Clemson had an absolute monster Monday, picking up the commitment of five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and flipping 2017 five-star quarterback Hunter Johnson from Tennessee. Lawrence is a top-five prospect in 2016, and Johnson is the top-rated quarterback in 2017. Clemson’s class for 2016 only ranks No. 19 in the Composite right now, but it’s a small group of 13 with a high blue chip ratio of 61 percent and should have plenty of room to rise, especially with the Tigers having a Playoff berth to brag about.
Clemson landed 2016’s No. 3 recruit and 2017’s No. 1 quarterback on the same Monday
Good morning! This is your wakeup roundup of college football stuff.
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Amid the great conference realignment shuffle over the past 10 years, it's not unusual for a team jumping up a level to struggle. In fact, of the 10 teams that moved into current Power 5 conferences in recent years, Virginia Tech is the only one to have its winning percentage go up. But no team has had it tougher than West Virginia. These things take time to turn around, so it would behoove WVU to not fire Dana Holgorsen quite yet.
Not good. Ole Miss star defensive end Robert Nkemdiche was charged with marijuana possession Monday after police reportedly found seven “rolled marijuana cigarettes” in his hotel room, with a 911 caller describing him as “covered in blood” and “delirious” after his fall.
Coaching moves:
- Butch Jones got a healthy raise, bringing his salary over the $4 million mark.
- After learning offensive line coach Sam Pittman would be leaving for Georgia, Bret Bielema was apparently so upset brought the offensive line to meet with him.
- BYU will interview Oregon State defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake. Speaking of the Cougars, our BYU blog debated whether Navy was a better job or not.
- Louisiana-Monroe stayed within the state for its new head coach, hiring McNeese State head coach Matt Viator.
Last year’s coaching moves. We looked back at the coaches that took new jobs last year, and how they all fared in their first years. Spoiler alert: Tom Herman and Houston did pretty well.
In other Herman news, on Tuesday he’s going with rapper Paul Wall to get fitted for a diamond grill. He promised the team he would do it if UH won the AAC this year.
Easier said than done. Clemson will be the Oklahoma defense’s toughest matchup of the season by a wide margin, but the versatile defense has the tools to slow the Tigers down.
Well ... bye. Georgia announced offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will not be coaching with the team in the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State. That means they’ll be without their head coach as well as both coordinators. Though it’s certainly possible that losing Schottenheimer may improve things for the Dawgs.
OH YEAH. Alabama will retain strength coach Scott Cochran, a move that has our Crimson Tide blog very excited. You might remember Cochran from the time he screamed random words while giving a tour of the Alabama weight room. I would assume he’s like that every day.
Is there no communication in this room? It’s probably for the best that a large part of Texas’ offensive coaching staff is moving on, because the staff meetings were reportedly a pretty negative place to be.
Crootin’ news:
- Four-star defensive end and Hurricane legacy Patrick Bethel committed to Miami.
- Arizona State landed a pair of JUCO offensive lineman in offensive tackle Tyson Rising and center A.J. McCollum.
- Iowa locked down tight end Jacob Coons, giving the Hawkeyes four of the top five in-state prospects.
- Missouri was able to flip offensive tackle Trevour Simms, who was committed to Illinois.
- Five-star quarterback Jacob Eason will announce his commitment Tuesday. He was committed to Georgia before, but Florida’s in the mix after Mark Richt’s dismissal.
Classic hype film. Get turned up for the Rose Bowl by watching the Iowa promo clip for the 1959 Rose Bowl.
You tried! Arkansas State cornerbacks coach Trooper Taylor hosted a gingerbread house contest for Red Wolves players, and well, some of the entries could use some improvement.
See More:
