Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Deon Cain was a 5-star wide receiver in HS and Mackenzie Alexander was the No. 4 overall player in the nation coming out of HS and the No. 2 DB in America. And you're trying to tell me that these guys would have normally gone to Georgia or South Carolina? Or are you trying to tell me that they're not "difference makers"?
By the way, I'm not denying the obvious contribution of guys like Watson. I'm saying that Clemson has been able to pick up primetime studs like Sammy Watkins and Mackenzie Alexander--guys who would have been playing in the Orange Bowl for FSU, Miami or UF back in the 90s.
And I don't think you read the "in the 90s" part of my post. Who were the 5-star recruits going to South Carolina back in the 90s?
Clemson historically recruits both Georgia and Florida pretty well (both states have a lot of athletes). What has changed in the past several years is that we're getting primarily 4 star and 5 star guys. UGA and FSU always have pretty strong recruiting classes.
Clemson historically recruits both Georgia and Florida pretty well (both states have a lot of athletes). What has changed in the past several years is that we're getting primarily 4 star and 5 star guys. UGA and FSU always have pretty strong recruiting classes.
I wasn't focused so much on geography. I was focused on players who likely would have been snatched up by one of the Big 3 Florida programs in the 90s. Most of the players, of course, come from the state of Florida, which is why those programs were so good in the 90s.
Even Alabama's Golden Boy receiver last year, Amari Cooper, is from Miami. He probably wouldn't have left Florida in the 90s. The Florida teams simply lost the monopoly on their homegrown talent.
Florida could pretty much field an unbeatable HOF team on its own.
Deion Sanders (Ft. Myers, FL)
Emmitt Smith (Pensacola, FL)
Ray Lewis (Bartow, FL)
Derrick Brooks (Pensacola, FL)
Ed Reed (Miami, FL)
Warren Sapp (Plymouth, FL)
Michael Irvin (Ft. Lauderale, FL)
Andre Johnson (Miami, FL)
Devin Hester (Rivera Beach, FL)
Edgerrin James (Immokalee, FL)
Frank Gore (Coconut Grove, FL)
Jonathan Vilma (Coral Gables, FL)
Clinton Portis (Miami, FL)
Javon Kearse (Ft. Myers, FL)
Willis McGahee (Miami, FL)
Sean Taylor (Miami, FL)
Daunte Culpepper (Ocala, FL)
Antonio Brown (Miami, FL)
I won't even bring up guys like Peter Warrick who were dominant at the college level but flamed out in the NFL.
Clemson historically recruits both Georgia and Florida pretty well (both states have a lot of athletes). What has changed in the past several years is that we're getting primarily 4 star and 5 star guys. UGA and FSU always have pretty strong recruiting classes.
Dabo has everything to do with that.. I think it started with Tajh Boyd.. He basically said "Come here, and you'll be the starter".. Landing Boyd raised their profile from a 7-5/8-4 top 25 team to a perennial 10 or 11 win and top 10 team.
I have no doubt.. You don't get Boyd, you don't get Watson. Or Watkins or many of the great receivers they've had that past few years.
I'd take that bet. Why would he ever go? Unless Alabama falls on hard times, he'd have no incentive to take the job, because there'd be nowhere to go but down. If he took it and succeeded.. Well, that's what's expected.. If he had 3 2 loss seasons in a row.. he sucks.
The guy who really put Clemson on the map in terms of Florida recruiting is CJ Spiller. He was Dabo's best recruit when he was an assistant- not even coordinator. And Kyle Parker was actually supposed to be a hot prospect when he came between prior to Boyd. But I have to agree that Watson is the most important recruit we've landed.
As for USC, Clemson has had very little overlap with them in recent years & is not recruiting horribly hard in the state at the moment. It really amounts to cherry picking (such as Feaster & Pinckney) at the moment and this year's recruiting class has been like nothing I have seen from Clemson. We are literally pulling in recruits from the tip of Florida to New York State and west to Kansas. At the moment our biggest get is actually out of NC. Georgia has always been Georgia centric in recruiting but Clemson has always had some pull there. We were in the running for Gurley until the end.
Strangely all three of Clemson's best coaches were Bama alums- Howard, Ford and Swinney. And that's partly why Smart going to UGA gives me indigestion.
Deon Cain was a 5-star wide receiver in HS and Mackenzie Alexander was the No. 4 overall player in the nation coming out of HS and the No. 2 DB in America. And you're trying to tell me that these guys would have normally gone to Georgia or South Carolina? Or are you trying to tell me that they're not "difference makers"?
By the way, I'm not denying the obvious contribution of guys like Watson. I'm saying that Clemson has been able to pick up primetime studs like Sammy Watkins and Mackenzie Alexander--guys who would have been playing in the Orange Bowl for FSU, Miami or UF back in the 90s.
And I don't think you read the "in the 90s" part of my post. Who were the 5-star recruits going to South Carolina back in the 90s?
None of those players hold a candle to the 4 I named...
If you do not see the correlation between GA and SC kids choosing Clemson over UGA and South Carolina resulting in those schools losing their coaches this year then I'm wasting my time trying to explain... suit yourself. You know it all... It's FL that is making Clemson great!
Clemson hasn't faced a defense like Alabama's yet.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
