Spring 2001 Final Depth Chart Released

Clemson, SC – Here are some notes on the Clemson post Spring Practice Depth Chart, which was released to the media on Tuesday, May 1, 2001:

Two positions are listed as co-starters heading into the August practices, offensive right guard on offense and free safety on defense…Will Merritt, a returning starter, and Greg Walker, a sophomore who showed great improvement in the Spring, are the co-starters at right guard, while Eric Meekins and Marcus Houskin are the co-starters at free safety…Clemson officially has seven positions on offense that have returning starters from 2000, but the roster of offensive players includes 10 players who have been starters for at least four games during a season…Matt Bailey and Kevin Youngblood go into the books as co-starters for the 2000 season at a wide receiver position because they both started five games at a wide receiver slot…Akil Smith sat out last year, but started 11 games at tackle in 1999…Gary Byrd, listed as the starting left tackle heading into August, started four games in 2000, including each of the last three…Clemson’s defense has just four returning starters in Nick Eason, Chad Carson, Charles Hafley and Braxton K. Williams…Eason, who is recovering from a torn achilles tendon suffered in practice last December, played a defensive end position last year, but will play tackle this year…Clemson’s MVP on defense for the 2000 season has gained 20 pounds and is listed at 275…the defense does have 20 returning lettermen…the offense has 29 returning lettermen and there are three special teams returning lettermen, giving Tommy Bowden 52 returning lettermen for the 2001 season…only five of the top 22 players on defense are seniors, while eight of the top 22 on offense are seniors…five red-shirt freshmen are listed on the two-deep, Derrick Hamilton (WR), Cedric Johnson (LG), Donnell Washington (LT), Rony Delusme (SS), and Ryan Hemby (CB)….by May 12th, four of Clemson’s 11 starters on offense will have their degrees…Will Merritt earned his degree last December, while Matt Bailey, Kyle Young and T.J. Watkins will receive their degrees from Clemson on May 11th and play the 2001 season as graduate students…Woodrow Dantzler and Nick Eason are both expected to earn their degrees in August, giving Clemson six graduate students when the Tigers begin the season against Central Florida on September 1.

Offense

WR	82	Jackie Robinson	6-1	190	*Jr.
	80	Matt Bailey	6-4	220	*Gr.
	21	Derrick Hamilton	6-4	190	*Fr
	84	J.J. McKelvey	6-4	215	Jr.
LT	79	Gary Byrd	6-4	305	*Jr.
	61	Akil Smith	6-4	290	*Jr.
LG	73	T.J. Watkins	6-3	275	*Gr.
	65	Cedric Johnson	6-4	317	*Fr
C	59	Kyle Young	6-3	280	*Gr.
	51	Brian Outlaw	6-2	245	*Sr.
RG	50	Will Merritt	6-3	260	*Gr.
or	78	Greg Walker	6-5	315	*So.
RT	71	Derrick Brantley	6-5	287	*Jr.
	75	Nate Gillespie	6-3	271	*So.
TE	83	Morgan Woodward	6-0	212	*Sr.
	88	Todd McClinton	6-6	275	So.
QB	1	Woodrow Dantzler	5-11	200	*Sr.
	7	Willie Simmons	6-1	190	*So.
TB	8	Travis Zachery	6-0	190	*Sr.
	20	Bernard Rambert	6-0	200	Jr.
	5	Keith Kelly	6-0	215	So.
FB	10	Chad Jasmin	5-10	214	*So.
	44	Britt Sherman	5-7	221	So.
WR	17	Kevin Youngblood	6-5	210	*So.
	16	Joe Don Reames	5-10	185	Jr.
	85	Ronnie Thomas	5-11	190	So.
	12	Jeff Scott	6-1	190	So.

Bold face denotes starters in four-receiver set.

Defense

DE	91	Bryant McNeal	6-5	235	*Jr.
	58	J.J. Howard	6-3	220	*So.
LT	98	Nick Eason	6-4	275	*Jr.
	96	Donnell Washington	6-6	320	*Fr
RT	95	Jovon Bush	6-5	305	*Sr.
	97	DeJuan Polk	6-2	265	*So.
RE	56	Khaleed Vaughan	6-4	260	*So.
	44	David Ellis	6-1	240	Jr.
SLB	42	Altroy Bodrick	6-1	208	*Sr.
	47	Rodney Feaster	6-0	210	Jr.
WLB	46	Chad Carson	6-3	235	Sr.
	41	Rodney Thomas	6-0	215	Jr.
Star	48	Braxton K. Williams	6-2	203	Sr.
	45	John Leake	6-2	210	So.
SS	40	Charles Hafley	6-1	195	*Sr.
	33	Rony Delusme	6-2	185	*Fr.
FS	3	Eric Meekins	6-2	190	Jr.
or	25	Marcus Houskin	6-0	200	*So.
LC	2	Brian Mance	5-11	185	Jr.
	36	Toure Francis	5-10	184	So.
RC	27	Kevin Johnson	6-0	185	*So.
	22	Ryan Hemby	5-10	175	*Fr.