Interesting article....
I copied this from the Wall Street Journal, since there is a paywall
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
To Compete With Alabama, Clemson Became Alabama
In the past year, Clemson has emulated Alabama in two important ways: convincing their best underclassmen to delay turning pro, and putting their trust in a true freshman quarterback.
Justyn Ross was the quintessential Alabama football player. As a high school senior one year ago, he was widely regarded as the best player in the state. A wide receiver, he lived only a few hours’ drive from Bryant- Denny Stadium, home to the best college program in the country.
In other words, Justyn Ross was perfect for Clemson.
Ross isn’t just one of the biggest reasons the Tigers advanced to the national championship game on Saturday night, when he caught two touchdown passes in a semifinal win over Notre Dame. He is also indicative of how Clemson has become the only team in America worthy of comparison to Alabama: by becoming more like Alabama.
The Tigers didn’t merely pry away a player who seemed destined to spend his college years wearing crimson. They have, over the years, loaded their football staff with former Alabama players and coaches. And in the past year, they have emulated Alabama in two important ways: convincing their best underclassmen to delay turning pro, and putting their trust in a true freshman quarterback.
The result is yet another playoff meeting with Alabama, which beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The national title game, on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif., will mark the fourth consecutive year that the teams have faced each other. Two of their previous three games were for the title, with Alabama winning in 2016 and Clemson winning in 2017. The Tide beat Clemson in a semifinal a year ago before going on to beat Georgia.
“It’s almost like they should be a part of our regular schedule, since we play them every year,” said Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. “It’s like they are in our conference or something.”
The first step in the Alabamification of Clemson was the promotion of Dabo Swinney, previously an assistant, to head coach in 2008. Swinney was born in Alabama, was a wide receiver on the Tide’s 1992 national championship team and started his coaching career there.Before the 2017 title game, he recalled the depth of his allegiance to the school. “I was one of those kids that watched the Bear Bryant Show every Sunday, and every time Alabama was on or on the radio, I was listening,” he said. “Fight you in school if you talked bad about them.”
Swinney has since added two of his former Alabama teammates, Mickey Conn and Lemanski Hall, and two of his former Alabama coaches, Woody McCorvey and Danny Pearman, to his staff. He hired Todd Bates, co- captain of the 2004 Alabama team, as defensive tackles coach. And in 2013, he hired Thad Turnipseed, the director of football recruiting and external affairs, away from Alabama.
During his 12 years in Tuscaloosa, Turnipseed helped lay the foundation for Alabama’s dominance under Nick Saban. He oversaw more than $200 million in capital improvements and, among an array of other tasks, helped build a room in Saban’s house dedicated to recruiting.
All told, Clemson’s football staff is more rooted at Alabama than at Clemson. But only in the past year have the Tigers more closely resembled the Tide in other ways.
When Clemson returned all four starters from its vaunted defensive line—Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and Dexter Lawrence—it came as a shock to many. The first three could have well turned pro, at a time when record numbers of underclassmen are leaving early. It was also exactly the kind of thing that has helped Alabama sustain its excellence.
Alabama has had 29 players drafted by NFL teams in the past three years, more than any other school. Yet only 11 of those players—around 38%—left college early. For the five next closest schools in terms of NFL draftees over the past three years—Clemson, UCLA, Ohio State, Florida and LSU combined—that figure is 59%.
All of the schools that are even remotely comparable to Alabama as sources of NFL talent lately are losing a greater share of that talent early than the Crimson Tide. Clemson lagged in that regard—until this year.
“I’ll take experience any day over a five-star freshman,” said Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “Experience is just something that you can’t coach or teach.”
There is an element of luck involved. Wilkins, Ferrell and Bryant had to believe their NFL draft stock wasn’t so high that they couldn’t reasonably wait another year. But they also had to believe, as so many Alabama players have, that the experience was worth staying for.
“This has just been my most enjoyable year in college,” Wilkins said. “I’ve had the most fun. You can’t put a price on the relationships I’ve built.”
There is one area in which Clemson valued raw talent over experience this year, however—when the Tigers changed quarterbacks in September—and that move also reflected shades of Alabama crimson. Starting true freshman Trevor Lawrence over senior Kelly Bryant was a bold move by Swinney. But it seemed less outlandish after Saban successfully put Tua Tagovailoa, then a true freshman, into the national title game in January. It also seemed more vital, given how Tagovailoa was reshaping the Tide’s offense.
“I think Clemson’s move for sure was with Alabama in mind,” said ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge. “Alabama has been the team to beat. They’ve been the standard bearer. Now all of a sudden, they have changed up offensively. And they are throwing the football and scoring a ton of points. So the idea of ‘How do you compete against them and beat them?’ changed.”
If you’re Clemson, you do it by doing things Alabama would do—like signing the best high school player in Alabama.
In explaining his decision to choose Clemson on Saturday night, Ross cited the stability of the coaching staff, which has had less turnover than Alabama’s. But Clemson becoming Alabama is not something anyone in Alabama is eager to see.
In an interview with The State newspaper earlier this year, Ross recalled the reaction in his home state to his decision. “It was grown men, grown adults on Twitter cussing me out just because I didn’t pick Alabama, which I don’t understand,” Ross said.
Write to Brian Costa at brian.costa@wsj.com and Jim Chairusmi at jim.chairusmi@wsj.com
I copied this from the Wall Street Journal, since there is a paywall
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
To Compete With Alabama, Clemson Became Alabama
In the past year, Clemson has emulated Alabama in two important ways: convincing their best underclassmen to delay turning pro, and putting their trust in a true freshman quarterback.
Justyn Ross was the quintessential Alabama football player. As a high school senior one year ago, he was widely regarded as the best player in the state. A wide receiver, he lived only a few hours’ drive from Bryant- Denny Stadium, home to the best college program in the country.
In other words, Justyn Ross was perfect for Clemson.
Ross isn’t just one of the biggest reasons the Tigers advanced to the national championship game on Saturday night, when he caught two touchdown passes in a semifinal win over Notre Dame. He is also indicative of how Clemson has become the only team in America worthy of comparison to Alabama: by becoming more like Alabama.
The Tigers didn’t merely pry away a player who seemed destined to spend his college years wearing crimson. They have, over the years, loaded their football staff with former Alabama players and coaches. And in the past year, they have emulated Alabama in two important ways: convincing their best underclassmen to delay turning pro, and putting their trust in a true freshman quarterback.
The result is yet another playoff meeting with Alabama, which beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The national title game, on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif., will mark the fourth consecutive year that the teams have faced each other. Two of their previous three games were for the title, with Alabama winning in 2016 and Clemson winning in 2017. The Tide beat Clemson in a semifinal a year ago before going on to beat Georgia.
“It’s almost like they should be a part of our regular schedule, since we play them every year,” said Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. “It’s like they are in our conference or something.”
The first step in the Alabamification of Clemson was the promotion of Dabo Swinney, previously an assistant, to head coach in 2008. Swinney was born in Alabama, was a wide receiver on the Tide’s 1992 national championship team and started his coaching career there.Before the 2017 title game, he recalled the depth of his allegiance to the school. “I was one of those kids that watched the Bear Bryant Show every Sunday, and every time Alabama was on or on the radio, I was listening,” he said. “Fight you in school if you talked bad about them.”
Swinney has since added two of his former Alabama teammates, Mickey Conn and Lemanski Hall, and two of his former Alabama coaches, Woody McCorvey and Danny Pearman, to his staff. He hired Todd Bates, co- captain of the 2004 Alabama team, as defensive tackles coach. And in 2013, he hired Thad Turnipseed, the director of football recruiting and external affairs, away from Alabama.
During his 12 years in Tuscaloosa, Turnipseed helped lay the foundation for Alabama’s dominance under Nick Saban. He oversaw more than $200 million in capital improvements and, among an array of other tasks, helped build a room in Saban’s house dedicated to recruiting.
All told, Clemson’s football staff is more rooted at Alabama than at Clemson. But only in the past year have the Tigers more closely resembled the Tide in other ways.
When Clemson returned all four starters from its vaunted defensive line—Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and Dexter Lawrence—it came as a shock to many. The first three could have well turned pro, at a time when record numbers of underclassmen are leaving early. It was also exactly the kind of thing that has helped Alabama sustain its excellence.
Alabama has had 29 players drafted by NFL teams in the past three years, more than any other school. Yet only 11 of those players—around 38%—left college early. For the five next closest schools in terms of NFL draftees over the past three years—Clemson, UCLA, Ohio State, Florida and LSU combined—that figure is 59%.
All of the schools that are even remotely comparable to Alabama as sources of NFL talent lately are losing a greater share of that talent early than the Crimson Tide. Clemson lagged in that regard—until this year.
“I’ll take experience any day over a five-star freshman,” said Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “Experience is just something that you can’t coach or teach.”
There is an element of luck involved. Wilkins, Ferrell and Bryant had to believe their NFL draft stock wasn’t so high that they couldn’t reasonably wait another year. But they also had to believe, as so many Alabama players have, that the experience was worth staying for.
“This has just been my most enjoyable year in college,” Wilkins said. “I’ve had the most fun. You can’t put a price on the relationships I’ve built.”
There is one area in which Clemson valued raw talent over experience this year, however—when the Tigers changed quarterbacks in September—and that move also reflected shades of Alabama crimson. Starting true freshman Trevor Lawrence over senior Kelly Bryant was a bold move by Swinney. But it seemed less outlandish after Saban successfully put Tua Tagovailoa, then a true freshman, into the national title game in January. It also seemed more vital, given how Tagovailoa was reshaping the Tide’s offense.
“I think Clemson’s move for sure was with Alabama in mind,” said ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge. “Alabama has been the team to beat. They’ve been the standard bearer. Now all of a sudden, they have changed up offensively. And they are throwing the football and scoring a ton of points. So the idea of ‘How do you compete against them and beat them?’ changed.”
If you’re Clemson, you do it by doing things Alabama would do—like signing the best high school player in Alabama.
In explaining his decision to choose Clemson on Saturday night, Ross cited the stability of the coaching staff, which has had less turnover than Alabama’s. But Clemson becoming Alabama is not something anyone in Alabama is eager to see.
In an interview with The State newspaper earlier this year, Ross recalled the reaction in his home state to his decision. “It was grown men, grown adults on Twitter cussing me out just because I didn’t pick Alabama, which I don’t understand,” Ross said.
Write to Brian Costa at brian.costa@wsj.com and Jim Chairusmi at jim.chairusmi@wsj.com
