I think it is becoming clear that this is a crucial year, on the field, for Butch's program. It's tough watching Amari nega-cruit against UT so hard (not the loss of the kid, but the fallout since), Hunter Johnson flip (granted with JG less impactful), and then Tee troll the hometown fans/players so hard in recent weeks by publicly stating UT as his leader (gotta say, the 247 guys were much less confident in his word on that in recent weeks and were saying Clemson was arguably co-leading)...and guys like Jordan Williams and Malik Herring showing Tee love on social media for his decision...but these guys are clearly caught up in the Clemson/Dabo mojo right now. Sure, Clemson has been producing top-level NFL WR talent (Watkins, Hopkins, Bryant) with much more prolific passing numbers than UT in recent years while some of our top WR recruits have struggled (Marquez North a possible nega-cruiting example) - and objectively it's easy to see why Tee can better visualize himself showcasing his talent in that offense rather than hope a Dormady/JG offensive attack is more effective and active in the pass game (which I think it will be) - but to lose a top 10 talent in our backyard is another body blow to our program just as we're on the cusp of really breaking on the national stage again. The Title 9 stuff will hopefully work itself out in time, but it's clear the '17 class just isn't going to be a top 5 class right now (unless we got both Tee and Trey Smith) and may struggle to be a top 10 class, given a lot of the questionable takes we have on the sheets right now (obviously that can change with upgrades/processing). We can't afford to miss on any more of our realistic top 100/top 250 guys given the small amount of spots available to have more head-liners in this class.
Gray really deserves a lot of credit for trying to lead the in-state charge, and yes we have a few other really good guys signed up regardless of where ranked. But personally, I want to put Amari/Tee/Hunter and the '17 class in the mirror and go out there and win a SEC title and a Natty this year, two things we can clearly do in my opinion. If we win, and win impressively, I expect the '18 class to be huge and easily top 5...and possibly feature up to 4 legit five-stars. Clemson had the playoff exposure last year. Let's hope we do this year. Regardless of losing Tee or getting Tee, we have an opportunity to have a really special year on the football field that will possibly dictate momentum for Butch and the program over the coming years. We can't afford to under-perform. And Tee may well regret his decision in the coming years if we take care of business on the field, if Preston Williams blows up like we know he can, if we win a couple SEC titles while he's playing schools like Wake Forest, and if Dabo does indeed eventually replace Saban at Bama in a few years (hopefully we can catalyze that process by starting to beat Bama and upsetting their fan base in the next couple years). We'll see what the fall-out, if any, is for Azzani but I think this year is huge for him to get big production out of Williams and Malone and solid impact from Smith and a couple youngsters like Byrd/Callaway/Johnson. I don't fault Tee for his decision. But I think it only amplifies the need to win, and win titles, this year while we still have Dobbs/Barnett/JRM/Hurd/Kamara/Sutton (and Bama and Florida at home) and guys like Gaulden/Martin/DKJr/Kongbo/KP/K-Mac/Tuttle/Malone/Williams and a much better veteran OL. Personally, I don't mind giving Tee a bit of the "cold shoulder" in the next 3 months from the coaching staff as they clearly got played a bit too - see if over time his Mom and company start to wonder - then let a strong 1st half of the season (ideally beat Bama/UGA/UF) be the catalyst to re-engage Tee, especially if Clemson were to under-perform (lose to Auburn to open season, lose to FSU). Why keep recruiting him hard in the next few months when he clearly trolled us. We need to gain back the upper hand and I think some time off of the full court press near-term might be helpful.
Gray really deserves a lot of credit for trying to lead the in-state charge, and yes we have a few other really good guys signed up regardless of where ranked. But personally, I want to put Amari/Tee/Hunter and the '17 class in the mirror and go out there and win a SEC title and a Natty this year, two things we can clearly do in my opinion. If we win, and win impressively, I expect the '18 class to be huge and easily top 5...and possibly feature up to 4 legit five-stars. Clemson had the playoff exposure last year. Let's hope we do this year. Regardless of losing Tee or getting Tee, we have an opportunity to have a really special year on the football field that will possibly dictate momentum for Butch and the program over the coming years. We can't afford to under-perform. And Tee may well regret his decision in the coming years if we take care of business on the field, if Preston Williams blows up like we know he can, if we win a couple SEC titles while he's playing schools like Wake Forest, and if Dabo does indeed eventually replace Saban at Bama in a few years (hopefully we can catalyze that process by starting to beat Bama and upsetting their fan base in the next couple years). We'll see what the fall-out, if any, is for Azzani but I think this year is huge for him to get big production out of Williams and Malone and solid impact from Smith and a couple youngsters like Byrd/Callaway/Johnson. I don't fault Tee for his decision. But I think it only amplifies the need to win, and win titles, this year while we still have Dobbs/Barnett/JRM/Hurd/Kamara/Sutton (and Bama and Florida at home) and guys like Gaulden/Martin/DKJr/Kongbo/KP/K-Mac/Tuttle/Malone/Williams and a much better veteran OL. Personally, I don't mind giving Tee a bit of the "cold shoulder" in the next 3 months from the coaching staff as they clearly got played a bit too - see if over time his Mom and company start to wonder - then let a strong 1st half of the season (ideally beat Bama/UGA/UF) be the catalyst to re-engage Tee, especially if Clemson were to under-perform (lose to Auburn to open season, lose to FSU). Why keep recruiting him hard in the next few months when he clearly trolled us. We need to gain back the upper hand and I think some time off of the full court press near-term might be helpful.
