So, where do we go from here? We have spent a siginificant amount of time discussing this and we have come up with some things that The Clemson Administration should commit to our football program and athletics department in general. Some of these things cost money. Some cost energy. Some will hurt feelings. Some will require the people charged with running Clemson to put their egos away, think beyond the 6 inches in front of them. We firmly believe that Clemson is wrought with potential. Potential to be one of the greatest academic and athletic institutions in America, but there are some areas that are underperforming, and there are areas for improvement.
Resolution #1 – Build our Student Athletes a Training Table.
-Do this yesterday. This is the biggest absurdity known to man. We can pretend that these kids are regular students, but it is beyond ridiculous to do so. What these 18-23 year olds do to their bodies, and require of their bodies are so far removed from what some accounting major from Sumter does to his body, they might as well exist in different worlds. Please understand, we are primarily talking about football here, but a training table would benefit every single sport program on campus.
All of these kids are in school at Clemson because of what they can do with their bodies. They represent Clemson on a national stage and bring recognition to Clemson. The fact that we do not have a training table to allow these students to put proper fuel in their bodies should be an felonious offense punishable by incarceration. 50% of weight training, conditioning and development of the body is nutrition. Our athletes will never be developed at their peak without proper nutrition.
The AOC suggests building an institute of nutrition headed by Dr. Jackson that will be the southeast’s leader in nutrition and health. It is time for Clemson to put their best foot forward here. Be innovative. Be daring. Tell your athletes that you are going to put the best fuels in their body as possible and you are going to lead the nation in research and development. Make it a major. Make it an academic program. Whatever you want to do with it – DO IT.
Resolution #2 – Give Dabo the support staff you promised to him
When Dabo was hired, he was alleged to have been promised 6 full time support staff positions. The bottom line is our coaching staff is forced to waste their time doing things that coaches at Alabama, Georgia, Florida, etc do not do. Nick Saban has over 30 support personnel to help in off-season workouts, nutrition, recruiting, high school relations, game day management, advanced scouting of opponents, etc.
When Tommy Bowden was hired, he was promised facility upgrades that took 6 years to even break ground on, and 11 years to complete. This is unacceptable. Clemson’s coaching staff is limited by NCAA regulations on how much off-season contact they can have with their players, so support staff for the strength and conditioning department is vital. Players at places like Alabama and Florida have former NFL players working with them in the off-season refining their skills.
Clemson is a special place. It would not take a huge financial commitment to bring in guys like Levon Kirkland, Woodrow Dantzler, Raymond Priester, Rod Gardner, Anthony Simmons, Dustin Fry, etc to come back and mentor younger athletes in the off-season. The creation of a culture where Tiger greats come back to Clemson in the off-season and work with younger Clemson players is something that can only help us move forward.
#44 was ready to work for $66,000 per year, but TDP said "NO" after originally saying "YES"
Resolution #3 – Come up with a plan to continue moving facilities forward.
The Arms Race in College Football is undeniable. Create a long-term and short-term plan. The long-term plan should include moving all the practice facilities for football to Lot 5, directly behind the West End Zone. 1.5 practice fields and an indoor facility right behind Death Valley would show an dramatic commitment to Clemson Football. We know some fuddy duddies will likely be upset about their parking spaces being moved, but when Clemson is winning 10+ games a year, there will be thousands of fans willing to take their seats. The short term plan should be shown to all recruits. The long-term plan should be on the official Clemson Athletics Website and should look professionally done.
Even South Carolina Has An Indoor Practice Facility
Resolution #4 – Let Clemson’s coaches stand on their own merits
Clemson’s coaches should be permitted to recruit any NCAA elegible student athlete in America. If the athlete is not NCAA elegible, then they should be permitted to sign and place them in an appropriate junior college or prepatory school of their choosing. If this ruffles your feathers or upsets you, then you have zero interest in winning football games, or looking at facts.
Fact #1 – South Carolina is a state that is ranked low in all academic categories in regards to their public schools. So not only do our coaches have a smaller population to work with then their neighbors to the north and south, they have to recruit from a public school system that is ranked anywhere from 45 to 49 depending on what study one looks at.
Fact #2 – Ian Williams, Dwight Jones, Jakar Hamilton, Jarrius Wynn, Toquavios Gilchrist, Jonathan Abbatte, Tydreke Powell, Brandon Paul, Ryan Houston, Wesleye Saunders were all athletes that our coaches were not allowed to recruit. These student athletes were admitted to places like North Carolina, Wake Forest, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. All but South Carolina are considered superior institutions to Clemson and rank above us in The US News and World Report Rankings.
Clemson said "NO" to me, so I said "YES" to UGA
If our coaches feel like an athlete can succeed at Clemson University given the support structure we have in place, they should be allowed to recruit and sign them. Period. We do not think Clemson’s coaches will go mustang and recruit a bunch of gun wielding crips from Compton, nor do we think Clemson is attractive to thugs and gangbangers. There are a lot of great kids that are great football players who come from academically disadvantageous situations that can play football. If Clemson’s coaches go Ron Prince and sign a bunch of JUCOs, then you can do what Kansas State did – fire them. The bottom line is our coaches should not be penalized by academic restrictions that elite universities like UNC and Wake Forest do not even follow. If you hired the guy you think can lead your football program, then let him have total autonomy on the players in his program. If you think he is the type of guy that will bring in the wrong kids, fire him or do not hire him in the first place.
Fact #3 – Excellent athletics HELP, not hinder Academic Performance. This point cannot be argued. There is too much research on it that proves it. When your football and basketball programs are in the national spotlight, are winning bowl games and advancing deep into the NCAA Basketball tournament in March, your applications always go up. Alabama’s applicant pool is bigger than ever. Boston College attributes the “Flutie Factor” into a spike in the average test score of their freshman class in the 1980s. George Mason saw a 25% gain in the numbers of their applicants after the basketball team advanced to The Final Four. If James Barker wants to promote Clemson’s Academics? Get a 3 hour commercial on National Television that will turn a 15.5 rating across the country courtesy of your football program.
The Avenue of Champions can be reached at aoc.clemson@gmail.com
