Monday 10/11/2004
Oct. 11, 2004
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Clemson Finally Back in Death Valley This is Homecoming weekend on the Clemson campus, and it has a special meaning for the Tiger football team because they haven’t played a game at home in 34 days. This year’s schedule has been among the most challenging in years and that includes evaluation from a calendar standpoint. This is the first time since 1984 that Clemson has gone 34 days without a home game. William Perry’s final team also went 34 days (September 2 through October 5) without playing in Death Valley.
Clemson just finished a stretch of three straight games on the road. The last time Clemson had to do that was 1994 when Clemson played at Georgia, at Duke and at Florida State in successive games. Clemson also had three straight games on the road in 1990 and the aforementioned 1984 season. The 1984 streak also had an open date weekend (as this year’s schedule did) during that stretch of three straight road games. You have to go all the way back to 1965 to find the last time Clemson played four straight road games.
And, the Tigers haven’t been playing a weak schedule on the three road lately. Texas A&M (23rd), Florida State (7th) and Virginia (6th) are all ranked in the top 25 of the latest AP poll. When Clemson played Florida State and Virginia on the road back to back the last two games it marked the first time since 1966 that Clemson had to play consecutive games on the road against top 10 teams. The Tigers still have another road game at a top 10 team, as Clemson will travel to third-ranked Miami (FL) on November 6.
Clemson Successful on Homecoming Over the years Clemson has had great success on homecoming and Tiger fans hope that continues on Saturday. The first homecoming game at Clemson was in 1922, a 21-0 loss to Centre. Clemson was 0-4-1 through its first five homecoming games, so it is surprising that the tradition continued. Clemson defeated Auburn in 1927 by a 3-0 score for its first homecoming victory.
There is no record of a homecoming game in 1930 or 1938, but the event has been held in conjunction with a football game every year since 1939, even through the war years. Clemson has a 58-19-3 overall on homecoming games, a .743 winning percentage.
The Tigers are 28-3-2 on homecoming since the 1971 season. The only three losses since 1971 have been to Georgia Tech in 1989, Virginia in 1997 and 2001 to North Carolina. Clemson defeated Virginia in overtime on homecoming last year, 30-27, and Wake Forest by a 31-23 count in 2002.
This is the first time Clemson has played a non-conference game on homecoming since 1993 when the Tigers met East Tennessee State.
Clemson Homecoming History (57-19-3)
@Overtime (opponent AP rank in parenthesis)
First time Winners at Death Valley Utah State will attempt to become just the second first-time visitor in the last 27 years to win at Death Valley. The only opponent since 1978 to win in its first visit to Clemson was Marshall, a 13-10 winner in the season opener of the 1999 season, Tommy Bowden’s first game as head coach. Prior to that, the last first-appearance winner at Clemson was Notre Dame in 1977.
Utah State is the 45th different team to come to Clemson Memorial Stadium and the previous 44 have a record of 11-32-1 in their first game at Clemson. Three of the 11 first-time winners (Alabama, Kentucky, Marshall) have beaten the Tigers by the exact same score, 13-10.
A look to Clemson’s home record over the years shows why the Tigers are anxious to return to Death Valley. Clemson has a record of 296-114-15 at home over the years, a .714 winning percentage. Clemson is 244-254-25 away from home, a .490 winning percentage for those 523 games on an opponent’s home field. Clemson is 55-44-5 in neutral site games. Overall, Clemson has won 58.7 percent of its games over the years.
Clemson has a 223-88-7 record in Death Valley (since 1942), a .712 winning percentage for 318 games. Tommy Bowden’s has followed the lead of his predecessors when it comes to playing at home. He is 24-10 so far in his 34 home games, a .706 winning percentage. If he leads the Tigers to victory against Utah State that record will be 25-10, or a 714 winning percentage, the exact same home winning percentage as Clemson’s home winning percentage since the Tigers first started playing the sport in 1896.
First-time Winners at Death Valley
Clemson vs. Utah State History Clemson and Utah State have never met on the gridiron, but the two schools did meet in an NCAA Tournament basketball game in 1980. In fact, it was the first NCAA Tournament game in Clemson history, a March 6, 1980 game at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, UT. Clemson won that contest 76-73 behind 22 points from All-ACC guard Billy Williams and 13 points and nine rebounds from Larry Nance. The Tigers went on to reach the Elite Eight of the Tournament, the only time in history a Clemson men’s basketball team has reached the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Utah State is a member of the Sun Belt Conference, an affiliation it will end in 2005 when the Aggies join the Western Athletic Conference. Clemson is 1-0 against teams in the Sun Belt and that game took place just last year when Clemson defeated Middle Tennessee 37-14 at Death Valley.
Utah State, who will be playing a game in the state of South Carolina for the first time ever, has played two games against current ACC members, but both schools weren’t in the ACC at the time of the game. In 1975 Utah State dropped a close 17-8 decision at Florida State. Three years later the Aggies lost at Miami (FL) by a 17-16 score.Utah State Update Utah State and Clemson have similar statistics entering Saturday’s game at Death Valley. Both have had difficulty in terms of rushing yards per game, but average over 200 yards per game passing. Both teams have had problems with turnovers as well. Utah State committed six turnovers in its eight point loss to North Texas last Saturday.
The Aggies of fifth-year head coach Mick Dennehy, a 1973 Montana graduate, have a 2-4 record entering Saturday’s game. Two of the losses have been to nationally prominent programs Alabama and Utah. Utah State recorded a strong win when it won at UNLV over the Rebels team coached by former National Championship coach (Southern Cal) John Robinson.
Travis Cox is the leader of the offense from the quarterback position. The senior from Hyrum, Utah was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference choice last year when he completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 2791 yards and 18 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. He is in his second year as a starter, as he started all 12 games a year ago. He led the Sun Belt Conference in total offense in 2003, thanks in part to his first start of the year when he threw for 280 yards against Utah.
This season, Cox has completed 55.7 percent of his passes, but has been plagued by interceptions, as he has 13 in six games. He has thrown for eight touchdowns. His favorite target is Tony Pennyman, a senior from Hayward, CA who had just 10 catches for 88 yards all last year. But, in 2004, he has 29 catches for 440 yards and two scores, including a 79-yard catch and run. Kevin Robinson, also the top punt returner in the nation, is second on the team with 20-265 and two scores.
Utah State is 115th in the nation in rushing, and is led by Chris Forbes with 127 yards in 43 attempts. He is the only player over 100 yards rushing for the season for the Aggies who had 1300 yards rushing as a team a year ago. The defense is led by Robert Watts, who has 40 tackles and two interceptions for 100 return yards. The senior linebacker from Lancaster, CA who has 31 career starts, led the team in tackles last year with 118. Jared Johnstun is second on the club in tackles with 39, while Antonio Taylor has 38 stops to go with two interceptions for 71 return yards.
Utah State is coming off a 31-23 loss to North Texas last Saturday. Jamario Thomas, one of the top rushers in the nation, had 256 yards in 38 attempts to lead North Texas. Cox threw for 290 yards for Utah State, but he had four interceptions and lost two fumbles. With North Texas leading 24-20 in the third period, Utah State was driving for the lead touchdown when Cox fumbled and it was recovered by John Covington of North Texas, who returned the ball 100 yards for a touchdown. Neither team scored in the fourth period.
Utah State Football History Many Clemson fans might not be familiar with Utah State’s history, but the Aggies have had some prominent players and coaches over the years. ·Merlin Olsen, a 14-time All-Pro with the Las Angeles Rams from 1963-76 was an All-American at Utah State. He was also well known as a color commentator on NFL football for NBC, and for his role in the NBC series “Little House on the Prairie.” ·Cornell Green played college basketball at Utah State, not football, but he went on to a five-time Pro Bowl career with the Dallas Cowboys in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ·McCarthur Lane was a first-round draft pick out of Utah State in 1968, who went on to a Pro Bowl career with the St. Louis Cardinals. ·Jim Turner was the placekicker for the New York Jets for many years and played in two Super Bowls, one with the Jets in 1968 and one with Denver in 1977. ·John Ralston served as head coach at Utah State from 1959-62 before he moved on to Stanford where he was the head coach when Jim Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy and a Rose Bowl in 1970. ·Bruce Snyder was the head coach at Utah State from 1976-82 before he became the head coach at California. He led the Golden Bears to victory against Clemson in the 1992 Citrus Bowl, then took Arizona State to the 1997 Rose Bowl.
Clemson-Maryland Game Time Set The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Monday that the Clemson vs. Maryland game on October 23 will kickoff at 12 noon in Death Valley. The game eill be televised by Jefferson Pilot.
Whitehurst All-Time Passing Yardage Leader Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst became Clemson’s career leader in completions in the Texas A&M game. He had 20 completions in that contest (third consecutive game with exactly 20) and now has 497 for his career entering the Utah State game.
Whitehurst established another Clemson career record in the loss at Virginia when he became Clemson’s career passing yardage leader. Whitehurst completed 16-28 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown against the Cavaliers. He entered the game needing just 80 passing yards to break Woody Dantzler’s record of 6037. His performance at Virginia now gives him 6124 for his career. The next record in range is the touchdown pass record. Whitehurst now has 37 for his career at Clemson, second in Clemson history behind Dantzler’s 41. Not bad considering Whtiehurst is just a junior and has played just 27 games, 23 as a starter.
Whitehurst owns 35 Clemson records. He became Clemson’s career leader in passing attempts at Florida State and now has 850. He also still holds the record for completion percentage at 58.5, ahead of Dantzler’s 57.8. Whitehurst is third in school history in terms of total offense with 6191, trailing only Dantzler (8798), and Greene (6786).
Whitehurst threw for 275 yards in Clemson’s loss to Georgia Tech after recording 288 in the opener against Wake Forest. He had 192 passing yards at Texas A&M breaking his Clemson record streak of eight straight games with at least 200 yards passing. In fact, his streak was eight straight with at least 246 yards through the air. He has thrown for at least 246 yards in 17 of his 22 games as a starter. Whitehurst is now 13-10 as a starter in his Clemson career, 8-3 at home, 4-6 on the road and 1-1 at neutral site.
Clemson Career Leaders in Completion Percentage (Minimum of 150 attempts)
Clemson Career Leaders in Completions (Minimum of 150 attempts)
Clemson Career Leaders in Passing Yardage (Minimum of 150 attempts)
Charlie Whitehurst Career Quarterback Rankings
Kick Return Men on Display Fans will need to pay attention to special teams plays with the same concentration they use while watching regular scrimmage plays in Saturday’s game between Clemson and Utah State. Two of the top kick return men in the nation will be on display when Clemson meets Utah State. Utah State’s Kevin Robinson is a freshman wide receiver who is leading the nation in punt returns with a 36.0 average. He has two punt returns for touchdowns, including a 90-yarder, one of just five players nationally with two punt returns for touchdowns this season. Clemson will have to spend a lot of time on punt coverage over the coming weeks as Miami (FL) return man Devin Hester is second in the nation in punt returns with a 33.7 average, and also has two punt returns for touchdowns. Robinson’s 36.0 average so far this season is way ahead of the all-time NCAA record for a single season. The record is 25.9 yards per return by Bill Blackstock of Tennessee in 1951, one of just two players in NCAA history to average over 25 yards a punt return for the course of a season. Robinson is in his first year with the Utah State varsity and is a native of Fresno, CA. His brother, John Rushing, played defensive back at Washington State and is now the secondary coach at Utah State. Clemson has its own weapon in terms of kick returns in Justin Miller, who is also a starting cornerback for the Tigers. Miller ranks third in the nation and first in the ACC in kickoff return average with a 34.3 figure. His season performance includes an NCAA record 282 kickoff return yards at Florida State on September 25, a game in which he also had two returns for touchdown, just the 10th player in NCAA history to have two kickoff returns for touchdown in the same game. Miller also has a punt return for a score and is the only player in the nation with three total kick returns for touchdown this year. With Miller’s performance this year, he is now first in ACC history in career kickoff return average with a 31.3 figure, 3.2 yards per return against of former South Carolina player Dickie Harris, who played at South Carolina from 1969-70. Miller is now third in Clemson history in total kickoff return yards with 1408. He is just 145 yards away from breaking Derrick Hamilton’s record.
Clemson Career Leaders in Yards/Kickoff Return
Clemson Career Leaders in Career Kickoff Return Yards
ACC Career Leaders in Kickoff Return Average
(Min of 40 attempts) Clemson Kickoff Returns for touchdown (Chronological Order)
Kickoff Returns for touchdown under Tommy Bowden’s in orange
Richardson in Starting Lineup Clemson first-year freshman Barry Richardson made his first college start at offensive tackle against Virginia on Thursday, October 7 in Charlottesville. Richardson became the first Clemson first-year freshman offensive lineman to start a game since Stacy Long started at offensive tackle against Georgia in 1986. Long, who was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame on September 4, didn’t last long in that game against the Bulldogs, as he played just seven snaps in the entire game, but Clemson did gain the victory, 31-28. Since freshman eligibility returned to college football for the 1972 season, only three first-year freshman offensive linemen have started a game for the Tigers. In addition to Long, James Farr started at center against Rice in the opening game of 1980 and Joe Bostic started the last two games of the 1975 season at offensive tackle (Maryland and South Carolina). Thus, Richardson was just the fourth to start since 1972. Richardson’s ascension to the starting lineup is not that big a surprise because he has played 74 snaps over the last two games, 38 at Texas A&M and 36 at Florida State. He played the entire second half in Tallahassee and received high grades for his performance from line coach Brad Scott. Richardson did not allow a sack against the Seminoles and had an 81 percent technique grade. Richardson played every snap at Virginia and has now played 142 snaps for the season. Richardson, 6-7 and 350 pounds, came to Clemson from Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, SC where he played for Coach Bob Hayes. The 18-year-old graduated a year early from high school, the first scholarship player to leave high school a year early to come to Clemson. His brother Nate Richardson, is 6-4 and 285 pounds and is a starting tackle at South Carolina State as a red-shirt freshman. Believe it or not, both brothers lived in the same room while growing up.
Tigers Faced Top 10 Teams in Consecutive Games Clemson faced consecutive top 10 teams on the road against Florida State and Virginia recently. In the Associated Press poll of September 19, Florida State was ranked 8th prior to its game with Clemson, 11th by USA Today. In the October 3 poll, Virginia is ranked ninth by USA Today and 10th by AP. This was the first time Clemson has played consecutive games against top 10 teams on the road since 1966 when the Tigers played at #9 Georgia Tech and at #4 Alabama in consecutive non-conference games. Clemson has had to play consecutive games against teams ranked in the top dozen in the nation just four times in its history. In addition to the 1983 listing, the other seasons were in 1966 (vs. #9 Georgia Tech and #4 Alabama), 1963 (vs. #4 Oklahoma and #9 Georgia Tech), and 1955 (vs. #2 Maryland and #12 Auburn). Clemson did not win any of those games. The Tigers then will go back on the road to face first-year ACC school Miami (FL) in the Orange Bowl on November 6, another team currently ranked in the top 10 (third this week). If Miami is still ranked in the top 10 at that time, it would be just the second time in Clemson history and first since 1966 that Clemson has played three road games against top 10 teams in the same season. The 1966 team played at #9 Georgia Tech, at #4 Alabama and at #5 Southern Cal, all within the first five games of the season.
Turnovers a Telling Stat From a statistical standpoint it is easy to answer the question, “Why does Clemson have a 1-4 record?”
Entering games of October 16, Clemson has committed 15 turnovers on offense, while forcing just three on defense. That is a –12 turnover margin in just five games, meaning Clemson ranks last in the nation in turnover margin, 117 out of 117 teams. In terms of points off turnover so far this year the Tigers are being outscored 35-0 in that area. Clemson has lost the turnover margin stat in every game this year, with the exception of the Virginia game when both teams had one apiece.
When Tommy Bowden’s came to Clemson in 1999, his teams were noted for their excellence in that statistics. For the 1997 and 1998 seasons when he was the head coach at Tulane, Bowden’s teams finished fifth in the nation in turnover margin. Prior to this year, his five Clemson teams were 30-9 when at least breaking even in terms of turnover margin and 8-15 when they lost the turnover margin stat. In 2003, when Clemson won nine games, the Tigers were 6-0 when they won the turnover margin statistic. His 2000 team that also won nine games, had a 6-1 record when winning that stat.
Clemson has a history of doing well in this area. The Tigers are the co-holders of the national record for the fewest turnovers in a season with eight in 1940. Notre Dame also had just eight turnovers in 2000. Clemson is also the co-holder of the record for the fewest lost fumbles in a season as the Tigers lost just two in 1994. Fumbles by running backs have not been a problem of late. In fact, over the last 17 games a Clemson running back has lost just one fumble.
Miller’s Return Service One of Clemson’s most popular players on the 1978 Clemson team that finished with an 11-1 record and number-six final national ranking was Willie Jordan. He handled both punt and kickoff returns for the Tigers in addition to serving as a starting cornerback. That year he printed up his own tee-shirts that read “Willie’s Return Service”. He ranked fourth in the nation in punt returns that year and averaged 21 yards per kickoff return.
Twenty-six years later Justin Miller is having an even bigger impact on the Clemson return game. In fact, he is establishing standards that have not been seen previously. Miller set an NCAA record for kickoff return yards in a single game when he gained 282 yards in that category at Florida State on September 25. He shattered the previous mark (248 kickoff return yards on 10 returns by Tyrone Watley of Iowa State vs. Nebraska in 1997) by 34 yards. Miller had the record broken by his fourth return and it was just the third quarter.
Miller’s day included a record tying two kickoff returns for touchdown to tie another NCAA record. His first quarter 97-yarder gave Clemson a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and his 86-yarder off a Florida State free kick after a safety brought Clemson within 24-22 in the third period. Miller became the first ACC player in history to have two kickoff returns for touchdown in the same game and the 10th different player (11th occasions) to have two kick returns for touchdown in the same game. Rocket Ismail of Notre Dame (1988-90) is the only player to do it twice. Miller was the first player to do it since Tony Lukins of New Mexico State against Tulsa on October 6, 2001.
Miller already has three kick returns for touchdowns this year, the two kickoffs against Florida State and a 69-yard punt return against Wake Forest in the season opener. Entering the games of October 16, Miller stands third in the nation in kickoff returns with a 34.3 yard average. He now has a career average of 31.3, which is not only a Clemson record, but an ACC record. Miller has five career kick returns for touchdowns, three kickoff and two punt returns. The NCAA record for a career is eight, set by
Cliff Branch of Colorado in 1970 and 1971. Miller has a 12.7 average on punt returns to go with his 34.3 average on kickoff returns and ranks 21st in the nation in punt returns. He is attempting to become the first Clemson player to rank in the top 25 in both categories in the same season since Antwuan Wyatt did it in 1995.
Clemson Kickoff Returns for touchdown (Chronological Order)
Kickoff Returns for touchdown under Tommy Bowden’s in orange Miller’s Kick Returns for touchdown
Miller Fourth in All-Purpose Running There are many statistical oddities about Justin Miller season so far. He is currently fourth in the ACC and 44th in the nation in all-purpose yardage with a 125-yard average. That is an amazing stat considering he has not played a snap on offense yet this year and obviously has not rushing or receiving yards. He is the only player in the top 50 of the latest NCAA all-purpose running yards category without a yard rushing or receiving. No defensive player has ever led the ACC in all-purpose running.
Additionally, Miller actually leads the Clemson team in scoring with 18 points. He also has the team lead in touchdowns, and it is safe to say he is the only defensive player in the nation who leads his team in scoring.
The junior from Owensboro, KY has also been a leader on defense where he has 35 tackles to rank fourth on the team ad has six passes broken up to rank second in that category. He is still looking for his first interception of the season, but has 10 for his career, including eight during his freshman year when he was fifth in the nation in interceptions per game.
Miller’s diverse accomplishments are also reflected in the ACC player of the week selections. He was named ACC Defensive Back of the Week for his performance in the opener against Wake Forest, then won special teams honors for his efforts against Florida State. He is the only player to win in two categories so far this year.
Clemson Special Teams Productive Clemson has been solid in terms of special teams this year. Here are some facts about Clemson’s special teams performance so far in 2004: ·Clemson is sixth in the nation in kickoff returns with a 30.3 average. The Tigers are second in the ACC, with Virginia, the only ACC team with a higher ranking in that category. ·Clemson has blocked two punts this year, one by Chansi Stuckey against Wake Forest and one by C.J. Gaddis against Florida State. Both blocked punts resulted in safeties. ·Clemson special teams have scored 22 points so far this season on three returns for touchdown (all by Justin Miller) and the four points off two safeties. ·Punter Cole Chason has a 41.1 average with seven punts inside the 20 and five punts of 50 yards or more. ·The average start for Clemson opponents after a kickoff is the 24-yard line. Jad Dean has had nine touchbacks in 19 kickoffs and 14 of the 19 the opposition has started at its own 20 or worse. With Clemson’s kickoff return prowess, the Tigers have a 10-yard advantage in average starting field position after kickoffs (23 vs. the 33), through the first five games.
Hill Among National Leaders Again Clemson linebacker LeRoy Hill is picking up where he left off last season. During 2003, Hill ranked second in the nation in tackles for loss with 27 and he was also among the top 30 in quarterback sacks with eight in 13 games. This season, Hill already has 11 tackles for loss, including five quarterback sacks. He became just the second defensive player to sack a Virginia quarterback when he had a 12-yard sack at Virginia on October 7. He finished the game with 10 tackles, his third double figure game of the season.
Hill ranked seventh in the nation (prior to October 2 games) in tackles for loss per game and was 10th in quarterback sacks. Manny Lawson of NC State actually led the nation in sacks and was fourth in tackles for loss so that will be an interesting matchup of defensive players when NC State comes to Clemson on October 30.
Hill was the ACC Defensive Lineman of the week in Clemson’s loss to Georgia Tech when he had a season high 14 tackles, including three tackles for loss. He had 13 stops at Florida State, including three tackles for loss and a sack. Tye Hill (no relation) was another Clemson defender in the national rankings last week. The junior cornerback has seven passes defensed and ranked 13th in the nation in that area. He now has eight entering the games of October 16.
For his career, Hill now has 257 tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback sacks. He has done this even though he has started just 18 games in his Clemson career. Over his first two years, he played just 182 snaps from scrimmage.
During the preseason, Hill was named to the Butkus, Lombardi and Nagurski Award lists, one of 16 players nationally to appear on all three lists. The only other ACC player on all three was Pat Thomas of NC State.
The 16 Players on Butkus, Lombardi and Nagurski Preseason Lists Brian Atkinson, Northern Illinois Andy Avalos, Boise State Michael Broley, Southern Miss Nick Bunting, Tulsa Channing Crowder, Florida Will Derting, Washington State Spencer Havner, UCLA LeRoy Hill, Clemson Derrick Johnson, Texas James Kinney, Missouri Kirk Morrison, San Diego State Robert Rodriquez, UTEP Pat Thomas, NC State Rian Wallace, Temple Zac Woodfin, UAB Pierre Woods, Michigan
Running backs Averaging 5.0 Yards Per Carry Tommy Bowden’s has been looking for a breakaway running back since he became the Clemson coach in 1999. In his first three years, Travis Zachery was the leader and had 1027 yards in 2000. Zachery went on to become Clemson’s career leader in all-purpose yardage, a record that was broken by Derrick Hamilton’s in 2003. But Zachery’s longest career run was just 52 yards.
Entering the Georgia Tech game , a Clemson running back had just three runs of 50 yards or more under Tommy Bowden’s, two 52-yard runs by Zachery, and a 50-yard run by Duane Coleman last year against North Carolina. In the first game of this year, Clemson’s longest run by a running back was just 12 yards.
But, that changed against Georgia Tech when running backs Reggie Merriweather and Kyle Browning both had runs of 54 yards or more. Merriweather had a 62-yard run with 8:19 left, then Browning had a 54-yard run with 3:18 remaining. So, Bowden went over five years without a run of more than 52 yards by a running back, then had two five minutes apart.
Merriweather’s run against Georgia Tech was the longest by a Clemson running back since the final game of the 1996 season when Raymond Priester had a 65-yard touchdown run against South Carolina in Death Valley. Browning and Merriweather combined for 170 yards in just 13 carries, a 13.1 average against Georgia Tech. They had 15-79 at Texas A&M.
For the season, Clemson running backs are averaging 4.98 yards per carry, the best in Bowden’s six seasons at Clemson. So far this year Merriweather has a 7.7 average on 21 attempts and Kyle Browning has a 8.0 average on 13 attempts.
Clemson Running Backs yards/Carry Averages Under Bowden
Bowden Comparison ·Florida State’s record the two years prior to Bobby Bowden’s arrival was 4-18. Tulane’s record the two years prior to Tommy Bowden’s arrival was 4-18. ·Bobby Bowden had Florida State in a bowl games and a top 15 final national ranking in his second year with the program. Tommy Bowden’s had Tulane and Clemson in a bowl game and a top 15 national ranking in his second year with each program. ·This is Bobby Bowden’s 52nd season in coaching. This is Tommy Bowden’s 27th year in coaching (graduate assistant, full time assistant or head coach). ·Both Bowden’s had perfect seasons as head coaches in the 1990s. Bobby had an 11-0 season at Florida State in 1999 after Tommy had a perfect 11-0 regular season as head coach at Tulane. ·Tommy Bowden has a better record than Bobby Bowden at the 89-game mark of his Division I coaching career. Tommy is 57-32 for his first 89 games as a Division I head coach, while Bobby was 56-33 for his first 89 games. That includes his six years at West Virginia and his first year plus nine games at Florida State.
Here is a comparison of the Bowdens at similar stages of their careers: Category Tommy Bobby First seven full Seasons as D-I Head Coach 56-28 47-32 (.667) (.595) First 88 Games as a Division I Head Coach 57-32 56-33 (.640) (.629)
Currie Leads ACC in Receptions, Yards If Reggie Jackson was known as Mr. October then Clemson wide receiver Airese Currie could be known as Mr. September. For the second year in a row the Clemson senior is off to a great start. A year ago, Currie had 26 receptions for 339 yards and three touchdowns before the end of that month. He then suffered some injuries and had just 17 catches the rest of the season.
For the month of September this year Currie had 23 catches for 325 yards and a touchdown. He added seven catches in the first game of October at Virginia and now has 30 for the season. Currie leads the ACC in both receptions per game and reception yards per game is ranked in the top 30 in the nation in both areas.
Currie had nine catches for 152 yards in the season opener against Wake Forest. The 152 receiving yards in that game rank in a tie for sixth best in school history. He continued his fine performance at Texas A&M with five catches for 64 yards. In addition to his receiving accomplishments, Currie has been outstanding in terms of kickoff returns when he has had the opportunity, averaging 37.3 yards per return. He is averaging 103 all-purpose yards per game.
Currie’s reached the 100 mark in terms of career receptions with his three catches at Florida State and he went over the 1500 mark in yards at Virginia. He is just the ninth player in Clemson history with at least 100 receptions and 1500 yards.
The effect Tommy Bowden’s has had on the Clemson passing game is shown by the list of players below. Even though he is in just his sixth year as Clemson head coach, seven of the top 12 receivers in Clemson history have played under Bowden at some point in their career.
Clemson Career Reception Leaders
Clemson Career Reception Yardage Leaders
Ben Hall Has TD Catch in All Four Seasons Clemson tight end Ben Hall had a 15-yard touchdown pass against Texas A&M, Clemson’s only score of the game. It was the first touchdown catch of the year for Hall, but the sixth of his career. He had three touchdown receptions his first year (2001), one in 2002 and one in 2003. That means Hall now has at least one touchdown reception in each season he has been at Clemson. Hall is the first tight end in Clemson history to catch at least one touchdown pass in four consecutive seasons. Bennie Cunningham had at least one every year he played, but he did not appear in a game as a freshman in 1972, the first year freshmen were eligible.
Hall had his best game as a Tiger at Virginia when he had four catches for 72 yards, career highs in both areas. His performance included a 56-yard reception, the longest of his career and Clemson’s longest pass play of the year. It set up a Clemson touchdown on the Tigers opening drive of the game.
Hall has seven catches for 127 yards so far this season and now has 30 for 418 yards for his career, a 13.9 average. One of his top games as a Tiger took place at Florida State in 2002 when he had three catches for 69 yards, including a 41-yarder that set up a Tiger score.
Hall was shut out at Florida State as far as receptions are concerned, but Coach Bowden praised him for his blocking, especially on special teams where he had key blocks on Justin Miller kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Fastest Football Players Who is the fastest football player in the country. That is hard to say, but one means of evaluation is to look at the 100 meter track times of college track athletes who are also members of their track team. Based on that theory, Clemson has the two fastest football players in the nation.
During the 2004 track season, Airese Currie ran a 10.22 time in the 100 meters at the Clemson Orange & Purple Track Classic, the fastest time recorded in that event by a track athlete who also plays on his school’s football team. Hill ran a 10.27 at the NCAA national meet for the second fastest time. Hill was the ACC 60 meter indoor champion and the 100-meter outdoor champion, the seventh sprinter in Clemson history to win both in the same year. One of the other former Tigers to do it is Shawn Crawford, a sprinter on the United States Olympic track team in 2004.
It is interesting to note that four of the top 12 players listed will be on the same field when Clemson plays Miami (FL) in the Orange Bowl on November 6, 2004. Here is a list of the fastest college football players for 2004 based on 100 meter track times recorded in the spring of 2004:
Fastest College Football Players based on Track Times
Clemson Record by Uniform Clemson has used many uniform combinations over the last six years. Clemson has had a different combination for each game this year.
Last year, the Tigers broke out purple jerseys for the Georgia Tech game in Atlanta on September 20 and the Tigers gained a 39-3 victory. It was the first time Clemson had worn purple jerseys since the 1991 season when Clemson wore them in a regular season game against NC State and for a bowl game against California.
Clemson has had seven jersey/pant combinations since Tommy Bowden’s came to Clemson. Clemson was in orange jersey and white pants for the opening win over Wake Forest, then all orange for the Georgia Tech game. Clemson had a white jersey and purple pants at Texas A&M.
Clemson Record by Uniform Combination Under Bowden
Whitehurst, Baham Offspring of NFL Players Clemson has two players who are the offspring of NFL players. Curtis Baham, a wide receiver who has five caches for 60 yards and a team best two receiving touchdowns so far this season, and quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, both have NFL blood. Both are juniors on the current Clemson team. Baham was injured much of the preseason, but is healthy now a will be in the starting lineup against Virginia. Last year he was fourth on the team in receptions with 22 for 241 yards. He had at least one catch in each of the last eight games. Baham’s father Curtis played in three games for the Seattle Seahawks in 1987. He was a star player at Tulane prior to his year in the NFL. Whitehurst is the son of former Green Bay Packers quarterback David Whitehurst. The elder Whitehurst played seven years in the NFL. During that time he played in 54 games, completed 51.4 percent of his passes for 6205 yards and 28 scores. He was the Green Bay starter for most of the 1978 and 1979 seasons when he passed for over 2000 yards each season.
Quarterbacks Have Flourished under Bowden Watching Charlie Whitehurst have an impact on the Clemson record book is no surprise. Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden’s has a history of developing outstanding quarterbacks since he became a head coach in 1997. In his two years at Tulane, he guided Shawn King to many school and national records. In fact, in 1998, King led the nation with a passing efficiency rating of 183.3. That year he completed 223-328 passes for 3232 yards, 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions. That 183.3 rating remains the all-time NCAA record for passing efficiency rating over the course of a season.
One of the players Bowden recruited before he left Tulane was current Washington Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey played at Tulane through the 2001 season and is now the starting signal caller for the Washington Redskins. Ironically, one of his top receivers is former Tiger Rod Gardner.
Since Bowden has been at Clemson, 57 Clemson passing records have been set or tied. Brandon Streeter set the Clemson single season completion percentage in 1999 when he connected on 63.1 percent of his passes. In 2001, Woodrow Dantzler became the first player in college football history to pass for 2000 yards and rush for 1000 in the same season. Whitehurst owns 35 Clemson passing records, including career records for completions and passing yards.
Bring a Pillow Some of Clemson’s games so far in 2004 have lasted nearly four hours. The double overtime victory against Wake Forest took 3:58, and the Georgia Tech game took 3:48. The Wake Forest game ranks as the second longest in Clemson history in terms of clock time and the longest in terms of overtime periods. Clemson’s three previous overtime games were just one period.
The longest game in Clemson history was the victory over Tennessee in the 2004 Peach Bowl, a game that last four hours and five minutes. Of course there was a 27-minute halftime that contributed to the record length. There was a Maryland game that took 3:50 in 1992 in College Park. Those are the only games longer than last Saturday’s night’s game with Georgia Tech that took 3:48.
Clemson’s Longest Games in terms of Real Time
#at Peach Bowl, $Humanitarian Bowl
Tigers Will Do Plenty of Traveling in 2004 Clemson will have a difficult road schedule this year in terms of competition and in terms of distance. Three of Clemson’s five road games (Florida State, Virginia, Miami (FL) are against teams currently in the top 20 in the nation according to both polls. The Tigers also travel to Texas A&M and Duke. If Florida State, Virginia and Miami (FL) hold their rankings it would mark the first time since 1966 that Clemson has played three top 20 teams on the road in the same year. That year Frank Howard’s team played Georgia Tech, Alabama and Southern Cal, all top 10 teams, on the road.
The 2004 schedule will also be challenging in terms of travel distance. Clemson will travel 2,857 miles for its five road games this year, an average of 571 miles per game. This is the third longest average road trip season, excluding the two years Clemson played in Tokyo (1982 and 1991). The record was set in 1951 when Frank Howard’s team traveled 3990 miles for five games, 798 miles per game.
Clemson does not play a home game between September 12 and October 15, a stretch of 34 straight days without a game in Death Valley. This is the longest stretch without a home game for the Tigers since 1984 when Clemson went from September 2 until October 5 without a home game.
The stretch of consecutive road games at Texas A&M, Florida State and Virginia marks the first time since 1994 that Clemson has played three straight games on the road.
Road Warriors
Note: Counts only trips in continental United States.
Clemson Opens Season with Overtime Victory vs. Wake ForestKyle Browning scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Whitehurst and the Tiger defense held Wake Forest scoreless in the bottom of the second overtime period, and Clemson went on to a 37-30 victory over Wake Forest at Death Valley last Saturday. The victory offset Wake Forest’s 45-17 win over the Tigers in 2003, the last time Clemson has lost a football game.
Clemson had forced the overtime period when Yusef Kelly culminated a 78-yard, 11-play drive with just 1:48 remaining on a one-yard scoring run. A two-point conversion pass from Whitehurst to sophomore Kelvin Grant tied the score at 27-27.
Clemson had jumped out to a 19-3 lead with just 20 minutes gone in the game. Airese Currie, who had a career high 152 receiving yards, scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Whitehurst, then Justin Miller scored on a 69-yard punt return on the last play of the first period. Chansi Stuckey then blocked a Wake Forest punt through the endzone to give Clemson a 16-3 lead, then Stephen Furr booted his first career field goal from 42 yards out, a kick that hit the left goalpost and bounced through.
Wake Forest then went on a 24-0 run behind the play of wide receiver Jason Anderson and running back Chris Barclay. Anderson scored on an 85-yard touchdown pass from reserve quarterback Ben Mauk, tied for the longest touchdown pass in Wake Forest history (ironically, the only other 85-yarder also took place against Clemson in 1982 in Tokyo, Japan).
Barclay continued to be a thorn in Clemson’s side as the junior gained 179 yards on the ground for the game, his second +160-yard game against Clemson in as many years. His 50-yard run put Wake Forest up 27-19 with 12:20 left. Wake Forest then held Clemson on the next drive. So, the Demon Deacons had an eight-point lead with the ball with seven minutes left. But, Whitehurst led the Tigers back by going 3-4 for 43 yards on the game-tying drive.
Whitehurst was 20-41 for 288 yards and two touchdowns for the afternoon. He also had 15 yards rushing to give him 303 yards of total offense on the day. Airese Currie was the top receiver with nine catches for 152 yards, while Chansi Stuckey added 8-112. Yusef Kelly led the rushers with 19-57 and a touchdown. The defense was led by Justin Miller and LeRoy Hill with nine tackles apiece. Tye Hill added two pass deflections in the secondary, while Miller had the only takeaway with a fumble recovery.
Clemson was out-gained 410-371 and committed three turnovers to just one by Wake Forest. But, the Tigers won the special teams in just about every area. Furr made two field goals in his first kicking assignment in Death Valley, including a 23-yard field goal in the overtime that tied the game. Miller scored on a 69-yard punt return and also had 47 yards on two kickoff returns. Cole Chason added a 40.6 punting average and Clemson’s coverage unit allowed just 19 punt return yards in four attempts.
Tigers 4-0 in Overtime Clemson increased its all-time perfect record in overtime games to 4-0 with its 37-30 win over Wake Forest in the season opener. The Tigers are now one of four Division I schools with a perfect overtime record, given a minimum of four overtime games. Brigham Young, Louisiana-Monroe and Ohio State are also 4-0 in overtime games since the rule was put into effect in 1996. Ball State, Nebraska, Northern Illinois and South Florida are all 3-0 and could join the previous group with an overtime victory this year.
Clemson’s win over Wake Forest in the opener was a double overtime affair, the first time Clemson has had to go a second “extra inning” to claim an overtime win. Both Clemson and Wake Forest kicked field goals in the first period, then Clemson scored a touchdown on an 11-yard pass from Charlie Whitehurst to Kyle Browning. Wake Forest could not get a first down on its possession and when a fourth down pass fell incomplete, Clemson had the victory.
Clemson’s defense has been outstanding in Clemson’s four overtime games. In fact, the Tigers have yielded just nine points on three field goals and the opposition has not recorded a first down in five possessions. Tommy Bowden is now 3-0 in overtime games at Clemson and in his coaching career.
There is something about overtime and Clemson athletics. The Clemson basketball team has a 45-32 record in overtime games since the ACC started in 1953-54, second best among league schools in overtime winning percentage.
Clemson in Overtime (4-0)
Currie, Stuckey both over 100 Receiving Yards Clemson had a pair of 100-yard receivers in the same game for just the third time in history when the Tigers defeated Wake Forest in the season opener. Airese Currie had nine receptions for 152 yards and teammate Chansi Stuckey added eight for 112 yards, giving the duo 17 catches for 264 yards and a touchdown. It was the most receiving yards for a wide receiver duo in Clemson history.
Currie’s 152 receiving yards were a career high and rank in a tie for sixth best in Clemson history. Rod Gardner holds the record with a 182 receiving yards at North Carolina in 2000, while Derrick Hamilton’s 175 receiving yards at Maryland last year is second. Jerry Butler had a 163-yard receiving game at Georgia Tech in 1977 and Terry Smith had 156 receiving yards at Florida State in 1993. Those are the only five games better than Currie’s performance last Saturday. Currie’s total was also the most ever for a Clemson player in a season opener.
The first time Clemson had a pair of 100-yard receivers in the same game took place in 1998 against NC State in Death Valley. Brian Wofford had 128 yards and Mal Lawyer added 100 receiving yards in Clemson’s 46-39 loss to the Wolfpack. Ironically, Wofford had nine catches and Lawyer had eight, the same numbers for Currie and Stuckey, respectively against Wake Forest.
The only other time Clemson has had a pair of 100-yard receivers in the same game was at Duke in 2002, Charlie Whitehurst first start at quarterback for the Tigers. That day, Derrick Hamilton’s had 7-101 in a 34-31 Clemson victory.
Clemson Single Game Receiving yardage Bests
Stuckey’s All-Around Performance “He runs, he throws, he catches, he blocks, he hustles, he blocks punts and none of the 79,500 at Death Valley on Saturday would be surprised if he handled ticket distribution, ordered concessions and oversaw blowing up the orange balloons for the pregame ceremonies. His name is Chansi Stuckey, and if he didn’t deliver the most spectacular debut in Clemson history, he surely came close.”
Those were the words of Bob Spear, Columnist for The State Newspaper in Columbia, SC on Sunday, September, 5, 2004. When Chansi Stuckey goes to position meetings each day, he attends those gathers in the Banks McFadden Building. The building is named in honor of Clemson’s greatest athlete of the 20th Century, Banks McFadden. McFadden was an All-American in football and basketball for the Tigers in 1939 and was named the Nation’s Most Versatile Athlete. On the gridiron, McFadden did everything possible, as he went both ways as a single wing tailback and a standout defensive back. He was known for his passing and running skills on offense, but when Clemson defeated Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl, McFadden had four pass deflections in the second half to lead Clemson to a 6-3 victory.
Stuckey was named the Chevrolet Player of the Game by ABC Sports in Clemson’s win over Wake Forest. He might have had the best game by a Clemson football player in so many areas since McFadden played for the Tigers. Making his first career start at wide receiver, Stuckey had eight receptions for 112 yards. It was the first time a Clemson receiver had a 100-yard receiving game in his first career start since 1979 when Perry Tuttle had 145 yards in a victory over Furman in his first career start. His performance included two catches for 35 yards on Clemson’s game tying touchdown in the fourth period that sent the game into overtime. Stuckey also threw a pass on an end-around, a play that resulted in a pass interference call in the end zone. He had four rushes for 10 yards, including a 14-yarder that was Clemson’s long rush of the day. He even took a couple of snaps at quarterback in a shotgun formation.
On special teams, Stuckey had a blocked punt that resulted in a safety in the second period. He also had a key block on Justin Miller 69-yard punt return for a touchdown. That might have been the all-time hustle play in Clemson history. Stuckey lined up at the line of scrimmage on the right end and rushed the punter. His dive in front of the punter’s foot was just a few inches from a block. He then reversed his field and ran to the 48-yard line in front of the Clemson bench, where he threw a key block on Miller’s run to a score
Browning Productive During his talk to the Clemson team the night before the Clemson vs. Wake Forest game, head coach Tommy Bowden’s encouraged all his players to be ready to make a game winning play on Saturday afternoon. He then singled out one player. “Kyle Browning, be ready, you could be the one who wins the game for us on Saturday.”
Bowden became a profit that Saturday. Of course he had final veto power on play calling, so it might have been a little more than a coincidence, but it was Browning who scored the game winner on an 11-yard pass from Charlie Whitehurst in the second overtime period to give Clemson a 37-30 victory over Wake Forest.
Browning played 18 snaps in the contest, but touched the ball just twice, both on pass receptions. It was the second consecutive game that the 5-7 172-pound junior had scored a touchdown in limited duty. In the Peach Bowl victory over Tennessee he played just one snap on offense, but scored on an eight-yard run on a “Panther Play”, a rooskie in which he took the ball between his legs from Charlie Whitehurst and raced to the left untouched to the endzone, while the entire line and Whitehurst ran to the right.
Browning continued his fine production with 80 yards in five carries against Georgia Tech, including a 54-yard scoring run, the longest run of his career. Browning was Clemson’s third leading rusher last year with 152 yards on 29 carries and his 5.2 average led the team. He started two games last year, Middle Tennessee and Georgia Tech, and had 15 carries for 85 yards in the two games combined. Clemson scored 75 points in the two victories. He had 4-32 rushing against Georgia Tech in last year’s 39-3 Clemson victory.
Eight Sets of Same Names There are eight sets of players with the same last name on the Clemson football team, but only one combination are brothers. Maurice Nelson (#42) and Roosevelt Nelson (#49) are brothers from Rembert, SC and Crestwood High School. Maurice is a red-shirt freshman and Roosevelt is a red-shirt junior.
Three name combinations are starters, or could be once Duane Coleman returns from injury. The starting combinations are the Hills (Leroy and Tye, who both start on defense), the Bennetts (Charles, starting DE and Nathan, starting guard), and the Colemans (Eric, starting defensive tackle and Duane, starting tailback when healthy).
There are two unrelated Frys who play on the offensive line, Roman and Dustin, who are both currently second team. Yusef Kelly is the starting tailback and Aaron Kelly is a freshman receiver, while Lionel Richardson is a reserve linebacker and Barry Richardson is a reserve offensive tackle. Both played against Wake Forest. Finally, Robert Reese is a reserve defensive back and Tribble Reese is a reserve freshman quarterback.
Williamson throwback Player Players haven’t gone both ways in college football on a consistent basis since the 1963 season. But, Clemson junior Bobby Williamson is one of those “throw back players” and played on both sides of the ball in the win over Wake Forest.
The 250-pounder from Tarpon Springs, FL played seven snaps at tight end and 15 snaps at defensive end in the first game of the season. It is believed to be the first time a player has played at least seven snaps on both sides of the ball in the same game since the 1960s. Williamson had an 86 percent blocking grade and one knockdown block from his tight end position. He did not have a tackle on defense for his 15 plays.
In the second game, Williamson played only on defense for 22 snaps, and had his first career sack, a 16-yarder against Reggie Ball. He had three total tackles. Williamson had been strictly a tight end in his first three years at Clemson. He played 24 games out of 26 possible contests at tight end in 2002 and 2003. In fact, he started 11 of the 13 games last year and had 12 catches for 205 yards, first among Clemson tight ends. He had five receptions at NC State, most by a Clemson tight end in a single game since 1975.
Tigers in the NFL According to rosters released on September 5, 15 former Tigers are NFL rosters heading into the first week of play. The list includes rookies and 2003 Clemson team members Derrick Hamilton’s of the San Francisco 49ers and Gregory Walker of the New York Giants. Walker is the only player in Clemson history to play in 50 games and Hamilton left Clemson as the school’s all-time leader in receptions and all-purpose running. Donnell Washington, also a member of Clemson’s 2003 team, is on injured reserve with the Green Bay Packers. A 15th player, Lorenzo Bromell of the New York Giants, is on the physically unable to perform list and should return by midseason.
The list below does not include practice squad players who could be added later this week.
The list of Tigers in the NFL includes Brentson Buckner of the Carolina Panthers, who is in his 11th season in the league, Brian Dawkins, a three time Pro Bowl safety with Philadelphia, Chris Gardocki, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who is in his 14th season in the league, and Trevor Pryce of the Denver Broncos, a two-time Super Bowl Champion and four time Pro Bowl selection. Lamont Hall was cut and did not play for the New Orleans Saints last year, but he is back with the team in 2004.
Tigers In The NFL
#Injured reserve, $Physically unable to perform
The Future of the ACC (Division structure) The ACC is one 11-team league in 2004, as Miami (FL) and Virginia are in the ACC for the first time. Next year, Boston College will join the conference, creating a 12 team league that will have a conference championship at the end of the year.
The league will be divided into two divisions for 2005. Division A will be composed of Maryland, Clemson, NC State, Wake Forest, Florida State and Boston College. Clemson is guaranteed to play each of those schools every year. Division B is composed of Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech. Clemson is guaranteed to play only Georgia Tech every year from that Division.
The winners of each division will meet in the ACC Championship game the first Saturday in December in Jacksonville, FL each of the next two seasons.
Fourth Quarter Comeback Clemson trailed Wake Forest by one point entering the fourth quarter and by eight points with just seven minutes left before gaining the 37-30 overtime victory. Saturday’s victory marked the fifth time under Coach Bowden that Clemson has scored to break a tie or overcome a deficit with two minutes or less left on the clock.
It was the third time Clemson has won in overtime. The other two occasions took place against South Carolina in 2000 when Aaron Hunt kicked a 25 yards field goal with three seconds left to give Clemson a 16-14 victory, and when Hunt kicked a 21-yard field goal with eight seconds left to beat Duke in 2002.Clemson Season Tickets Sold Out The Clemson University Athletic Ticket office announced in July that full season tickets for the 2004 football season are sold out. This is the first time Clemson has announced a preseason sellout of season tickets.
“The excitement has carried over from the strong finish of the 2003 season resulting in a sell out of available seating for season tickets,” said Ticket Manager, Bobby Skelton.
The addition of Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech to the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2004 season has also added to the excitement concerning the upcoming season. Clemson will play at Miami (FL) on November 6, the first meeting between the two schools since 1956.
Clemson season ticket sales are up 2000 from the previous year to nearly 57,000 and the sale of ticket packages has almost doubled from 2003, resulting in the Clemson-South Carolina game being a total sell out. Tickets are still available for the five remaining home games at a cost of $32.00 each. The opponents for those games are Wake Forest (Sept. 4), Georgia Tech (Sept. 11), Utah State (Homecoming on Oct. 16), Maryland (Oct. 23) and NC State (Oct. 30).
Tickets may be purchased by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-CLEMSON or online at www.clemsontigers.com.
Clemson 32nd in US News and World Report Poll Clemson University President Jim Barker stated publicly when he took his current position in1999 that he had a goal of making Clemson one of the top 20 national public universities in the nation. On August 20, the latest rankings were released and Clemson was listed at #32, a seven position jump in the last two years and up from #35 last year. Clemson was named Time Magazine’s Public College of the Year in 2001.
Pickens, Richardson, Downer Receive Scholarships Three former walk-ons were given scholarships for the 2004 season. The list includes Jesse Pickens, who could be Clemson’s starting left tackle against Wake Forest, Lionel Richardson, a reserve WHIP linebacker, and Cole Downer, another offensive lineman.
Richardson, a junior from Huger, SC, started four games last year and had 24 tackles in 205 plays from scrimmage. He had seven tackles each in victories over Virginia and North Carolina. He is the only electrical engineering major on the team.
Pickens has come from obscurity to the starting position at left tackle. In fact, when he starts against Wake Forest it will be the first time he has ever played in a game. He came to Clemson in the fall of 2001 after spending his first year out of school at Spartanburg Tech in nearby Spartanburg, SC.
Pickens could be the first original walk-on to start on the offensive line for Clemson since way back in ……2003. Tommy Sharpe, Clemson’s starting center, is also an original walk-on.
50 Years of Cannon Fire This will be the 50-year anniversary of a cannon sounding after each Clemson score. A Clemson cheerleader has fired the cannon for every score, home and away since the season opener of 1954.
The tradition began in 1954 when George Bennett, then the head cheerleader, got the idea from his father, who had seen Army do it after each score at a game he had attended at West Point in 1953. Prior to the 1954 season Bennett approached Clemson Head Coach Frank Howard’s and asked him permission to fire the cannon. Permission was granted and just prior to the 1954 season, Bennett’s father purchased the small cannon. The tradition has been handed down to each head cheerleader ever since.
Bennett just retired from full time duty as Clemson’s Executive Secretary of IPTAY. He served Clemson in that capacity during two stints for nearly 20 total years. He still has an office in the Jervey Athletic Center and will serve as the master of ceremonies for Friday evening’s Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. This past year he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors.
Clemson Looks for 17th Bowl Trip in 20 Years Clemson has been to 16 bowl games in the last 19 years and certainly hopes to make it 17 out of 20 years with an invitation at the conclusion of the 2004 season. Clemson ranks in a tie for sixth among Division I schools in bowl game appearances since 1985 (19 seasons). The only schools ahead of Clemson is this category are Florida State, Michigan and Nebraska, who all been to 19 in a row, Tennessee with 18, and Miami (FL) with 17. Clemson is just ahead of Georgia (15) Southern Cal (14), Notre Dame (13), Arkansas 913), Auburn (13), Virginia (13), Syracuse (13) and NC State (13).
Clemson is one of 21 schools to go to a bowl game at least five years in a row and is one of 19 schools to win at least two bowl games over the last three seasons.
Whitehurst, Hill, Miller on Preseason Lists Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, linebacker LeRoy Hill and cornerback Justin Miller are all on preseason Watch Lists for major 2004 awards. Whitehurst is one of 40 “Players to Watch” for the Walter Camp National Player of the Year Award, while Hill is one of 65 preseason candidates for the Butkus Award. The Butkus Award is given to the nation’s top linebacker. Miller was named to the Thorpe Award and Lott Award preseason lists. Hill is one of seven ACC players on the Butkus Watch List. He is joined by Darryl Blackstock and Ahmad Brooks of Virginia, D’Qwell Jackson of Maryland, A.J. Nicholson of Florida State, Pat Thomas of NC State and Leon Williams of Miami (FL).
Last year, Hill led the Tigers in tackles with 145, including 27 tackles for loss. He ranked second in the nation in tackles for loss and was a first-team All-ACC selection. Earlier this summer he was named a preseason candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is given to the top defensive player in the nation and the Lombardi Award, which goes to the top lineman in college football.
Miller has 10 career interceptions and one fumble recovery for 11 career takeaways. He led the Tigers in passes defended last year. He is also a great kick returner. He is already the only player in Clemson history with three kick returns for touchdowns.
Whitehurst is one of five ACC Players on the Walter Camp list. He is joined by P.J. Daniels of Georgia Tech, Tramain Hall of NC State, Chris Rix of Florida State, and Antrel Rolle of Miam (FL). Earlier this summer he was named to the preseason list for the O’Brien Award, which goes to the nation’s top quarterback.
Whitehurst holds 33 Clemson school records, including passing efficiency in a career and passing yardage in a season. He quarterbacked the Tigers to a 9-4 record as a sophomore when he threw for 3561 yards and 21 touchdowns. Among the victories were triumphs over #3 Florida State and #6 Tennessee. He joined Homer Jordan as the only Clemson quarterback to lead the Tigers to two wins over top 10 teams in the same season.
December 8, 2024
