Saturday Insider Notes
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
An update on one of the two uncommitted official visitors we highlighted for this weekend.
As we brought to light on the WestZone message board Friday night, Pike Road (Ala.) four-star defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry is still on for an appearance this weekend.
Our understanding, though, is that Perry won't be on campus until Sunday.
Montgomery's Khurtiss Perry is billed sixth overall regardless of position in the state of Alabama by Rivals.com.
The NCAA dead period begins Monday, meaning his visit will have concluded by the end of the day Sunday.
Perry (6-2, 265), ranked No. 130 nationally by Rivals.com, entertained defensive tackles coach Todd Bates on an in-home visit Tuesday. Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin and UCF's Gus Malzahn all came later in the week.
He made a social media post shouting love to Auburn on Friday afternoon -- notable in light of his proclaiming Auburn No. 1 after his Iron Bowl official visit, a swing from widespread sentiment casting Alabama as the heavy favorite.
Perry was quoted after the visit detailing how Auburn is recruiting him as a defensive end and not a tackle, which we might include as a contributing factor.
Thus we would say it now bears noting that Clemson does not have a defensive line commitment in its class, and we would suggest the Tigers will be using that potential exclusivity in a pitch that also allows for position flexibility.
Odds feel like they are against Clemson defeating the in-state schools. But if the Tigers were going to safely sweep him out of Alabama, it was probably going to require a late surge at the finish anyhow.
A two-strike at-bat is better than no plate appearance at all, we suppose. -- PAUL STRELOW
Dabo Swinney and his staff reconvened in person late Friday afternoon for a meeting in the football offices, and we'd have loved to be a fly on that Reeves Center wall.
While many folks on the outside are panicking over the trend of decommitments and staffers headed elsewhere, we're told Swinney was remarkably upbeat yesterday as he went through the day and got his feet back on the ground after a week away.
The Cheez-It Bowl is 18 days away. The Tigers haven't been on a field since two weeks ago when they were last seen delivering a goose egg to South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The startling frequency of big developments the last two weeks might've left the impression that everything stands still as everyone awaits major decisions from Brent Venables, Tony Elliott and Dan Radakovich. But the reality is that the machine keeps on going behind the scenes as the team continues working out and the support staffers grind away preparing for Iowa State.
That said, it's impossible for unadulterated business as usual to this point. The coaches on the road are trying to manage and shape perceptions after word gets out about the promotion of an obscure behind-the-scenes assistant to defensive coordinator. The staffers in the building, all of them ambitious and hoping to climb the ladder, are wondering if they might be called by the newly minted head coaches at Oklahoma and Virginia.
These are jolting blows, even when you know they might be coming.
We've all spent long hours wondering whether these two coordinators would indeed depart Clemson after all these years. The book closes on that, but the intriguing story goes on as we wonder who else might be plucked away to go to Norman, Charlottesville or elsewhere.
It appears the replacements for these major positions -- including athletics director -- will be free of a whole lot of suspense. As we've been reporting for a week, the matter seems settled on the defensive side with Wesley Goodwin and Mickey Conn as co-defensive coordinators.
The feel we've been getting for a while on OC is Brandon Streeter to Elliott's position and Kyle Richardson being promoted to a position coach. But as we've seen in the past, it's a mistake to assume we know everything going on in the mind of the head man as he fills spots.
All season long, it felt like the football team was in a state of transition. And the last two weeks have supercharged that notion as Swinney determines what lengths he needs to go in the areas of reinvention and refreshment. -- LARRY WILLLIAMS
From THE TIGER FAN SHOP: Happy Holidays! More marked down officially-licensed Clemson apparel and gear! Visit The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
An update on one of the two uncommitted official visitors we highlighted for this weekend.
As we brought to light on the WestZone message board Friday night, Pike Road (Ala.) four-star defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry is still on for an appearance this weekend.
Our understanding, though, is that Perry won't be on campus until Sunday.
Montgomery's Khurtiss Perry is billed sixth overall regardless of position in the state of Alabama by Rivals.com.
The NCAA dead period begins Monday, meaning his visit will have concluded by the end of the day Sunday.
Perry (6-2, 265), ranked No. 130 nationally by Rivals.com, entertained defensive tackles coach Todd Bates on an in-home visit Tuesday. Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin and UCF's Gus Malzahn all came later in the week.
He made a social media post shouting love to Auburn on Friday afternoon -- notable in light of his proclaiming Auburn No. 1 after his Iron Bowl official visit, a swing from widespread sentiment casting Alabama as the heavy favorite.
Perry was quoted after the visit detailing how Auburn is recruiting him as a defensive end and not a tackle, which we might include as a contributing factor.
Thus we would say it now bears noting that Clemson does not have a defensive line commitment in its class, and we would suggest the Tigers will be using that potential exclusivity in a pitch that also allows for position flexibility.
Odds feel like they are against Clemson defeating the in-state schools. But if the Tigers were going to safely sweep him out of Alabama, it was probably going to require a late surge at the finish anyhow.
A two-strike at-bat is better than no plate appearance at all, we suppose. -- PAUL STRELOW
Dabo Swinney and his staff reconvened in person late Friday afternoon for a meeting in the football offices, and we'd have loved to be a fly on that Reeves Center wall.
While many folks on the outside are panicking over the trend of decommitments and staffers headed elsewhere, we're told Swinney was remarkably upbeat yesterday as he went through the day and got his feet back on the ground after a week away.
The Cheez-It Bowl is 18 days away. The Tigers haven't been on a field since two weeks ago when they were last seen delivering a goose egg to South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The startling frequency of big developments the last two weeks might've left the impression that everything stands still as everyone awaits major decisions from Brent Venables, Tony Elliott and Dan Radakovich. But the reality is that the machine keeps on going behind the scenes as the team continues working out and the support staffers grind away preparing for Iowa State.
That said, it's impossible for unadulterated business as usual to this point. The coaches on the road are trying to manage and shape perceptions after word gets out about the promotion of an obscure behind-the-scenes assistant to defensive coordinator. The staffers in the building, all of them ambitious and hoping to climb the ladder, are wondering if they might be called by the newly minted head coaches at Oklahoma and Virginia.
These are jolting blows, even when you know they might be coming.
We've all spent long hours wondering whether these two coordinators would indeed depart Clemson after all these years. The book closes on that, but the intriguing story goes on as we wonder who else might be plucked away to go to Norman, Charlottesville or elsewhere.
It appears the replacements for these major positions -- including athletics director -- will be free of a whole lot of suspense. As we've been reporting for a week, the matter seems settled on the defensive side with Wesley Goodwin and Mickey Conn as co-defensive coordinators.
The feel we've been getting for a while on OC is Brandon Streeter to Elliott's position and Kyle Richardson being promoted to a position coach. But as we've seen in the past, it's a mistake to assume we know everything going on in the mind of the head man as he fills spots.
All season long, it felt like the football team was in a state of transition. And the last two weeks have supercharged that notion as Swinney determines what lengths he needs to go in the areas of reinvention and refreshment. -- LARRY WILLLIAMS
From THE TIGER FAN SHOP: Happy Holidays! More marked down officially-licensed Clemson apparel and gear! Visit The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
