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I am cautiously optimistic going into the 2012 football season. But, like there would be for any football program, there are concerns I have for Carolina football. They are:
1. Replacing Stephen Gilmore at CB. I'm not going to say that Gilmore was 100% perfect as a cover CB. But, he was good enough to be drafted in the first round. The thing that he brought to the table, in my opinion, was that he was a playmaker. He was always around the ball. He made things happen. Who can forget the blitz he put on Tajh Boyd in the opening of last year's clemson game? That hit rattled Boyd. From then on, Boyd folded like a cheap lawn chair for the rest of the game. I do think that we are in good shape with Auguste and Hampton manning the corners. But, what if one of them goes down? Yikes. I am not so sure about the quality of depth we have at CB.
2. Replacing the man who called the above-referenced blitz....Ellis Johnson as Defensive Coordinator. Some clemson fans claim that Johnson was the ONLY reason for our success the past few years. Can Lorenzo Ward get the job done as DC? He did a good job, I thought, against Nebraska in the Cap One Bowl. And Lorenzo did learn under 2 of the best DC's in the game....Johnson and Bud Foster. But, now, Ward is on his own. clemson fans played the Nebraska performance down by saying that Ward simply executed Ellis Johnson's game plan. Well, I don't know about that. But, still, I think Lorenzo has to prove himself over the course of a full football season. Ward's philosophy is a little different from Johnson's. Ward prefers to blitz more than Johnson does. When Ellis had us blitzing, it was a true surprise such as the opening blitz he called on Boyd in the clemson game.
3. Something that's not talked about much.....Joe Connally replacing Fitz as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. Again, to hear clemson fans talk, many of their woes lays at the feet of Joey Batson, their S&C Coordinator. There's no doubt that Fitz did a great job for us in the 3 years he was at Carolina. He was very vocal, too, on the field. I know that Connally has a good background, good resume and that he worked closely with Fitz, who brought him to Carolina after having previously worked with him at Harvard. But, like Lorenzo, Joe is now on his own. Will he get the job done? We shall see. We shall see.
1. Replacing Stephen Gilmore at CB. I'm not going to say that Gilmore was 100% perfect as a cover CB. But, he was good enough to be drafted in the first round. The thing that he brought to the table, in my opinion, was that he was a playmaker. He was always around the ball. He made things happen. Who can forget the blitz he put on Tajh Boyd in the opening of last year's clemson game? That hit rattled Boyd. From then on, Boyd folded like a cheap lawn chair for the rest of the game. I do think that we are in good shape with Auguste and Hampton manning the corners. But, what if one of them goes down? Yikes. I am not so sure about the quality of depth we have at CB.
2. Replacing the man who called the above-referenced blitz....Ellis Johnson as Defensive Coordinator. Some clemson fans claim that Johnson was the ONLY reason for our success the past few years. Can Lorenzo Ward get the job done as DC? He did a good job, I thought, against Nebraska in the Cap One Bowl. And Lorenzo did learn under 2 of the best DC's in the game....Johnson and Bud Foster. But, now, Ward is on his own. clemson fans played the Nebraska performance down by saying that Ward simply executed Ellis Johnson's game plan. Well, I don't know about that. But, still, I think Lorenzo has to prove himself over the course of a full football season. Ward's philosophy is a little different from Johnson's. Ward prefers to blitz more than Johnson does. When Ellis had us blitzing, it was a true surprise such as the opening blitz he called on Boyd in the clemson game.
3. Something that's not talked about much.....Joe Connally replacing Fitz as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. Again, to hear clemson fans talk, many of their woes lays at the feet of Joey Batson, their S&C Coordinator. There's no doubt that Fitz did a great job for us in the 3 years he was at Carolina. He was very vocal, too, on the field. I know that Connally has a good background, good resume and that he worked closely with Fitz, who brought him to Carolina after having previously worked with him at Harvard. But, like Lorenzo, Joe is now on his own. Will he get the job done? We shall see. We shall see.
