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Matthews goes to Falcons
University of South Carolina defensive end Cliff Matthews was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 27th pick in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the 230th overall selection.
Matthews, a 6-4, 258-pounder from Cheraw, S.C., was a two-time team captain for the Gamecocks. He was named second team All-SEC by the league’s coaches following both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he recorded 44 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Offensive tackle Chris Hairston, running back Jamie Harper and defensive back Byron Maxwell were all selected on the third and final day of the NFL draft on Saturday afternoon. Their selection gives the Tigers six total players drafted over the three-day process, tied for the third most selections in a draft in Clemson history.
Clemson had 10 players chosen in 1983 and had eight taken in 1991 and those are the only years Clemson has had more than six in a single draft. It is he seventh time Clemson has had exactly six players selected and the first time since the 1999 draft.
Clemson’s six selections ranked in a tie for fifth best in the nation. North Carolina and Southern California led the nation with nine apiece and Miami was third with eight and Nebraska was fourth with seven. Clemson, LSU, Iowa, and Georgia all had six selections.
Junior lefthander Jed Bradley allowed one unearned run in a complete game and Sam Dove went 5-for-5 to lead #9 Georgia Tech to a 5-1 victory over #23 Clemson in front of 5,377 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets, who evened the series 1-1, improved to 31-13 overall and 18-5 in the ACC. The Tigers fell to 28-15 overall and 12-11 in ACC play.
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of two walks and a hit-by-pitch to lead off the game in the first inning to score three runs. Down 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers fought back with a run and had the bases loaded, but Bradley induced a groundout to end the inning and the Tigers were unable to put a baserunner in scoring position during the last three innings.
Bradley (5-2) pitched his first career complete game to earn the win. In 9.0 innings pitched, he allowed seven hits (all singles), one unearned run, and one walk with three strikeouts in throwing just 99 pitches. He did not allow a Tiger leadoff batter to reach base as well.
Sophomore righthander Dominic Leone tossed 8.0 innings of two-hit ball and Brad Miller went 4-for-4 to lead #23 Clemson to a 4-2 victory over #9 Georgia Tech in front of 4,706 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday night. The Tigers, who took a 1-0 series lead, improved to 28-14 overall and 12-10 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets dropped to 30-13 overall and 17-5 in ACC play.
After Kyle Wren reached on an error to lead off the game, Leone retired the next 13 batters. The Tigers scored single runs in the first and second inning before the Yellow Jackets tied the score on Zane Evans’ two-run homer in the fifth inning. But Jason Stolz’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning gave the Tigers the lead for good and Stolz’s run-scoring, squeeze bunt in the eighth inning gave Clemson a two-run cushion. Leone and Scott Weismann combined to face the minimum 12 batters in the final four innings to close out the game.
Chris Culliver
The San Francisco 49ers selected South Carolina defensive back Chris Culliver with the 16th pick in the third round of the NFL Draft, the 80th pick overall, Friday. He is the first Gamecock to be selected in this year’s draft.
Culliver, a six-foot, 198-pound cornerback from Garner, N.C., started seven of the first eight games for the Gamecocks in 2010 before suffering a season-ending injury (torn pectoral) vs. Tennessee. He finished his career as South Carolina’s all-time leader in kickoff returns (106) and kick return yardage (2,476) and was third in SEC history in kick returns and kick return yards. He was named to the 2010 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and was invited to the NFL Combine following the season.
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