Signing day fallout continues at Clemson

By Bob Wilson  |   Tuesday, February 13, 2007  |  Comments( 12 )

Clemson Tigers
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As the fallout from signing day and the decisions made by the academic advisory board at Clemson University continues to be sorted out, another problem is evident. By turning away Jo Jo Cox, the Tigers have assured themselves of having very little depth at running back.

Cox was set to join the team last year but didn't have the grades to qualify. He spent a year at Fork Union Prep in Virginia and made himself eligible. However, Clemson's advisory board apparently determined that he was "at risk" of not being able to graduate if he was to be enrolled at Clemson.

With that said, it's hard to believe programs like Alabama and Georgia are too concerned about whether their recruits are predicted to be college graduates. As long as the players can stay eligible and play on Saturdays, things are fine at most schools that have championship football aspirations. While it is clear that Clemson cannot admit recruits who don't meet NCAA and ACC requirements, it's difficult to understand how the advisory board is determining who will graduate before even setting foot in a college classroom.

In rejecting Cox at the 11th hour, Clemson has taken away many opportunities from a young man who went to prep school with the understanding that if his grades improved, he would eventually play for the Tigers. The Georgia native did his part, but the school he put his trust in turned its back on him. While Cox has not completely given up on being enrolled at Clemson, he is now scrambling to find a school that has room to take him.

Tigers head coach Tommy Bowden has done a fantastic job of graduating players, so who's to say that he couldn't have helped the potential players who were turned away? Duane Coleman was a partial qualifier, and although he had some legal problems that led to his being kicked off the team before late December's Music City Bowl, he managed to graduate from college.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have James Davis and C.J. Spiller as the co-starters at halfback but no depth behind them. Former cornerback Ray Ray McElrathbey was moved to tailback prior to the team's bowl loss to Kentucky. McElrathbey was an accomplished runner in high school, but he lacks size. The other running back is Paul Macko, a former walk-on.

Spiller and Davis should see the majority of the carries, but the team is an injury away from McElrathbey or Macko seeing a lot more of the playing field than the coaches would care for. Davis is probably leaving for the NFL after next season, and Spiller, a rising sophomore, will likely leave after his junior campaign, too.

That means Clemson will need to sign a big-time runner next year. Otherwise, the coaching staff will be under the gun to come up with a freshman who can start for them in 2009. Cox would have been a nice back to slide into the lineup after Davis and Spiller left and would have been capable of occasionally spelling both players.

As it is, though, the decision to reject a qualified entrant could hurt the Tigers running game down the road.

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