Clemson has time to win back former commitments, gain new ones

By Marc Hudgens  |   Thursday, October 23, 2008  |  Comments( 7 )

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Most orange-clad recruiting junkies in Tigertown have long been hospitalized with chronic aneurysms caused by the stress of worrying about Clemson’s recruiting taking a big hit.

Granted, the Tiger program has been punched in the mouth after the release of former skipper Tommy Bowden, which is common after most coaching changes. Like firings, recruiting losses are the dark side of this business. But Clemson has sadly waved goodbye to a third of its original 12 verbal commitments for the 2009 class since Bowden’s departure, and the losses are star-studded.

Within hours of Bowden’s leave, Clemson lost verbals from the nation’s top safety (Craig Loston) and the nation’s seventh-best safety (DeVonte Holloman). Since then, the casualties included four-star athlete Larry Raper and four-star running back Ben Axon.

But it’s a long way until national signing day, and Bowden’s midseason termination gives the program more time to win back its lost commits.

Another bright side is that a new regime might be able to pique the interest of other prep standouts who may not have otherwise committed under Bowden.

Pending the right hire, it’s not impossible to think that Clemson could gain more interest from, say, top receivers Alshon Jeffrey (No. 6 WR in the nation, South Carolina native, currently soft-committed to USC) or Rolando Jefferson (No. 8 wideout in the nation, a native Californian who was once rumored to be high on Clemson).

Case in point: Texas A&M, considered by some to be the Clemson of the Big XII, sported a poor No. 8 recruiting class for 2007. The Aggies then fired coach Dennis Franchione, replaced him with Mike Sherman, and their recruiting class rocketed to No. 4 in the Big XII for 2008. At this moment, the program has climbed to third for '-9. Admittedly the Aggies are terrible this season (2-5 overall, 0-3 Big XII), but one can’t deny the recruiting improvement in spite of a coaching change. And the Aggies go up against behemoths Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska every year.

Thus, Clemson fans, there is hope. But it really depends on whether the Tigers make a top hire. If they do, expect big-time high school stars who wouldn’t give Bowden-led Clemson the time of day to take a sudden keen interest.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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CommentsComments: 7  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
NB		12:23 PM
10/23/2008
Every time there is a coaching change in college, there are lost recruits, unless a BIG-name coach is hired. It is no surprise...
No.2
RazzMaTazz		06:58 PM
10/23/2008
I wonder if many of those recruits would have decommitted anyway because of Clemson's W-L results rather than because of Bowden's...
No.3
NB		12:11 PM
10/24/2008
Good points, Razz. The TB won-loss mark at the end could have made some recruits veer away anyway. Kiffin would be able to...
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