Bowden, Smart speak to Edisto Clemson Club
Posted 07:44 a.m., May 10, 2008
From the Orangeburg Times & Democrat:
Bowden stops in to speak to Edisto Touchdown Club
By EMERY GLOVER, T&D Sports WriterFriday, May 09, 2008
With the spring game behind him and the season opener less than three months away, Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden stopped by the Cinema at the Old Orangeburg Mall Thursday night to speak to members of the Edisto Clemson Club.
Bowden began by talking about one of the Tigers’ major concerns -- the inexperience of their offensive line. With the freshmen coming in along with other linemen that have never started for Clemson, Bowden still believes that his players will improve as the season progresses. The Tigers only have one returning starter.
Bowden went on to address the progress of quarterback Cullen Harper. Although he sees a lot of potential in the rest of the signal callers on his roster, Harper has shown him something a little different.
“His skills are good,” Bowden said. “He’s gotten a little more polished as a player. Probably the biggest difference would be the heir of confidence and his presence with the offense.”
Bowden also took time to discuss the development of two former Bamberg-Ehrhardt stars -- junior Ricky Sapp and freshman Da’Quan Bowers. Sapp reminds Bowden of a former Tigers who recently completed his rookie season in the NFL.
“Ricky is as talented as Gaines Adams,” Bowden said. “He’s not as far ahead physically as what Gaines was...but he’s an exceptional player.”
As for Bowers, he’s already gained 10 pounds since arriving in Tiger Town making him a solid 280 pounds. Nevertheless, Bowden likes the talent that his young defensive lineman possesses.
“We have signed guys that are 6-5, 270 before,” Bowden said. “Where Da’Quan is a little unusual is that he has great flexibility. He’s got great acceleration. He’s got lower body strength, he’s got upper body strength.
“He can take on offensive tackles that are 6-5, 320 (pounds). He can take them on against the run which involves upper body strength and he’s got the speed and acceleration to beat them on the edge as a pass rusher. He’s got unique skills for a guy as young as he is.”
Bowers will be one of eight true freshmen to play for the Tigers this upcoming season.
Also in attendance was men’s assistant basketball coach Shaka Smart. Among the things that the team accomplished this past season, the Tigers set a school record with 12 wins against ACC opponents while managing to avoid back-to-back losses in their conference schedule a fact that Smart was happy to share.
“That’s very difficult to do when you look the murderers’ row on the schedule that we play,” Smart said. “We play Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech and North Carolina all in a row. Our guys did a tremendous job.”
Clemson will lose four seniors on the basketball squad. However, they are looking forward to raising the bar of success next season.
“We’re really excited about the future of our program,” Smart said. “We’ve won 49 games in the past two years, but we’re still hungry. Those of you that follow our program know that we’re not satisfied with where we are. We plan to be a fixture in that NCAA tournament.”
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