Newspaper Page Text
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Friday, November 30, 2018 3B
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP I Clemson vs. Pittsburgh
GEORGIA TECH
Living up to the hype
ELISE AMENDOLAI Associated Press
Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins (42) rushes in against Boston
College in the second half of the game Nov. 10 in Boston.
No. 2 Clemson
has defensive line
doing great things
Associated Press
Clemson defensive coordinator
Brent Venables swears he wasn’t
really concerned about the preseason
hype around his defensive line.
“Maybe a little,” Venables said
when asked about any fears he had
about their mindset entering the
season.
The accolades and magazine covers
piled up this summer for the Tigers’
talented defensive front: Defensive
ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant;
tackles Christian Wilkins and Dexter
Lawrence.
As it turns out, Venables didn’t have
to worry at all about how they would
handle the attention.
The group of NFL caliber lineman
— all are projected to go in the top
rounds of next spring’s NFL draft —
have stayed focused and driven, even
with that Sports Illustrated cover of
the four of them huddled amid the
title, “Clemson’s D-Line: The Best
Ever.”
The group will lead No. 2 Clemson
(12-0, CFP No. 2) against Pittsburgh
(7-5) as the Tigers hope to capture a
fourth straight Atlantic Coast Confer
ence championship Saturday night.
“We didn’t pay much attention to
that,” Ferrell said of preseason talk.
“After a while, hype is just hype. It’s
about what you do on the field.”
The Tigers front has been domi
nant for a defense ranked seventh
nationally.
Clemson is second in the Football
Bowl Subdivision with 112 tackles for
loss and tied for second with 43 sacks.
The four starters have combined for
43 stops behind the line and 22 sacks,
with the lightning fast Ferrell leading
the way with 15.5 tackles behind the
line and 10.5 sacks.
“We put it all into the program
for four or five years,” Wilkins said,
“so it’s great to see the results on the
field.”
Except for Clemson’s opponents.
Pitt fullback George Aston said
the Panthers have faced big, strong
defenders before.
“But they’re the best d-line and
defense we’ve played all year,” he
said. “We’ve got to come ready to
play.”
The group’s heart and soul is
unquestionably Wilkins, a thoughtful,
determined, 315-pound tackle who’s
made headlines for just about every
thing during his four years at Clemson.
His spin move and split was the
highlight of the Tigers’ national title
celebration two years ago. He’s the
first defensive lineman to score a TD
at Clemson on a pass against Troy in
2016.
He’s run for two more this season
as part of Clemson’s “Fridge Pack
age” on offense where Wilkins and
350-pound Lawrence line up in the
backfield.
Wilkins has taught grade schoolers
as a substitute teacher this offseason
after coming back for his senior year.
He’s also organized Clemson’s line
man to dress up as his beloved Power
Rangers, the group stopping by the
homes of Clemson’s coaches at Hal
loween a couple of years back.
Sometimes, Wilkins takes it too far.
He was criticized for goosing an Ohio
State runner in a College Football
Playoff semifinal two years back.
This past Saturday night, Wilkins
was yelled at by coach Dabo Swinney
after striking the Heisman pose in the
end zone and drawing an unsports
manlike conduct penalty.
“I said he’ll never run the football
again if he ever does that again,”
Swinney said following Clemson’s
56-35 win over South Carolina.
OnT
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
TV: ABC
Swinney’s proud of Wilkins’ growth
and knows he’s made Clemson better
with his attitude and ability.
“He’s just a guy that truly, truly
enjoys every day,” Swinney said. “He
just has that mindset that it takes to
be great. He’s rubbed off on so many
people over his time here.”
Ferrell and Bryant both joined
Wilkins in returning to Clemson last
winter when all three were likely to
be early NFL draft choices.
While Wilkins and Bryant are
seniors, Ferrell and Lawrence are
juniors who could spent another year
with the Tigers. Ferrell and Law
rence, widely projected as first round
ers, say they’re undecided on their
futures.
What is clear is how they’re playing
at the moment.
The Tigers rank second in the coun
try against the run, permitting less
than 85 yards a game on the ground.
Pitt’s offense centers on its run game
where it’s third in the ACC with 232
yards a game.
Venables sneaks in a few harsh
words to his front four every so often,
just “trying to keep them humble and
grounded,” he explained. “They all be
hard working, servant leaders who’ll
do whatever you ask.”
Johnson came
close to stepping
down in 2016
Associated Press
Paul Johnson revealed
Thursday he considered
stepping down as Georgia
Tech’s coach two years ago,
before finalizing his
decision this week.
The 61-year-old
Johnson said he
thought about leav
ing before current
athletic director
Todd Stansbury
was hired in 2016.
He said his job had
become “drudgery”
under former ath
letic director Mike Bobinski.
“It’s not like I just thought
about it last week,” Johnson
said in discussing his deci
sion announced on Wednes
day . “To be honest with
you truthfully, if Todd had
not shown up I was ready
to do this before he came. It
wasn’t as much fun. It was
drudgery.”
When Georgia Tech had a
slow start this season, John
son again began thinking
about departing.
“We had talks during the
year and I told Todd in the
middle of the year it wasn’t
much fun,” Johnson said.
“Then we talked before
the Georgia game and set
up a time to talk again. .. I
wanted to make sure I was
good with my decision. I
didn’t want to do it immedi
ately after a game. ”
Georgia Tech recovered
from a 1-3 start to finish the
regular season 7-5 with last
week’s 45-21 loss at No. 4
Georgia. The Yellow Jack
ets finished 5-3 in the ACC,
their first winning record in
conference play since 2014.
Johnson will stay on the
job through Georgia Tech’s
bowl game, possibly in the
Dec. 31 Military Bowl.
Stansbury said he began
updating the “list in your
brain” of coaching candi
dates after the midseason
meeting with Johnson.
“You definitely are paying
attention to what’s going on,”
Stansbury said. “.. The fact
I’ve been able to watch a lot
of games this year, I’ve kept
that in the back of my mind
as we figured out
what Paul decided
he was going to do.
I think you’re doing
that naturally any
way. You never
know when some
thing like this may
happen.”
Stansbury
wouldn’t dis
cuss potential
candidates.
He also wouldn’t say if he
wants to hire a coach who
would bring an offense with
more passing than Johnson’s
spread option with its triple
option plays.
“At the end of the day,
I just want to win games,”
Stansbury said. “I don’t
necessarily worry about
schemes. I’m going to leave
that up to the coaches. I’m
looking for the best coach
for Georgia Tech.”
Possible candidates may
include Los Angeles Char
gers offensive coordinator
Ken Whisenhunt, a former
Georgia Tech tight end and
former NFL head coach
with the Arizona Cardinals
and Tennessee Titans; Clem
son co-offensive coordinator
Tony Elliott; Appalachian
State coach Scott Satterfield
and Temple coach Geoff
Collins, a former Georgia
Tech assistant.
If Stansbury considers
coaches who would likely
retain the spread option
offense, Army’s Jeff Monken
and Kennesaw State’s Brian
Bohannon are among pos
sible candidates.
Each worked under John
son at Georgia Southern,
Navy and Georgia Tech.
Johnson says he’s young
enough to consider another
job if he decides to return to
coaching following a break.
Johnson
BERG
■ Continued from 1B
allows them to make plays.
Comparing them (to Ala
bama), I think it’s hard to
say.”
And while Smart said he
wasn’t a proponent of com
paring units between the
teams, the players did not
shy away from expressing
their thoughts on
the matter.
Junior running
back Elijah Holy-
field acknowledged
how impressive
the Crimson Tide’s
group has been
this year, but he
was insistent that
Georgia’s receivers
could go toe to toe
with just about any other
squad college football has
to offer.
“I think our receiving
corps is one of the best
receiving corps in the
nation,” Holyfield
said. “I think
they’re even better
(than Alabama’s
receivers).”
He added that
his view of the
work the Bulldogs’
receiving team has
done this season
is among the best
there is.
“I get to see the throws
and the catches
from the back,” he
said. “They all look
pretty cool.”
Fromm had
much the same
to say, commend
ing the group that
has helped him
connect on nearly
70 percent of his
passes this year and
accounts for all but three of
his 24 passing touchdowns
on the year.
“Our guys are great,”
Fromm said. “We have a
great group of guys
in that receiving
room who make
some great plays.
They’ve done it all
year.”
Much like it
was the last time
Georgia played
Alabama, the game
could very easily
be decided by which team’s
receivers make more of
those “great plays.”
And for Fromm, there’s
no question which unit he’d
rather have.
“I’ll take my guys in a
street fight any day,” he
said. “Let’s go out and pre
pare for battle.”
Nathan Berg is a sports
writer for The Times. He
can be reached at nberg@
gainesvilletimes.com or @
NathanxBerg on Twitter.
Holyfield
Fromm
Call Wolfman Charlie to
keep you warm this winter!
835 Oak Street, Gainesville, Georgia
http://lanier-hvac.net/
678-943-1351
o
LRNIER HVOC SERVICES
WE STRIVE TO SERVE YOU
LAST CHANCE TO
VOTING ENDS 11.30.18
®he £tmcs
gainesvilletimes.com
