Clemson Tigers News

The State — CLEMSON — Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning reportedly walked into a defensive backs meeting last week with two sheets of paper in his hand, telling players those pages contained the pass coverages they would run against Duke.The greater surprise, senior safety Michael Hamlin said, was when Koenning said the Tigers were going to use more press man-to-man coverage at interim coach Dabo Swinney’s behest.Press man — in which defensive backs line up directly across from receivers and try to stick with them stride for stride — is considered high-risk...

The State — News of the daySenior safety Michael Hamlin said he is considering writing a letter to school president James Barker endorsing Dabo Swinney to be Clemson’s full-time coach.Junior running back C.J. Spiller took it a step further. Spiller, a possible first-round NFL draft pick in April, said he would return to Clemson for his senior season if Swinney is retained.“He’s the one who brought me in here, and I really hope he comes back,” Spiller said.Swinney said the decision will ultimately come down to the desires of Spiller and his family, but he doesn&#...

The State — News of the dayActing offensive coordinator Billy Napier planned to call himself on the carpet for his mismanagement of a second-and-21 situation against Duke that could have yielded a long field goal if Clemson had played its cards right.Talk of improving accountability can be trite, but Napier cites a philosophical change as a primary reason for the Tigers’ recent offensive strides.Under interim coach Dabo Swinney, the Tigers’ offensive staff meets on Mondays to assess why individual drives from the previous game failed. Then, Napier said, those who made the decisive misc...

The State — CLEMSON — Media voters for the All-ACC team might want to consider changing the offense's personnel grouping.Based on the credentials of the quarterback candidates, the trendy Wildcat formation featuring a running back taking the snap perhaps would give the first team more legitimacy.It wasn't supposed to be that way, of course.But it has taken until the final third of the regular season for the prohibitive preseason favorite, Clemson senior Cullen Harper, to reappear on the radar."He's starting to play like we all expected him to play," interim coach Dabo Sw...

The State — Clemson's Trevor Booker and Duke’s Kyle Singler have been named Co-ACC players of the week.Booker posted double-doubles in two of the three games at the Charleston Classic, leading Clemson to the championship with wins against Hofstra (98-69), TCU (70-58) and Temple (76-72). Booker earned Tournament MVP honors after averaging 13.0 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game.— From Staff Reports

The State — Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster talked to a few of their local media tonight, his first media availability since interviewing for the Clemson job Friday.HereÂ’s what he had to say, courtesy of Kyle Tucker from the Virginian-Pilot:ON THE CLEMSON HEAD-COACHING INTERVIEW: “I did interview. ThereÂ’s an interest on both parts, and weÂ’ll just see where it goes from there. IÂ’m one of several potential candidates for the job and weÂ’ll see where it goes here in another week or so. ThatÂ’s all I know, and thatÂ’s all I can say.”ON THE TIMETABLE THE CLEMSON OFFICIALS GAVE HIM FOR A DE...

The State — The kickoff time for South Carolina vs. Clemson isn't set, but it will be a daytime start.The Nov. 29 matchup of the in-state rivals will be at noon or 3:30 p.m., according to Michael Kelly, associate commissoner of football operations for the Atlantic Coast Conference.A final decision on the game time and television details will be made no later than noon Sunday.The Gamecocks are off this week before their regular-season finale at Clemson, which is 5-5 following a 31-7 victory against DukeAt 7-4, USC is already bowl-eligible. Clemson can become bowl-eligible with wins this Saturday at Vi...

The State — At Clemson, the Tigers went on an 18-3 run to end the first half and forced 30 turnovers in the game as they defeated Presbyterian on Sunday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum.Sophomore Jasmine Tate scored six points during the stretch to finish in double figures for the first time in her career, while Lele Hardy led Clemson (1-1) in scoring for the second consecutive game with 13.“This was a good win for us,” said Clemson coach Cristy McKinney. “We improved on a lot of things from the last game. The girls played better defense, had fewer fouls and grabbed a lot of ...

The State — C.J. Spiller. Three games in a row, Spiller has proved the most dynamic offensive player on the field. His performances forces one to wonder if the ACC title game would still be within reach had Spiller recovered from a sprained ankle in time for Georgia Tech, which Clemson lost 21-17.Aaron Kelly. Doesn’t matter how many were screen passes — 217 catches are a bunch. And Kelly ranks ahead of Desmond Clark, Peter Warrick and Torry Holt on the ACC career-receptions list. The 6-foot-5 senior needs 129 yards to eclipse Terry Smith (1990-93) for the school career receiving yardag...

The State — CHARLESTON — Propelled by a strong defensive effort, Clemson held on to beat Temple 76-72 Sunday and win the Charleston Classic.Clemson (3-0) led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the Owls rallied to cut the lead to two with 38 seconds to play. The Tigers combined enough free throws down the stretch and two critical defensive stops to hang on. Clemson also out rebounded the Owls 41-26."I'm very pleased with winning the tournament here," said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell. "It's always nice when you can go home with the hardware."Temple is an...

The State — CHARLESTON | Terrence Oglesby's 16 points and a strong defensive effort helped Clemson defeat Temple 76-72 Sunday to win the Charleston Classic.Clemson (3-0) led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the Owls rallied to cut the lead to two with 38 seconds to play. The Tigers made just enough free throws down the stretch to hang on.The Tigers held Temple (2-1) to 31.4 percent shooting in the second half and 45 percent for the game (27 of 60). Temple’s leading scorer, guard Dionte Christmas, scored 14 points against the Tigers after scoring 26 points in each of the Owls&a...

The State — CLEMSON — Considering the gauntlet Dabo Swinney has already traversed in his month as Clemson's interim coach, Saturday's Duke victory might as well have been his week of paid vacation."It is what it is," Swinney said. "It never comes easy."There was the matter of scrambling to reorganize the coaching staff and prepare for the Georgia Tech game in the four days proceeding Tommy Bowden's resignation.After using the subsequent bye week to address morale, the Tigers conquered Boston College before running out of gas on the road again the next weekend a...