FanHouse Clemson Football

You. Out. Now.

Cortney Vincent, a twelve-game starter a year ago, was suspended for the ever-popular undisclosed violation of team rules. His suspension is now permanent:

Suspended Clemson linebacker Cortney Vincent will not return for the 2008 season. ... Coach Tommy Bowden said in a news release Monday that Vincent would have been academically eligible to compete in the fall, but did not meet goals set by the team for the spring.

Sound like Vincent was given a my-way-or-the-highway by Bowden after repeated minor violations (read: crunkin') and chose the highway. Que sera.

Is it worth noting Bowden specifically assuring the public that Vincent would have been eligible to play in he fall? Seems to be a small indicator that APR is always on coaches' minds these days. I wonder if more kids are given the chance to redeem themselves until the winter semester is over -- and their precious, qualifying grades are in -- before getting the heave-ho.

FanHouse is counting down the ten best, ten worst, and ten weirdest moments in the history of Big Ten football.

With the ten best moments accounted for, it's time to move on to the ten worst. There will be some silly moments on this list, and some moments which can best be described as "stupid," but there's only one moment which qualifies as senseless, and it's the closing moments of the 1978 Gator Bowl.

To set the stage: The Clemson Tigers were facing off against Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes. Late in the fourth quarter, OSU was trailing, 17-15. Quarterback Art Schlichter had to know the famous axiom attributed to Hayes, "There are three things that can happen when you throw the football, and two of them are bad." But the situation called for a pass, and Schlichter (a true freshman) tossed it where Clemson defender Charlie Bauman could catch it. Which he did. Bauman ran towards the near sideline, knowing that the Tigers just needed to run out the clock to lock up the victory. Unfortunately for Bauman, the near sideline was not his own.

Steve Spurrier's probably feeling down right now, what with his hot prospect quarterback in trouble for the seventh time this year -- I blame Mathew McConaughey -- but this might cheer him up:



That's Clemson offensive lineman Kenneth Page displaying several thousand dollars and very poor judgement of what to put on his Myspace page... at least, temporarily. Brahsome was emailed the picture with this accompanying explanation:

This pic was on Clemson recruit Kenneth Page's Myspace page and it came down about as quickly as it went up. As some of you know he was a huge 4 star OL football recruit
this past year and it came down to Clemson and UNC where [UNC] lost out on signing day.

He must have been working hard this winter.

Indeed. At least he knows that money is not for eating, unlike Dominique Douglas. Probably. He is an offensive lineman, and those twenties must look tempting.

9 + 2 + 1 + like 5 maybe at the outside = 26.

I don't wish to unduly harp on the topic of oversigning, but I kinda have to when my Fanhouse compatriot Pete Holiday says things like this...

You might notice that Cook's assertion was that over-signing is to blame was completely devoid of any sort of support for the claim. If you took a look at any of the other reports around the web, you'd probably notice the same thing. Nobody seems to be able to cite, or they aren't interested in citing, any sort of sources or facts before they try to burn Clemson and/or Bowden in effigy.

...one is kinda forced to defend his honor. A duel, you say? Let's report to the rosters.

Clemson's 2007 roster shows nine scholarship seniors plus two guys who may or may not be on scholarship: Duquesne transfer Jermaine Martin, a reserve tight end, and long snapper Colin Leonard. I doubt either of those guys has been promised a year-to-year scholarship (Leonard probably gets the first one vacated by malfeasance), but let's be super generous to the Tigers and assume both those guys are scholarships freeing up. That's eleven. Defensive end Philip Merling entered the draft. That's twelve. Starting MLB Cortney Vincent has a DUI and a further unspecified violation of team rules and may get the boot. That's thirteen.

The blogosphere has been abuzz the last few days about Clemson's decision not to extend Ray Ray another year of athletic scholarship. Many reports have suggested that the reason for the cut was that Clemson had extended itself beyond the 85 scholarship limit. Take, for example, this post by FanHouse's Brian Cook titled "Oversigning Strikes In McElrathbey Cut":

Somehow, McElrathbey has juggled football, Farmarr, and school such that he'll graduate in just over three years -- a time frame that no doubt accelerated rapidly as soon as James Davis announced he'd return for 2008 -- but he's been cut three years into his college career.

This is the glory of oversigning, and the reason the practice should be either abolished or severely curtailed.

You might notice that Cook's assertion was that over-signing is to blame was completely devoid of any sort of support for the claim. If you took a look at any of the other reports around the web, you'd probably notice the same thing. Nobody seems to be able to cite, or they aren't interested in citing, any sort of sources or facts before they try to burn Clemson and/or Bowden in effigy.

We've been down this road before with explosive results, but the only explosion in this case should be Tommy Bowden's eyebrows.

Unless you live under a rock or pass out as soon as something schmaltzy, airbrushed, and featuring Shelley Smith shows up on ESPN, you know who Ray Ray McElrathbey is. Ray Ray is the Clemson running back who is also the legal guardian of his younger brother Farmarr. He was a media cause celebre last year. Now, as Brian Grummel passed along this morning, he's been cut so that Clemson can cram another freshman into school.

EDSBS has some original reporting in which Clemson defends itself:

When the coaches met with Ray Ray, which they do with all players, it was made clear to him that if he decided to remain at Clemson his scholarship would be provided. That includes a commitment from our Athletic Director that we would give him a graduate assistant position (that would pay for a Masters degree) within the Clemson Athletic Department after he graduated.

But this is a bit of spin nigh Clintonian in its audacity:

the bit about "his scholarship" being honored is a bit of dodge. McElrathbey's scholarship is already promised through August, when McElrathbey graduates in three years. They're renewed year to year, and already promised. The real issue comes with the decision to shift McElrathbey from a four-year scholarship athlete complete with room and board and tuition paid to a grad assistant, a job requiring work in addition to any time he puts in on the field as a player. That is not fulfilling the term of a scholarship.

No, it's not. Somehow, McElrathbey has juggled football, Farmarr, and school such that he'll graduate in just over three years -- a time frame that no doubt accelerated rapidly as soon as James Davis announced he'd return for 2008 -- but he's been cut three years into his college career.

This is the glory of oversigning, and the reason the practice should be either abolished or severely curtailed.

Not the best move if you're embattled Clemson coach Tommy Bowden.

McElrathbey was last seen in the headlines caring for his younger brother while their mother battled drug problems. Outpourings of support and cash came from Clemson fans before the NCAA heartlessly tried to put the kibosh on the compassion train. The NCAA caved, Ray Ray got some help and thus a good story was made.

And then his coach cut him:

Ray Ray McElrathbey is done with football at Clemson, and a teammate said it's because the Tigers' coaching staff decided not to renew his scholarship for the 2008-09 academic year.

Clemson announced Saturday that McElrathbey, a reserve tailback who gained national fame for taking custody of his younger brother, is no longer with the team. Team spokesman Tim Bourret said McElrathbey, who has two years of football eligibility remaining, will graduate in August and plans to attend graduate school or transfer and play elsewhere.

James Davis, a senior tailback for the Tigers, said McElrathbey told him he didn't have a choice.

That's cold. Sad to say, it was probably a good football move. McElrathbey blew out his knee last year, and was moved from the competitive defensive backfield to a loaded tailback position. That move screams "kid can't play".

If that's the case, I'm sure his coaches were looking to find any way to free up his scholarship. Regardless, this is horrible public relations in parting ways with such a well-known and publicly admired player who had plenty of eligibility.

(H/T: Get The Picture)

Update: See comment #1 below for clarification from Clemson. McElrathbey had the option of keeping his scholarship but faced a loaded depth chart and encouragement from his coaches to seek opportunities elsewhere if he plans on playing professional football.

Previously at FanHouse
The Year's Most Covered and Least Significant Injury
Clemson's Ray Ray McElrathbey to Appear on Oprah Winfrey Show
Almost $50,000 Raised in Clemson's McElrathbey Trust
Sorry, No Photos

Few things in life are as heartwarming as a lifelong bond between father and son. Playing catch in the backyard. Going fishing. Hell, getting a little homework help. But then young men eventually grow up and gain independence and make decisions that take them away from their fathers.

Nowhere is that more public than in the recruiting game. Many times a player will stick with his father (see Luke Bellotti playing at Oregon for his father Mike Bellotti or quarterback Cody Hawkins heading to Colorado to play for his old man). But while blood may be thicker than water, sometimes blood doesn't have the pull it should.

Last year, Georgia coach Mark Richt's son Jon Richt pledged to play quarterback for Clemson over his fathers' Dawgs. No doubt a tough decision for a closeknit family like that. The separation continues this year as it is rumored UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker's son Kevan, a receiver prospect, will not stick with dear old dad at UCLA but instead play for the Oregon State Beavers.

The upshot to all of this is that while recruiting is a competitive, sometimes nasty business, coaches recruiting a fellow coaches' son must tone down his pitch which can only help but improve relations between coaches.

Everyone lambasted the Hawaii schedule for being so easy and especially for having two 1-AA opponents on their schedule. Who knew they were just ahead of the curve.

Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State and Virginia Tech are all struggling to find one more home game. All of them already have a 1-AA team on the schedule. It appears that all four may have to resort to having two 1-AA home games for the 2008 season.

The problems are the usual: last minute buyouts/cancellations, wanting the game to be relatively safe (read, patsy), not wanting to provide a return game, "needing" another home game and/or not wanting to pay the premium price that 1-A guarantee games now cost.

Of course, those were the same problems Hawaii faced. I'm sure the other teams will get the same sympathy and understanding as the Warriors received for their scheduling issues.

You know, there have been plenty of questionable entries into the draft pool in the ACC, particularly amongst running backs. But out of them all, I would imagine that James Davis would be the least likely to hightail back to school. There's been his much-documented beef with splitting carries, and you can just imagine Tommy Bowden chomping at the bit to find out what C.J. Spiller can do as the lead back for the Tigers.

Nonetheless, perhaps realizing that the last thing the NFL Draft needs is a borderline first- day back, Davis will be back in Death Valley to do it all over again for the Tigers, who still appear as if they're the frontrunner not just for the ACC Atlantic Divison, but maybe for the conference as a whole. Clemson returns a whopping 9 out of 11 starters on offense, including QB Cullen Harper (who arguably outperformed Matt Ryan over the course of the season) and fellow draft dodger Aaron Kelly. Despite sharing time with Spiller, Davis has ran for over 1,000 yards the past two seasons and needs a very-doable 837 to pass Raymond Priester for Clemson's all-time rushing record ... ostensibly before Spiller goes ahead and tops it.