May 17, 2012

Three Tigers make preseason All-ACC

Clemson seniors DeAndre McDaniel, Jarvis Jenkins and Chris Hairston have all been named first-team preseason All-ACC by the media covering last weekend’s ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, NC. The team was announced on Wednesday.

McDaniel had 48 votes on the 52 ballots that were cast, more than any other player, offense or defense. The senior from Tallahassee, FL, had eight interceptions and 102 tackles last year, the only player in the nation with at least eight interceptions and 100 tackles. He was first-team All-American as a junior by the Football Writers Association and a first-team All-ACC performer at safety.

Jenkins will join McDaniel on Clemson’s defense this year. The native of Clemson was an honorable mention All-ACC pick last year when he had 69 tackles, more than any other Clemson defensive lineman. He was fifth on the team in tackles overall and his 11 tackles for loss ranked second behind Ricky Sapp.

Hairston was a second-team All-ACC selection as an offensive tackle last year when he helped create holes for Clemson’s highest scoring team in history on a total points basis (436). He started 12 of the 14 games last year and Clemson had a 9-3 record in those games. The native of Winston-Salem, NC had seven knockdown blocks and an 85 percent grade in Clemson’s 40-37 overtime win at Miami last year. He has started in each of Clemson’s last three bowl games

Tigers talk after spring game

Clemson held its spring game Saturday at Death Valley in front of an estimated record crowd of 27,000.  For the record, the White defeated the Orange 17-0.   Kyle Parker quarterbacked the White most of the day and was 7-15 for 79 yards and 1 interception.  Tajh Boyd quarterbacked the Orange most of the day and was 8-25 for 132 yards.  Andre Ellington led the running backs with 86 yards on 16 carries and 1 touchdown.  Jamie Harper added 33 yards on 12 carries.  The offenses combined for 358 yards.  Maybe the most impressive performers were punters Richard Jackson and Dawson Zimmerman.  They averaged 50.3 yards and 44.4 yards respectively  per punt. 

Coach Dabo Swinney, his coordinators and several players talked to the media after the game.

Dabo Swinney

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Offensive coordinator Billy Napier

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Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele

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Kyle Parker

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Jamie Harper

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Chris Hairston

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McDaniel and other Clemson juniors looking at NFL

A few Clemson juniors will also file paperwork to see where they will be projected in the April NFL draft. The most likely junior to leave would be defensive back DeAndre McDaniel.  However McDaniel told a reporter that he probably will stay unless he is projected as a first rounder.

Some other Tiger players that will probably file paperwork are offensive lineman Chris Hairston and defensive tackle Jarvis Jenkins. I would say it is highly unlikely that either of those two are projected to go in the first round. However, as I posted earlier, the uncertainty of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement will make for some interesting choices for some of these players.

Players that have filed paperwork to get their draft projections usually get the information back in two to three weeks.