Tajh Boyd believes he’s the best quarterback in college football; Danny Kanell buys Clemson as BCS contender

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BY AARON BRENNER | abrenner@postandcourier.com
@Aaron_Brenner

CLEMSON – In Clemson’s spring game program following an illustrious 2012 football season, certain statistics are listed suggesting quarterback Tajh Boyd was more effective last fall than Heisman finalists Johnny Manziel and Collin Klein.

Indeed, Boyd had a better passing efficiency mark and more yards per game, touchdowns and yards per attempt through the air than Manziel, who won the coveted trophy, and Klein.

Even with Manziel back for his redshirt sophomore season at Texas A&M, Boyd believes he can hang with the reigning player of the year.

Asked if he believes he’s college football’s finest quarterback by host Ryan Russillo during his ESPN Radio appearance Tuesday afternoon, the humble, well-spoken Boyd had a firm response.

“Me personally? I think so. I think so,” Boyd said. “That’s just me. I feel like I bring a lot to the table, as far as throwing the ball and being able to run the ball. But I really consider myself more of a passer than a runner. I don’t like the stigma of being labeled as a dual threat quarterback.

“I’m a guy that, yeah, I can make plays happen with my feet, but essentially, I like to sit back and throw it around.”

The college football game everybody’s talking about during these slower offseason months is Georgia at Clemson, a Saturday night showdown Aug. 31 at Death Valley which many believe could yield a national championship contender out of the victor.

“It’s going to be an electrifying feeling, man. The last first home game,” the fifth-year senior Boyd said. “I’m just try to enjoy every moment this summer, working out with the team, and every opportunity I get as far as speaking engagements, anything I can do, I try to live in the moment and enjoy it. So Aug. 31 is going to be a special, special feeling. It’s going to be exciting, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Boyd, the 2012 ACC Player of the Year who was named to numerous All-American squads, recognized the anticipation leading up to Clemson’s season, particularly due to the Tigers’ Chick-Fil-A Bowl upset victory over LSU, completing Clemson’s 11-2 season.

“I think we’re a very, very confident team. I just don’t think people kind of understand what type of program we have,” Boyd said. “That’s one of the things that’s been holding this program back for a long time, is trying to win signature games. I think it was a step in the right direction for the program. It makes that (Georgia) matchup more intriguing, and everybody that much more excited about it.”

Stand-in host Danny Kanell, a former NFL quarterback who started for Florida State from 1994-95, weighed in on the Tigers’ 2013 outlook.

“I’m buying into Clemson as a national title contender,” Kanell said. “I love Tajh Boyd. Chad Morris, their offensive coordinator, is a genius. He’s one of those guys that’s just going to come up with plays in the dirt that’s going to give defensive coordinators (fits.) You’ve got formations you’ve never seen, motions you’ve never seen, he puts guys in unique situations specifically to find mismatches.

“Tajh Boyd, having some experience in that system, knows how to find those mismatches. That’s why I think they’re going to give Georgia trouble, because they’re going to have all offseason to gameplan for that.”

With a fairly manageable conference schedule following the Georgia opener, goals are gargantuan for Clemson, expected to begin ranked as a top 10 or top 15 squad in the preseason Associated Press poll.

“If they can win that game, and then they have Florida State at home?” Kanell continued. “Other than that, the rest of the ACC schedule … now historically, the ACC has always managed to shoot themselves in the foot by losing a game they shouldn’t, no matter who it is, whatever the team that’s hot that year. But those two games are something to watch out for, and I think Clemson could make a run.”

2014 commit count up to a dozen

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BY AARON BRENNER | abrenner@postandcourier.com
@Aaron_Brenner

CLEMSON — Kendall Joseph promised he’d announce his college decision Monday morning at 8 a.m., and as many recruiting web sites predicted, Joseph tweeted “Officially committed to Clemson University.”

The 3-star-rated Joseph is listed as 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds. A Belton Honea Path product an hour southeast of Clemson, Joseph becomes the third linebacker in the 2014 class, next to four-star prospects Chris Register from North Carolina and Korie Rogers out of Georgia.

Joseph also held offers from Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville and UCLA, per Scout.com.

Two of Clemson’s projected starting linebackers this fall are seniors – Spencer Shuey and Quandon Christian.

The Tigers now have 12 players verbally committed to the program. Signing Day 2014 is a little less than eight months away.

Counting down Clemson’s most valuable figures in 2013: No. 15) DT Grady Jarrett

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BY AARON BRENNER AND DARRYL SLATER
abrenner@postandcourier.com and dslater@postandcourier.com

While you’re traveling, they’re training.

While you’re poolside, they’re preparing.

While you’re cooking out and lighting firecrackers at Fourth of July barbecues, they’re eating the right foods and wearing out weight rooms, keeping themselves in tiptop shape for this fall.

There’s no true offseason for college football players dreaming the dream of a Heisman Trophy or BCS National Championship.

While there’s no doubt the majority of 85 Gamecocks and 85 Tigers on scholarship are grinding away in the offseason to fulfill great expectations for 2013, it’s also clear some players and coaches matter more than others.

Since South Carolina and Clemson have high hopes for this upcoming season – and their fans can’t wait to see what unfolds – let’s reveal Post & Courier picks for which 15 Clemson folks and 15 South Carolina figures will have the greatest impact on their respective team’s 2013 campaign.

We’ll count them down, one-by-one, alternating squads on consecutive days, until we reach the Most Valuable Tiger and Most Valuable Gamecock in mid-July, shortly before SEC and ACC Media Days kick us off into preseason form.

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jarrett_gradyCLEMSON’S NO. 15 MOST VALUABLE TIGER:
GRADY JARRETT, JUNIOR, NOSE GUARD

Bend-but-don’t-break is one of those generous terms the media likes to call defenses which give up higher proportions of yards than they do points. Clemson would fall in that category in 2012 – ranking seventh in the ACC is total defense (396.5 yards per game) but third in scoring defense (24.8 points.) If there’s an area defensive coordinator Brent Venables would like to shore up, rushing defense is a good place to pinpoint – 156 yards a clip to opposing running games simply won’t do.

That’s why Jarrett’s a critical cog in the experienced front seven this fall. The Tigers’ 2012 co-defensive player of the year, Jarrett has proven he can make plays happen – only Jonathan Willard, the Tigers’ leading 2012 tackler, had more than Jarrett’s 8.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

He’s smaller than your average bear in the trenches (6-foot-1, 290 pounds) but plays with enough of a mean streak to help contain backs, starting with Georgia’s Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall in week one. Being from Conyers, Ga. – less than 50 miles from Athens – you know Jarrett will be plenty fired up for that opener. Consider, the most productive game of his career (10 tackles, five solo, and a fumble recovery) was last year against … Georgia Tech.

Former Alabama official Thad Turnipseed joins Swinney on Clemson staff

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BY AARON BRENNER | abrenner@postandcourier.com
@Aaron_Brenner

Thad TurnipseedCLEMSON — Pulling from the support staff of the nation’s premier powerhouse, Clemson lured Thad Turnipseed from Alabama to reunite with football coach Dabo Swinney.

Turnipseed becomes the Tigers’ Director of Recruiting and External Affairs, officially announced Thursday. He’ll work closely with Swinney, a former teammate in pads and on the coaching staff in Alabama in the early 1990s, as well as recruiting coordinator Jeff Scott and the Clemson staff on all recruiting activities.

Clemson has ranked in Rivals.com’s top 20 recruiting classes each of the past four years, including No. 14 in 2012 and 2013. That’s been good for no worse than third in the ACC (trailing only Florida State and Miami over that span) since 2010, Swinney’s second full recruiting season since his appointment as head coach.

Jeff Davis has served the past four years as assistant athletic director of player relations and external affairs. The “director of high school recruiting” title is a newly-created position.

Not that Turnipseed’s position falls under these conditions, but the NCAA is currently reviewing new legislation which deregulated many recruiting stipulations, which sparked a hiring spree at Alabama, Auburn and Texas among other programs looking to increase its recruiting efforts with off-field coaching positions.

Turnipseed spent the past 11 years at Alabama, which is gunning for its fourth national championship in five years, in a myriad of roles, most recently Director of Football External Affairs for Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

A former teammate in pads and on the coaching staff with Swinney in Tuscaloosa, Turnipseed was also Director of Capital Projects and Associate Athletic Director for Special Projects for Alabama.

He designed and guided more than $200 million worth of athletic projects. In late February, Alabama athletics unveiled a state-of-the-art $9 million weight room spanning 37,000 square feet.

Swinney and Turnipseed won a championship as Alabama players in 1992, and served as specialty assistants under Gene Stallings from 1993-95.

Turnipseed earned his B.A. in political science from Alabama in 1995, before becoming project manager at Beaver Construction from 1995-97 and owner of Calvary Construction and Calvary Flooring from 1997-2003 preceding his lengthy stint at Alabama.

The Tigers currently rank as Rivals’ No. 1 ACC recruiting class of 2014 (No. 7 nationally), with Clemson’s 10 verbal commits.

Swinney: “It is very disappointing that someone would disrespect our unique tradition to this extent”

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BY AARON BRENNER | abrenner@postandcourier.com
@Aaron_Brenner

CLEMSON — Not too busy to notice the outrage around campus and the social media world, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney issued a statement regarding the defacing of Howard’s Rock in the midst of hosting his annual summer youth football camps.

Clemson police report reveals fingerprints were found in investigation of vandalism to Howard’s Rock

“It is very disappointing that someone would disrespect our unique tradition to this extent.  It is one of the iconic images of the game,” Swinney said. “I am sure Clemson police will investigate this thoroughly and hold the person accountable for this behavior.”

Because approximately 85 percent of the rock was still on its pedestal, the tradition of players rubbing the rock on their route down the hill in pregame ceremonies is not expected to change.

“Thankfully, most of Howard’s Rock is still intact and we will do what is necessary to protect it going forward,” Swinney said. “I know our coaches and players look forward to rubbing Howard’s Rock, running down the hill, and furthering one of the great traditions of college football when we open the season against Georgia on August 31.”