Wednesday Night Notes
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
Amid the fallout from Brent Venables' departure, almost all of the outside focus has been on Wesley Goodwin and justifiably so given his obscurity and the curiosity about him.
So it's probably time to dig a bit into the possibilities if indeed Mickey Conn is elevated to a co-coordinator role with Goodwin.
All this week, dating to Monday when we first reported that the Goodwin-Conn arrangement is what we've been picking up from sources, we have heard nothing other than that as to Dabo Swinney's plans to replace Venables after 10 seasons.
When Conn left a highly successful program at Grayson High School to become a support staffer at Clemson in 2016, we believe Swinney told him he would be a likely candidate to be the defensive coordinator at some point.
Conn became safeties coach in 2017, and this past season he was also the special-teams coordinator. We give him high marks for his coaching acumen and the commanding nature we have observed during practices over the past five years.
Mickey Conn's first job in the college ranks was as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1996. (Zach Hanby - Tigerillustrated.com)
Of course there are cynics out there who think Conn is here only because he's Dabo's boy and he can't coach a lick, but we don't believe that to be true based on what we've seen.
As we've told you, Swinney plans to make an announcement regarding the defensive staff as early as Friday. It'll be interesting to see how specific he gets regarding the play-calling assuming it's the co-coordinator arrangement that we anticipate.
Based on all the intel we've gathered this week, we believe Goodwin will be the play-caller stepping into the canyon-sized footprints Venables left. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
One of the interesting recruiting layers to the staff transition will be the geographic impact on Clemson's recruiting board.
We would easily make a case that recruiting territories don't mean nearly as much as they did a decade ago and beyond. Scouting and communication methods have advanced, and Clemson emerging as a national brand has led to the available talent pool knowing no state bounds.
Yet there have remained pockets from where schools tend to draw more of their talent, or at least a greater number of targets. And there's a direct correlation to where the college assistants boast their connections and relationships.
Venables had an extended background recruiting south Florida, and that was evident from offers distributed down the process line. He also cast his net through parts of Virginia and up in New Jersey in addition to resonating with the periodic prospect in his native Kansas and Missouri region.
By contrast, Conn's roots are exclusively in Georgia.
Clemson has always considered the Peach State a priority, and we've called its efforts there exponentially more important than in-state recruiting based on Georgia's annual yield in both quantity and quality.
So, in other words, it's not as if the Tigers suddenly recruit Georgia harder, so to speak.
But Conn still has a lot of strong or respected relationships with high school coaches and the football community in Georgia, and you go with what and who you know in recruiting.
Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek high-four star Caleb Downs deserves to be Clemson's No. 1 junior safety target on his own merits. Yet it doesn't hurt, and probably isn't coincidence, that Downs comes from right within Conn's wheelhouse as well.
Downs continues to be a big-boy battle featuring Alabama and UGA, and connections get the foot in the door only so far.
Conn legitimately teamed with Venables in procuring four-stars R.J. Mickens and Andrew Mukuba out of Texas. So it's completely reasonable to think he expands his reach now that more falls on the plates of each individual position coach in Venables' absence.
Just suggesting that a compelling dynamic going forward will be where Clemson picks its recruiting battles. -- PAUL STRELOW
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
Amid the fallout from Brent Venables' departure, almost all of the outside focus has been on Wesley Goodwin and justifiably so given his obscurity and the curiosity about him.
So it's probably time to dig a bit into the possibilities if indeed Mickey Conn is elevated to a co-coordinator role with Goodwin.
All this week, dating to Monday when we first reported that the Goodwin-Conn arrangement is what we've been picking up from sources, we have heard nothing other than that as to Dabo Swinney's plans to replace Venables after 10 seasons.
When Conn left a highly successful program at Grayson High School to become a support staffer at Clemson in 2016, we believe Swinney told him he would be a likely candidate to be the defensive coordinator at some point.
Conn became safeties coach in 2017, and this past season he was also the special-teams coordinator. We give him high marks for his coaching acumen and the commanding nature we have observed during practices over the past five years.
Mickey Conn's first job in the college ranks was as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1996. (Zach Hanby - Tigerillustrated.com)
Of course there are cynics out there who think Conn is here only because he's Dabo's boy and he can't coach a lick, but we don't believe that to be true based on what we've seen.
As we've told you, Swinney plans to make an announcement regarding the defensive staff as early as Friday. It'll be interesting to see how specific he gets regarding the play-calling assuming it's the co-coordinator arrangement that we anticipate.
Based on all the intel we've gathered this week, we believe Goodwin will be the play-caller stepping into the canyon-sized footprints Venables left. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
One of the interesting recruiting layers to the staff transition will be the geographic impact on Clemson's recruiting board.
We would easily make a case that recruiting territories don't mean nearly as much as they did a decade ago and beyond. Scouting and communication methods have advanced, and Clemson emerging as a national brand has led to the available talent pool knowing no state bounds.
Yet there have remained pockets from where schools tend to draw more of their talent, or at least a greater number of targets. And there's a direct correlation to where the college assistants boast their connections and relationships.
Venables had an extended background recruiting south Florida, and that was evident from offers distributed down the process line. He also cast his net through parts of Virginia and up in New Jersey in addition to resonating with the periodic prospect in his native Kansas and Missouri region.
By contrast, Conn's roots are exclusively in Georgia.
Clemson has always considered the Peach State a priority, and we've called its efforts there exponentially more important than in-state recruiting based on Georgia's annual yield in both quantity and quality.
So, in other words, it's not as if the Tigers suddenly recruit Georgia harder, so to speak.
But Conn still has a lot of strong or respected relationships with high school coaches and the football community in Georgia, and you go with what and who you know in recruiting.
Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek high-four star Caleb Downs deserves to be Clemson's No. 1 junior safety target on his own merits. Yet it doesn't hurt, and probably isn't coincidence, that Downs comes from right within Conn's wheelhouse as well.
Downs continues to be a big-boy battle featuring Alabama and UGA, and connections get the foot in the door only so far.
Conn legitimately teamed with Venables in procuring four-stars R.J. Mickens and Andrew Mukuba out of Texas. So it's completely reasonable to think he expands his reach now that more falls on the plates of each individual position coach in Venables' absence.
Just suggesting that a compelling dynamic going forward will be where Clemson picks its recruiting battles. -- PAUL STRELOW
From THE TIGER FAN SHOP: Happy Holidays! More marked down officially-licensed Clemson apparel and gear! Visit The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
