Ellis Johnson to Tennessee?

So South Carolina started a rumor that Steele was still going to go to Tennessee and this guy named Keith Allsep who is supposedly a former Rivals employee goes and messages on Facebook Justin Parker.

From the Rivals board someone was nice enough to take this screen shot of Parker's page. Ladies he is single. First, that is awesome to catch the guy lying like that. Here is what I think should happen.

1. Everyone who is a Tiger go add Justin Parker as a friend and tell him to come to Clemson, welcome to the family, looking forward to you starting at MLB next year, etc.
2. Everyone add Keith Allsep as a friend and firebomb his page. Then take a picture and share.

I think its equally creepy to Facebook stalk these recruits but on the other hand if opposing fans, especially coots, are having an impact then we need to be dominating that space. ( For the record, however Renee Sloand Thompson is--she is fighting hard for Clemson, social media style jutsu) So now an opposing rumor is that Ellis Johnson is going to leave to Tenn. which probably isn't true since South Carolina is offering him a pay raise now. It was probably just leverage but as Ard said, something about where there is smoke there is fire?? Great scoop guys!!

Recruiting Fodder

So with the dead period fast approaching and the finish line for this recruiting class in sight lets evaluate what is going on. First I want to say that nationally our class has slowly gained more recognition--I think the staff did a good job of evaluating some slightly underrated talent that is now being reflected late in lame star rankings.

Last time I posted on recruiting the top priority I stated was keeping all of our current commits. Well we have done an admirable job up until this point. Georgia and Auburn just will not stop trying to pick off our kids. They have been relentless and finally got David Beasley to visit and are trying to turn him. It would be a big blow, he is probably our best OL commit. Hopefully the Darius Robinson saga is over, apparently he visited Auburn then lied about it but everyone should take a deep breath and try to understand that these kids have a lot of pressure on them and good kids make mistakes. Darius if you are reading this, welcome to the family, to Tiger Nation, you got a lot of talent don't waste it like some two bit Coot(ie committing a felony).

The other concern about holding on to players is getting them all to qualify. There are rumblings that our top WR commit Bryant may not make it. This would be a major blow bc I love DeAndre Hopkins but he lacks the top level speed that Bryant has (although Bryant has slowly been slipping down recruiting boards). Also I recently heard that Craig from Gaffney is going to be close on the SAT. That is pure rumor though and should be treated as such cause we need serious help at WR soon. Charon Peake in 2011 is one of the top WR's in the nation and a Clemson lean.

Ok so the names I said to look out for were Justin Parker, DJ Howard, Ethan Farmer, Lipford and some others.

Then our staff got on their needs and by miraculous intervention have somehow put us not only in the race but potentially leading for KEENAN ALLEN!! I don't think Tiger fans know how good this kid is. I was literally drooling watching him play at the Shrine Bowl. Easily the best player on the field, best player in the Carolinas. Perhaps the number one WR in the nation!! Could start day 1 at WR or Safety in my opinion. Lets not forget that we also are leading for his older brother Zach Maynard. Let us set the record straight Maynard is not a bad QB. This isnt some 2 for 1 deal like Alabama fans, and Coot fans are trying to paint it as. I honestly think with Korn transferring we would be after Maynard regardless of the linkage. He is leaving Buffalo because his coach Turner Gill left (if it was me, it would be bc its stinking cold up in Buffalo--end of story), and you can't fault his brother for wanting to play with his brother. That is certainly not blackmail and to call it such is just sour grapes.

The two are also going to Cal but you got to think the hometown proximity favors the Tigers. We don't have a QB prospect in this class, Parker could be MLB bound and then you have Boyd as an unproven commodity to compete against. He has 18 TD's and 15 ints as a freshman--not all-world but competent and certainly with a year to sit out and learn the system would put him in good shape. Plus the brothers are together.

Back to my gushing though, KEENAN ALLEN!! He is way better than Lattimore and would be an amazing addition to the team. Would literally solve our problems at WR or legitimately replace McDaniel next year. Insane...go Dabo, go!! This was the big splash I was looking for--we have close to a top 10 class with this signing and about 5 top 150 players already verbals for 2011. Now that is championship caliber recruiting!!

So we need to finish strong by getting Justin Parker--he is still the number one defensive priority for me. A solid Mike Linebacker who averages between a 3/4 star. Right now it seems to be between us and LSU but Parker has been everywhere this recruiting season and I wouldn't count on it until the ink is dry. That being said I think we lead and if it really is a two team race, I don't know how many plane rides that give you headaches Parker wants to go on. Justin stay close to home because we desperately need you. You know USuCk isn't going anywhere in the SEC, they will have another .500 season next year but Clemson can win the ACC and soon compete for the Natl Champs. This year we lost to TCU and GT twice (even Maryland and its slow QB ran on us) because we lacked elite LB talent--you could change all that and erase those losses.

DJ Howard has to be monitoring the Lattimore situation. Auburn is stacked at RB and you'll get buried on the depth chart. Clemson gives you a chance to be the big back. Jamie Harper is good but there is plenty of room there for you to contribute right away. I think Dabo has really opened his eyes and made him feel like family. (Dabo has already earned his paycheck by flipping Barnes from FSU, by the way)

Last is Ethan Farmer who might not qualify but we are neck and neck with NCarolina for his services. I really like him and hope he comes to Clemson. He is the type of kid who doesn't care if he redshirts or not, just wants to get in the weight room and get to work. Seems like a lunch pail attitude that would fit in well, especially in contrast to some of our more finesse D Lineman. I would have liked to see him more as a TE, where I think we need some more help--we will see though. It'll come down to National Signing Day.

If we land Parker this is a good solid class that helps the team take a step forward, if we sign Allen we should be cheering. The addition of a QB depth, another big back, a MLB, DL/TE, and all world WR would make my day. Oh and got to hold on to our top OL recruit Beasley. If we could have scored one more plus OLineman like Max Garcia I would have been ecstatic about this class. Good job Dabo and company--now bring it home!!

Dan Brooks, Best Hire of the Year

I like Harbison and Steele but I got to say the best hire of the year so far for me has been Dan Brooks. He is a monster on the recruiting trail and I think he is someone you can trust to evaluate and develop talent along the defensive line. At the beginning to the year we were talking about how thin we were on the inside but by the end of the year we were getting help from Chavis, Moore, Cumbie, to complement the play of Jenkins and Thompson.

So we just landed Tra Thomas who is a three star DLineman but another solid pick-up. With the addition of Watson and hopefully Gibson, this class is shaping up nicely and I think that we are going to land Ethan Farmer, just cause Brooks is that good. The class of 2011 already seems solid, so recruiting is going well. The only missing piece, especially with Jake Nicolopulous tragic circumstances (we are all hoping for the best), is help at Linebacker. Landing Parker makes us that much better next year. Maye is average, Conner gone, Willard may help next year along with Hawkins, but Scotty Cooper has to be the biggest disappointment for me at linebacker. Those knee problems have hurt his career. I am sick of waiting till next year for a good Linebacker.

So we have to lock down Vic Beasley but it seems the rest of the class is pretty set. I see us pulling off a few more fireworks here at the end. I think our staff is hungry for some talent and putting in some extra effort to get it. Pearman is earning his stripes getting Watson and hopefully Gibson. Also I think that the loss of Wolford hurts SC more than anyone is saying. He was their best recruiter and was breathing some new enthusiasm and life into that program along with Ellis Johnson. Glad he left.

Geographically we are doing better this year in Georgia but arent pulling anything out of Florida like in years past--I think that is because Swinney is unable to work his magic, but I am looking forward to him closing strong. I think our in home visits are going to get us four more solid recruits. Look for Farmer, Max Garcia, White, Parker and possibly Woestmann down the homestretch. Not a spectacular year but a solid one if these coaches can be trusted with their talent evals over some of the star ratings.

Got to love Recruiting

So here is where Dabo and company prove their metal. I always thought one of the major bonuses about hiring Dabo was that he was going to be a solid recruiter. If you can recruit then at least you have the talent to compete every year. I thought we did an adequate job salvaging the recruits last season but nothing spectacular. But after a year in place, I want to see some home runs this year.

Dabo has a staff that has a proven track record of recruiting talent. Napier was an excellent recruiting coordinator. Fat Brad for all his flaws does have good connections in-state but I'm not sure how important that really is in modern college football. Its important but not paramount. His son is the recruiting coordinator and so far I have not been particularly impressed.

We have failed on a lot of in-state backyard talent this year and that never sits well with me. Byrnes has been a disaster and we are paying for screwing up Lattimore's recruitment. Somebody made somebody angry, blah blah blah. We lost Miller, Willis, and Lattimore. So Davis needs to prove himself to me somewhat and land some big fish. Steele, Brooks, and Harbison are all solid if not special recruiters who take the job seriously so I am expecting big things. I am interested to see how Pearman does, he is in charge of recruiting some O-Line talent we desperately need.

Right now it seems like we are going to hold on to our 18 commits so far which is very good news. We have battled back against Georgia to secure Crawford and Beasley which is big. Darius Robinson is still flirting with Auburn but we should be able to hold out. This is good news because in recent years we have been subject to a great deal of poaching from other teams.

South Carolina is putting together another solid class unfortunately. We really want Mack to go somewhere else and Quarles almost jumped ship. If Lattimore goes somewhere else then I'm not too worried. Still cant believe we lost Gilmore and Holloman last year.

Our big battles now are with stealing Max Garcia away from Maryland despite a better journalism school?? Max--journalism is dead...come to Clemson. Also the battle for Justin Parker continues to rage, we led but not so much anymore...We need a big time LB and I dont want to wait another year. We have a shot with RB White and maybe Ethan Farmer (cross your fingers). Im hoping Dabo can be an insane closer for us and we can turn in a stellar class to get some momentum back in the program.

If not I think we need some hostesses. This is scary but really pure genius. Employing girls to shadow players on facebook, texting, go to some games and then leave them high and dry after they commit. Thats a UT Wild boy for yah...

Justin Parker Come On Down

Justin Parker may be the best linebacker in the state of South Carolina and it looks like Clifton Geathers recent arrest just put us in the lead for his services. Lets hope no Tigers do anything remotely that stupid anymore. Recuiting is changing--no longer could a school try to bury that story and keep it from a recruits mom, and with texting, emal. facebook, etc. players, coaches, journalists, reruiting sites, and fans--everyone can share in the year long process.

So anyone want to start the Justin Parker should come to Clemson facebook page? If the rules are gray, then all bets are off. Maybe someone should just go add him as a friend....

Anyway, Justin if you're reading this--Clemson has always wanted a coveted linebacker. Clemson is good people so come and join the family.