Clemson’s 2007 Post Spring Depth Chart

April 20, 2007

2007 Post Spring Depth ChartDownload Free Acrobat Reader

Notes on Clemson’s 2007 Post Spring Depth Chart

*Clemson’s 44-player two-deep (not including special teams) includes nine seniors, 15 juniors, 15 sophomores and five freshmen. Four of the five freshmen who arrived at Clemson as first-year freshmen in January are on the first or second teams. DeAndre McDaniel is listed as a co-starter at CAT safety with Michael Hamlin, who missed more than half of the spring with a broken foot. Willy Korn, Xavier Dye and Brian Linthicum are freshmen who entered in January and are listed second team at their respective positions.

*Clemson had a veteran offensive line in 2006, and that should be the case again this year. Four of the five interior starters on the offensive line are seniors, led by preseason All-America Barry Richardson. The other senior starters listed in the offensive line are Chris McDuffie, who started five games last year after Roman Fry was injured, Brandon Pilgrim and Christian Capote.

*The depth chart at quarterback is led by red-shirt junior Willy Korn is listed as the backup, followed by Tribble Reese and Michael Wade, who are bracketed at #3. No Clemson first-year freshman has played quarterback in any game since 1994 when Nealon Greene played in six games, five as a starter.

*The depth chart has just four seniors as starters on offense and three on defense. That includes Kwam Williams, who is listed as a co-starter at bandit end with Ricky Sapp. The other senior starters on the defense are Nick Watkins, who has started in 2005 and 2006 at linebacker, and Tramaine Billie, who missed last year with an injury after starting in 2004 and 2005.

*Returning starter Antonio Clay (linebacker) is not listed on the depth chart as he is not enrolled at Clemson this semester due to personal reasons. He will return to the depth chart once he returns to school.

*While Clemson will have seniors in the offensive line, the Tigers have just one senior among its wide receiver and running back positions. That one senior is wide receiver La’Donte Harris.

*James Davis and C.J. Spiller are listed as co-starters at the running back position. The duo combined for 2135 yards rushing and 27 rushing touchdowns last year, the second best running back tandem in college football last year in terms of rushing yards and first in total touchdowns. Arkansas’s tandem of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones had 2815 rushing and 20 touchdowns.

*DeAndre McDaniel and Byron Maxwell are listed as co-starters in the secondary. Both are freshmen. McDaniel entered Clemson in January and Maxwell red-shirted last year due to injury. Both had interceptions in the Spring Game last week.

*Clemson had seniors at the punter and placekicker positions last year. Cole Chason was Clemson’s starting punter the last four years and Jad Dean was the starting kicker the last three years. Jimmy Maners is listed as the starting punter and Mark Buchholz as the starting placekicker. The two have combine to play in one football game at Clemson. Maners had one punt against Temple last year, while Buchholz has been on the Clemson soccer team the last three years.

*Buchholz is a returning starter at midfield for Trevor Adair’s men’s soccer team. He played in the Final Four of college soccer for the Tigers in the fall of 2005. Buchholz played high school football and soccer at Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, GA, the same high school that sent Charlie Whitehurst to Clemson.