corner. At 6’5” and 265, he has prototypical 4-3 NFL rush end
written all over him. He’s a blur off the edge, but he also is
strong at the point of attack against the run. Without Bennett
on the opposite side, he’ll see more doubles and chips this
season, but that should be good practice for when he takes his
game to the next level. But, at this level, he should keep the
Clemson defense in good stead, even if he is living on the edge.