Seldom Used Six Pack – Brandon Rink

Brandon Rink blogs.  Man, does Brandon blog.  Brandon blogs on the ACC, Brandon blogs for Raycom and Brandon blogs for Sporting News.  As we said, Brandon blogs.

On The B.Rink started as a class project in January of 2009 and has turned into a passion for Brandon.  Originally conceived to fill a void for a non-Tobacco Road-centered ACC basketball sports blog, On The B.Rink expanded to football/baseball coverage in April of 2009.  Brandon then signed on with the new Raycom blog network in September of 2009 and was named Raycom Blogger of Month (October 2009).  You can also follow Brandon on Twitter.

Seldom Used Reserve was able to convince Brandon to take a break from blogging long enough to be the first guest of the Seldom Used Six Pack – for Brandon the Six Pack involves six questions about Clemson football entering spring practice.

SUR:  What’s your impression of the job Dabo and staff did in 2009?  Secondly, pick one area that the staff needs to improve upon immediately.

Brandon: Dabo did a good job, but they have room to improve.

There are a few different ways to evaluate the 2009 Clemson season. Could split it in half, talking about the rough start with the loss to Maryland, and the turnaround to winning the Atlantic. Can split it in thirds, evaluating the 2-3 start, six straight wins, and ending with disappointing performances against South Carolina and defensively versus Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Also, can look preseason to actual season where few outlets expected the Tigers to take the Atlantic, but they did pull it out.

The season was a mixed bag of accomplishment and disappointment as Clemson really could have used this season to win that first ACC title since the early 90s, but they did well for being a first-year staff and learning a ton on the fly. One of the more important things to me was using Spiller like he should have been used for 4 years at Clemson–he was finally let loose and thrived. Dabo also showed the ability to respond to adversity a couple times in the season. First, after the 2-3 start, the Tigers went on a remarkable run. Second, after the two straight losses to end the regular season, he rallied Clemson to win a game that barely any of them really wanted to be in at a cold weather postseason game.

For improvement, it all rides on developing quality linebackers to defense the Georgia Tech offensive attack. The Tigers had the d-line (though they could improve some too in technique from what different football guys tell me) and the secondary anchored by McDaniel, but the linebackers were rarely in position to do anything against the Jackets.

SUR:     What position(s) are the most important to develop in spring practice and why?

Brandon:  We’ve already discussed the linebackers, but the receiving corps will be of particular importance with losing every important receiver from last season. A number of talented freshman are coming in at the position, have McNeal coming out of the redshirt, and Xavier Dye is the most prominent receiver returning. The players coming back have size and speed and can make an impact with the right coaching next season.

SUR:  Name the one player the Tigers can’t afford to lose to injury in 2010.

Brandon: DeAndre McDaniel going down would make the most impact because of his leadership and skill at knowing where the ball is always seemingly. He has the ability to play well in coverage and be another linebacker to make the key tackle in short yardage situations.

SUR:  There’s been a lot of talk about Kyle Parker and baseball and what that means for Tajh Boyd’s playing time.  Some fans even believe Boyd will beat out Parker.  Give us your thoughts on the Parker/baseball/Boyd battle and what you think Boyd’s role will be in 2010?

Brandon: It is a tough situation, but not all that bad because Swinney is given the problem of having two capable QBs to run his offense. Boyd came to Clemson to start, and he believes he can compete with anybody. Coming out of the Hampton Roads area of VA, great QBs come from that region and he will be a good QB for Clemson, but the question is when he will get that shot. Dabo has already shown that he is not tied to any QB for their experience with Korn going out the door so it makes you think he would not be loyal to Parker either. Boyd will have his shot to take the job as much as Parker will keep to it, and I honestly believe that Dabo will play the best guy–right now, I am not sure who that is, but I would tend to favor Parker just because I have seen him play more. Boyd will play a bunch regardless whether in the Korn role from 2009 or as a starter.

SUR:   Give us a name of a freshman (true or redshirt) that will have Tiger fans buzzing by the end of 2010.

Brandon: I’ll go with the guy I saw play in person last season in DeAndre Hopkins, WR, out of Daniel High School. With the WR position being wide-open, Hopkins is just the guy to step in and play the Jacoby Ford-like role of getting the tough yards with speed/agility. He is a game-changer who played WR/DB for the Lions last season and excelled at both.

SUR:    Give us your prediction for 2010 for the Tigers.  Now is not the time to be wishy washy.

I’ll be put down…right now…for 9-3 (6-2 ACC) which is probably crazy. I had Clemson at 9-3 (5-3) at 3rd in the Atlantic last season (we won’t speak of how I and everybody else picked them in 2008). The Tigers’ defense will basically be just like last season. The offense loses the big weapon of Spiller in the field position, rushing, and receiving game which will not be compensated for by anybody. But what I see happening is development of an effective Napier offensive system with the returning players that brings more effective and consistent scoring drives than 2009.

The issue will be whether 6-2 will be good enough to win the Atlantic. Florida State should be excellent, offensively, but the defensive development will be something to watch. The oft-ignored BC Eagles will be really good too and the Tigers travel to Chestnut Hill this season. Those are the teams to watch as I don’t expect much from NC State, Wake Forest, or Maryland. Coming off losing Spiller, 9-3 would be back-to-back successful seasons for Dabo’s Tigers which yields to building for a possible ACC title this year and in the future.