Quarterbacks, and the importance of experience

The natural inclination of some folks, when assessing Clemson's football program in 2011, is to look at the Tigers' inexperience at quarterback and express strong skepticism that they can win big.

Some recent history, however, would indicate a first-year starter at quarterback isn't as big an impediment to major success as perceived.

Three of the past four BCS titles have been won by teams with first-year starters at quarterback:

-- LSU did it in 2008 when Matt Flynn ascended to the starting role (it should be pointed out that Flynn had some significant experience in 2005 playing for the injured Jamarcus Russell).

-- Alabama did it in 2009 when Greg McElroy replaced John Parker Wilson as the Crimson Tide's signal-caller.

-- And Auburn did it last year with Cam Newton running the show after transferring from junior college.

Looking at this year's prognostications, Virginia Tech's possession of a first-year starter at quarterback (Logan Thomas) isn't scaring off grand forecasts. The Hokies are a popular Top 10 pick despite the loss of Tyrod Taylor and half their defensive starters.

None of this is to say that Tajh Boyd should be compared to Newton, or that Clemson fans should expect a BCS title, or that there aren't reasons for concern as Boyd prepares to take the reins. The Tigers' new offensive coordinator, Chad Morris, has not been afraid to say Boyd needs to make some significant advances in footwork, mechanics and decision-making before Clemson takes the field for real against Troy.

But there's been a lot of pressure on Clemson's offensive bells and whistles the past few years, and maybe Morris will shift a significant portion of the weight toward the system.

McElroy wasn't a great quarterback, but he didn't have to be because of Alabama's relentless running game and dominant defense.

Newton might've been the most dominant player in SEC history, but what would he have been as spectacular at, say, Tennessee or Georgia running more traditional stuff? I say no way. Auburn's offense became unstoppable last year not just because of Newton, but because of Newton combined with the presence of a cutting-edge, unpredictable offense that often made defensive backs and linebackers look silly.

Clemson fans probably shouldn't expect to put up 45 points per game this year. But it's reasonable to expect the offense to make major gains by the mere presence of an identity and a system that's new and fresh.

That's what happened in 1999 when Rich Rodriguez came to town under Tommy Bowden. The Tigers were not unstoppable on offense, but they were formidable and hard to stop.

In that situation, Boyd doesn't necessarily have to be great for the Tigers to be really good.

LW

A need-to-know basis

Terry Don Phillips once served as chair of the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee, so he has some informed perspective on schools that find themselves sinking in the hot water of impropriety and rule-breaking.

A few weeks ago, I asked Phillips what he thought of the "I don't know" defense that seems as popular across college football these days as indoor practice facilities and training tables.

The phenomenon of plausible deniability in college athletics goes back a long way, but there's no doubt it's back in style. And Phillips thinks it's hogwash. He thinks coaches should be responsible for "pretty much everything" that occurs under their watch.

"I won’t get into the specifics of the case, but early in my tenure with the infractions and appeals committee we heard an academic fraud case. The argument was, ‘Well I didn’t know.’ And in writing our opinion with the appeals committee, we came up with the 'should have known' standard that you’ll find in most coaches’ contracts nowadays.

“Certainly, there are inadvertent kinds of things that do occur where you might drop the ball. But if you have your eyes and your ears open and you have your checks and balances, you should have known. I mean, who’s got the closest relationship with those kids? It’s the coach and the coaching staff.”

Phillips was speaking generally, but it's probably safe to conclude he'd apply the "should have known" expectation on Butch Davis and all the crazy stuff that's gone on under him the last few years.

Not trying to get too deep and dramatic here, but where would we be as a society if "I didn't know" were an acceptable defense for blatant transgressions?

Sorry, officer, I didn't know I was going 87 in a 35.

Honey, I really didn't know I was hopping into bed with that cute brunette I met at the bar.

Professor, I didn't know the term paper was due today.

What ever happened to accountability? Who is accountable right now in Chapel Hill? What does it say that they're pinning 100 percent of the blame on a few players with dollar signs in their eyes, a dirty assistant coach and a couple of sympathetic tutors?

One of the more notable aspects of the scandals these days is the completely baffling responses from the administrations. At Ohio State, the initial statements and demeanor of the athletics director and president fell into the "are they on crack?" category. And in Chapel Hill, Dick Baddour and Holden Thorp have steadfastly and unequivocally stood by their man in the face of damning evidence.

Before the Chapel Hill circus, it was a big no-no to allow the infiltration of shady runners for agents onto college campuses. It's a big headache, because how do you identify and track these dudes?

Davis' associate head coach was exposed as a runner on an agent's payroll, yet Davis doesn't know about it?

Players are partying it up quite publicly in South Florida while being lavished with tens of thousands of dollars from agents, and Davis doesn't know about it?

Tutors, one of whom lived under Davis' own roof, are writing papers for players and helping to pay for their plane tickets and all sorts of other stuff, and Davis doesn't know about it?

Maybe the NCAA should devise a new allegation in addition to "Lack of Institutional Control" and "Failure to Monitor."

"Failure to open your dang eyes."

I'm sure Davis is a good guy, and maybe his private explanations to his bosses have been convincing enough that they'll continue to stand by him even amid the specter of a hammering from the NCAA.

But if ignorance is bliss, the coach awoke with a big smile on his face this morning.

LW

Pardon their progress

When the NCAA baseball regional was in Clemson a few weeks ago, the media food trough was set up in the McFadden Building.

About an hour before the Tigers' implosion against UConn in the Monday game, we were eating dinner when Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com looked around the place and said, "Is this where Terry Don Phillips' office is?"

Yup, I told him. Just across the hallway.

His response: "This is the worst athletic department facility I've seen."

Hard to argue with a guy who's visited a large number of schools across the country the past several years in his job covering college sports.

And given the eye-opening recruiting success that the football program began enjoying, oh, about when construction began on the West End Zone complex, it's hard to argue with all that campaigning (private and public) Tommy Bowden did for enhanced facilities over his first 5-6 years as the Tigers' head coach.

Certainly the current football staff is extraordinarily adept and skilled at the recruiting game. Dabo Swinney and his assistants did a tremendous job last winter by bagging a decorated class in the wake of a 6-7 wreck in 2010, and the momentum has continued with the recent flurry of commitments.

But the sparkling new facilities have played a major role as well, and it's only through a view of the old facilities that you gain a true appreciation for the impact of the upgrades that have taken place over the last six years.

Once upon a time, the football program was based in the McFadden Building. Once upon a time, the weight room and practice locker room were in the Jervey building.

I spent a lot of time in both facilities from 2004 to 2009, when everything moved over to Memorial Stadium. And during that lengthy stretch, it never really occurred to me just how antiquated those buildings were.

Back when the West End Zone complex was just a drawing and they were turning over dirt and trees with a dump truck just to create the appearance of progress to recruits who were visiting, they spent a few hundred thousand dollars trying to spruce up McFadden and Jervey with pictures and new paint and a new locker room. But it was essentially like hitting a long putt for a snowman on a par-4. Whipped cream on top of ... well, you know.

I didn't truly realize how bad Jervey was until recently, when I walked through the same lower floor that players and coaches used to use every day before and after practice. No wonder Bowden and Co. were embarrassed to show this to recruits and their families.

Facilities improvements are not an easy deal when you need tens of millions of dollars to implement them. Yet the progress is continuing with fund-raising for a new indoor practice facility, and construction is underway for the completion of the northwest concourse at Memorial Stadium.

Like some of you, I had some doubts when plans were hatched for the West End Zone way back in 2003 or 2004 or whenever it was. Would they cut corners? Would they be able to raise the money? Would the completion of it take much longer than expected?

Surely there were headaches and frustration and improvisation. Things don't always go according to plan, particularly in a shaky economy.

But sitting here now, looking at a glistening new facility that replaced an eyesore, you have to give credit to the folks who had the vision in the first place.

There's more to building a formidable program than celebrated recruits, and there's more to recruiting than shiny new facilities.

But those facilities sure as heck make a difference. There's no doubt about that.

LW

The ACC and non-conference games

The road to credibility for the ACC is paved by credible showings in non-conference games, and it seems like just a few weeks ago we were looking ahead to the 2010 season and identifying the opportunities for the conference to alter unfavorable perceptions.

Despite preseason pronouncements of one of its divisions (the Coastal) being perhaps the best in college football, and the presence of a number of distinguished quarterbacks, the ACC wasn't ready for primetime.

Florida State was flattened at Oklahoma. Miami didn't hold up at Ohio State. North Carolina and Virginia Tech fell short against LSU and Boise State, respectively.

And then came the black eye in Blacksburg: a shocking, shattering Virginia Tech loss to James Madison. The same Hokie team that won the entire conference couldn't beat the (insert James Madison's mascot here; I couldn't remember), and then Stanford completely pasted Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Aside from Florida State's wins over South Carolina and Florida, North Carolina's controversial bowl victory over Tennessee, and N.C. State's bowl win over West Virginia, there wasn't a whole lot for the conference to brag about in its games against other BCS schools.

And now here we are, looking ahead to 2011 and identifying the ACC's prime opportunities to snag some respect.

Good thing is, the ACC gets some return trips on games that were played in hostile environs last year.

Florida State gets Oklahoma in Tallahassee on Sept. 17 (and a week before the Seminoles travel to Clemson).

Also on Sept. 17, Auburn ventures to Auburn with a Lake to face a Clemson team that is salivating to strengthen its credentials.

The current fiasco enveloping Ohio State diminishes the Buckeyes' stature, but don't tell Al Golden that Miami's Sept. 17 home game against Ohio State isn't a big deal.

Three years ago, the ACC pulled off a coup late in the season when Clemson and Georgia Tech pulled off big wins over South Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Now both the Tigers and Yellow Jackets have lost a combined four consecutive games against their rivals. Reversing that trend this year would be difficult but rewarding for the schools and their conferences.

The ACC could also serve itself well by just not embarrassing itself in the postseason. In addition to the Orange Bowl debacle by the Hokies, the ACC also lost to South Florida (Clemson), to Air Force (Georgia Tech), Notre Dame (Miami) and Nevada (Boston College).

LW

Meter madness in Chapel Hill

So many salacious stories being unearthed across college football these days.

Money, cars, tattoos, alcohol, weed and ... outstanding parking tickets!

Look, I'm all for transparency at state-funded institutions and open free media access and all that. And I'm not going to go all Jay Paterno and blame the media for the fall of Terrelle Pryor.

But something makes me uneasy about this breathless reporting of a bunch of parking tickets racked up by some North Carolina football players.

The Charlotte Observer devoted more than 800 words to the story. The Associated Press picked it up, and now it's everywhere from The New York Times to MSNBC.com.

I understand that this story came as a result of a lengthy court battle between media outlets and a school that fought the release of this information, citing student privacy laws. I realize the case can be made that this information is newsworthy given its place in the broader context of a football program facing serious NCAA scrutiny for various eye-opening misdeeds that are being exposed one after another (none of which Butch Davis knew anything about. Wink, wink.)

But I'm struggling to understand how the following revelation is a big deal:

A review of the records released Thursday shows that fewer than 12 football players tallied 395 parking violations from March 2007 through August 2010.

So there's that, and ... well, that's about it.

If these news outlets can find some evidence that these athletes were given preferential treatment in the dismissal of said tickets, or if the university uncovered some problems about the ownership of the vehicles these kids were driving, then we have a pretty big story on our hands.

Without that evidence, the only verifiable news is news that 12 football players accumulated a bunch of parking tickets.

Not going to name any names here, but a certain Tigerillustrated.com writer with the initials "L" and "W" once incurred one or two (or 50) parking tickets during his five years in college (redshirt year included). They didn't hunt you down and throw you in jail for failing to pay the outstanding fines, but they could (and did) make you pay up before allowing you to graduate.

Maybe UNC is lying and trying to cover up thousands of dollars' worth of fines forgiven of its football players. My guess is, these guys knew they weren't graduating anyway and knew they could park wherever they pleased with no real repercussions.

And I betcha most of us, if blessed with the same athletic ability and promise, would've done the same dang thing.

These kids are kings on college campuses, and we're supposed to be shocked when they walk around (and drive around) like they own the place?

Stop the presses.

LW

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Jim Grobe and Swiss vacations

Be sure that your coffee or cereal or Pop Tart or whatever is fully swallowed before you read the following interview Jim Grobe conducted with Heather Dinich.

At most college football factories, the summer months are spent "giving 110 percent" and "finishing the job" and other things that end up as rallying slogans on T-shirts. At the close of spring practice, coaches spend considerable time emphasizing the importance of remaining on campus and sacrificing and laying the groundwork for a special season. Summer workouts are about as voluntary as jury duty because, well, guess who is in charge of the depth chart?

It's different at Wake Forest, better known as Switzerland. Brace yourselves for the murderous routine Grobe has set forth for his charges this summer as stated in this piece by Dinich.

Leave in mid-May.

Relax. Have Fun. Do what you want to do.

Come back in early July refreshed and ready to work.

I'm trying to imagine the reaction if a coach at, say, Clemson or South Carolina or Georgia or Alabama, outlined such an outrageous plan. I guarantee you there'd be folks calling for Dabo Swinney to be fired on the spot if the tried to pull that stunt.

But it would never happen at places where football is followed with religious fervor, so there's probably no use even wondering. I wonder if anyone up in Switzerland even raised an eyebrow when Grobe said this:

“You talk about keeping kids in class 12 months out of the year,” Grobe said, “that’s a tough thing.

“There’s some benefit to kids having a chance to go spend some time with their families, and if they’ve got a vacation planned or whatever -- a lot of times the guys go with each other. But they just get away from us. I think it’s good for them not only to get away from their coaches, but get away from being in class all the time, be able to sleep in a little bit, wake up late. You might work out at 10 o’clock today, and 3:30 tomorrow, however you want to do it.”

Now I'm sure the reaction from some of you is some mix of the following:

1) Thank the Lord we didn't hire this guy back in 2007 or 2008;

2) No wonder the guy only won three dang games last year.

But there's more than a shred of reason in what Grobe is doing, and it's worth talking about. Just last week, in an interview with Tigerillustrated.com, Terry Don Phillips voiced a strong sentiment that these kids need to be given their lives back instead of essentially working full-time football jobs 12 months out of the year.

So much of high-level competition is about outworking the other guy and finding every conceivable edge. That's basically how we've gotten to this point of year-round workouts; if everyone else is doing it, then it's hard for a coach to see the benefit of backing off for one month out of the year.

It hasn't always been this way, of course. Back in the 40s and 50s and 60s, college football players usually left for the entire summer and worked jobs.

As recently as the 1980s, two of the most prominent quarterbacks in this state's football history did what normal people do over the summer. Rodney Williams waited tables at nights in Columbia and spent his days hanging out with his buddies on Lake Murray. Todd Ellis was a bartender at Myrtle Beach, and I'm guessing he had a bit of a blast.

It's reached the point now that there's an outcry if a player chooses to work out in his hometown over the summer instead of remaining on campus with everyone else. Aaron Kelly comes to mind, as do a few others.

For all the derision of Grobe and dismissal of his philosophies in the wake of two bad seasons, the man still carries some pull with me. He went 28-12 from 2006-08 and won an ACC title at Wake Forest, for crying out loud.

This isn't a call to go back to the old days, or for football players to spend their summers lounging on the beach. After all, a significant number of these guys actually want to get better and are more than willing to spend time during the summer achieving that objective.

But everything is so copy-cat among coaches that I'm wondering what will happen if someone at a major school takes a page from Grobe's book and decides that the benefits of stepping away and refreshing outweigh the benefits of slogging through May and June boot camp ... which precedes July boot camp ... which proceeds August boot camp ... which precedes the season ... which precedes winter boot camp ... which precedes spring practice ... and then all over again.

It's hard to envision any of this reversing course because there's way too much money at stake, and the concept of amateurism has long since been rendered laughable.

But it'd be fascinating to see the reactions among the coaching fraternity if someone won big a few months after letting their players act like, you know, normal humans for a summer.

LW

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Debacle in waiting

It can now be irrefutably concluded that the coach-in-waiting endeavor is simply not worth the wait.

So many innovations seemed like good ideas at the time but end up looking really silly in hindsight. Twenty years from now, we'll probably laugh at the coach-in-waiting thing the way we laugh at all those awful photos of women's big hair and momjeans in the 1980s and 1990s.

But this idea was sketchy to begin with, because it completely ignored the fact that coaches have big egos and get their feelings hurt easily.

Bobby Bowden got to hand pick his successor at Florida State, but the transition was messy and uncomfortable because the Seminoles weren't winning and everyone but Bowden was ready for him to walk off into the book-signing sunset.

Maryland's AD brought in James Franklin to resuscitate a slumbering offense and eventually succeed Ralph Friedgen, a proud Maryland grad who built his name on ... running an offense.

Apparently Will Muschamp went to Texas under the premise not only that he'd be the guy to succeed Mack Brown, but that Brown's retirement was imminent. Muschamp grew tired of waiting and ended up landing in Gainesville.

Winning can help a lot of problems and even prevent them, including strife among coaches. And the coach-in-waiting arrangement appears to have worked in some places (Oregon, Wisconsin, Purdue).

But the risks and the questions and the potential for debacles are just too numerous to consider it a smart move.

At Florida State and Maryland, clearly there were chain-of-command problems that came close to blowing up into embarrassing situations. If you're an assistant coach, do you take orders from a guy who is now an assistant but who will one day be your boss? What if the coach-in-waiting is an offensive guy who's trying to impose his ideas on the defensive side of the ball? Given the high-strung, high-pressure nature of coaches who are working in a cut-throat industry, introducing a coach-in-waiting variable is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

At West Virginia, we're presented with an example of the absolute worst way to do it. Not only does the AD bring in an old buddy to be the eventual guy, but the current guy is told exactly when the succession will take place.

It's a recipe for precisely what has befallen West Virginia in the circus that pushed Bill Stewart out and elevated Dana Holgorsen.

Let's hope athletics directors permanently shelve an idea that was ill-conceived from the start.

LW

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Golf with Dabo and Brownell

If you like playing golf on nice courses and you like rubbing elbows with Clemson's football and basketball coaches, you might consider signing up for the ninth-annual WestZone Initiative Tournament at The River Golf Club in North Augusta.

When I type "ninth-annual," I feel old because I remember attending the inaugural event in 2003. Back then, the Tigers were gearing up for a high-stakes season under fifth-year coach Tommy Bowden. And man, has a lot happened since.

The man who owns and runs The River, Chris Verdery, has become a good friend over the years. He's a big Clemson guy, and he puts on a really good event down there.

The course is pretty sweet, too. It's hard by the Savannah River in the shadow of Augusta, and the coastal accents throughout the course make you feel as though you're at Kiawah or Hilton Head.

This year's tournament is June 20th, and unfortunately pre-vacation hustle and bustle is going to prohibit my attendance. But this event looks to be as good and as fun as usual.

Verdery reports that Dabo Swinney, Brad Brownell, Jeff Davis, and several other former and current players and coaches are slated to attend. It's a 9:15 shotgun start on the morning of the 20th, and they'll have breakfast, lunch, gifts, beverages on the course, range balls and prizes.

You'll also have the opportunity to be paired with a Clemson legend, coach or player by purchasing a "Team Clemson" sponsorship.

Space is limited, and entries will be capped at 32 teams. For more info, contact Verdery at cverdery@rivergolfclub.com or (803) 202-0110, extension 6.

LW

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Handling a loss

The blog has been inactive the past two days, and the reason for that is it's been a crazy and rough week.

I don't mean for this entry to be about me; the only reason I'm writing it is because I think it's about most of us and maybe all of us.

Usually when we talk about handling a loss, we're talking about coaches or players dealing with being on the wrong end of a scoreboard. It's been a different story this week -- a long way from the fun and games that are followed with dramatic, life-and-death fervor.

I lost a great friend recently, and when I say great I mean he was basically family for most of high school and college. We went through great times, bad times and just about everything in between.

Problem is, over the last decade we'd spoken maybe three or four times. There was no dramatic falling out, but the mixture of diverging priorities and the staggeringly rapid passing of time made strangers of us.

The last time we spoke was, I think, the fall of 2008. I'd heard he'd successfully completed a rehab stint for the alcoholism that would later leave him dead on his kitchen floor. I found his number and called him to offer some words of encouragement and tell him about some other people I know who managed to shake free from the wicked shackles of alcohol and drug addiction.

Evidently the past three years were a roller-coaster for him. Off the wagon, then back on. He lost his job a year ago and began a descent to a really dark place. When he lost his best friend and confidant a month ago, he stopped eating and basically drank himself to death. His mother and father, who were in Australia visiting a new grandbaby when they learned of their son's death, said he died of a broken heart.

I spoke at his funeral Wednesday, and it was a tremendous honor to honor him. I told everyone about the guy I knew long ago and the crazy stories from when we were young adults still behaving like children, trying to sprinkle in some funny anecdotes to an overall narrative that described a sweet, good-hearted kid who was filled with wonder and curiosity.

If I were able to do it all over again, I'd add one thing:

There's nothing wrong with growing apart from great friends. It's unfortunate, but it happens because people change and grow in profoundly different ways in their 20s and 30s.

But there's no excuse, really, to not make a call or send an e-mail every now and then just to tell great old friends you're thinking about them and love them. It's never any fun saying goodbye to people who've passed on, but it's hard to have to reintroduce yourself to those people at their own funerals.

That's the positive revelation I'm taking from a horrible situation: Make some regular efforts to keep from becoming strangers with loved ones from whom you've grown apart.

If some of you can also find this lesson useful, the past 12 paragraphs will have been very much worthwhile.

LW

Omaha or bust

We reporters like to snicker and thumb our noses when coaches use tired cliches and say they take one game at a time and boring stuff like that.

December fun for Brownell and Co.

It's probably safe to say June is the earliest in the year I've ever looked forward to anything involving December basketball.

Pocket change

You have to give some serious credit to Steve Spurrier. The man loses his voice, and he still manages to steal the show at the SEC spring meetings in Destin.

The Golden Bear speaks, and links

Whenever the media is covering a crime story and interviews loved ones of a person accused of the crime, I tend to completely dismiss the opinions given by those loved ones.