Clemson coaches must develop Korn properly

By Marc Hudgens  |   Monday, June 04, 2007  |  Comments( 7 )

Clemson Tigers
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Historically, Clemson football hasn't really focused on the quarterback position as much as it needs to. Not really. The last strong QB the Tigers had was three decades ago, and that was Clemson legend Steve Fuller.

Briefly on Fuller:

-First-team All-American his senior year in 1978;
-ACC Player of the Year, 1977 and '78;
-Led the Tigers to a perfect 6-0 conference record (11-1 overall) and ACC title in 1978, capped off by a Gator Bowl victory over a Woody Hayes-led Ohio State team (and that was the last time Hayes coached the Buckeyes);
-Flung off 4,359 career passing yards and totaled 6,096 total career offensive yards;
-Finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting in 1978;
-First-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs (23rd overall);
-A Super Bowl champion (Chicago Bears, 1985).

Obviously, then, Fuller recorded quite an impressive resume during his football career.

However, Clemson hasn't found a suitable replacement under center since Fuller's departure.

But it appears that Clemson has indeed landed its best quarterback since the days of Fuller. And that talent, at least on paper, looks very, very strong. He also looked pretty darn good during the team's Spring Game.

That player is Willy Korn, who's heralded as the one to take Clemson into the future. He was rated the fifth-best high school quarterback in the nation by one of those scouting outfits -- at one point he was fourth, but a poor day in the 2007 Shrine Bowl caused his stock to fall. Nonetheless, Korn is no slouch in the talent category.

But with his triumphant arrival comes his mission: to bring Clemson ACC titles and maybe even challenge for the Heisman Trophy in a couple of years.

Undoubtedly, Korn has to be the most hyped recruit Clemson has had since William 'The Refrigerator' Perry. Legend has it Korn can run and gun, hitting his targets with precision on the scamper.

The talent's there -- only a fool would deny that. The question is, Will he be developed into the elite college gunslinger he's expected to be? Because if the coaches neglect to grow Korn (no pun intended, of course), if they don't focus on fine-tuning his craft instead of just sitting back and letting him self-develop, then he will indeed fail. Korn should certainly improve over the next four years, but without proper coaching and development that improvement will be marginal at best.

Thus, whether he improves and gets to the level he's expected to lies squarely with the coaches.

It's now or never. The future of Clemson's quarterback situation rests with Willy Korn and head coach Tommy Bowden.

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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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