Future's bright for Clemson

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http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/15448147.htm

Future's bright for Clemson

T. Bowden finds comfort zone after inconsistent start

RON GREEN JR.

rgreenjr@charlotteobserver.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clemson football coach Tommy Bowden, center, talks to his players during the team's first practice of the season Aug. 4.CLEMSON, S.C. - Tommy Bowden, freshly scrubbed from a shower after running six miles in the late summer heat, is playing with his toys.

"Here, look at these," Bowden says, pulling a pair of sunglasses out from his desk and showing them to a visitor.

The jogging glasses, Bowden demonstrates, have a built-in i-Pod. An ear bud hangs from each side of the shades and there's a miniature sound system built into the frame of the glasses, allowing the Clemson football coach to tune in and tune out on his daily run past Lake Hartwell and into the countryside.

"They have six hours of music loaded into them. Beach Boys. Beatles. Four Tops. Lionel Richie. The Lettermen

"I go to the beach for 50 minutes each day while I jog."

Turning to the other side of his desk, Bowden pulls out a fat black wristwatch and demonstrates how the miniature computer, with the help of a satellite, can measure how far he has run, his pace and how many calories he's burned. If Bowden wants to race someone, he can run against the stick figure on the watch face.

Every day, if possible, Bowden turns his lunch hour into a five-, six- or seven-mile run. The hotter it is, the more he likes it.

"When it's cool, it's too easy," he says, putting his bare feet atop his desk.

Bowden looks comfortable, and he should.

Twenty-five years after Clemson's only national football championship, he has the Tigers positioned to reclaim a spot this season among the national powers. In the ACC's new 12-team era, Clemson is expected to challenge Miami and Florida State for the league title and a spot in a BCS bowl in January.

It has been a gradual, sometimes frustrating, path to this point for Bowden and the Tigers, who have been both brilliant and befuddling.

In the past three seasons, Clemson has beaten Florida State (twice), Miami, Tennessee and Texas A&M. In that time, the Tigers have lost to Wake Forest twice and Duke once. After a loss at Wake Forest, the Tigers left the field to chants of "Duke in orange, Duke in orange."

With 15 starters returning this season, the Tigers' most pressing question is how effective senior quarterback Will Proctor will be in replacing Charlie Whitehurst, who led Clemson to 25 wins in his career.

With a sturdy defense and an exceptional group of running backs led by 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year James Davis and freshman sensation C.J. Spiller, the Tigers have a lot of talent.

They went through what amounted to a dress rehearsal Saturday in their 54-6 victory against Florida Atlantic. This week, Clemson goes to Boston College, with a trip to Tallahassee and a date with Florida State coming Sept. 16.

Survive the first three games and the possibilities are enormous, Bowden knows. But recent history shows the Tigers started 1-4 in 2004 and 2-3 last year.

"My critical point with this team is how I'm going to address them before our fourth game (against North Carolina) because so much has been written and said about our first three games," Bowden says.

"People are saying we'll know a lot after the third game. But that's just three games. I have nine left to go after that. The first three are important, but no more important than games 10, 11 and 12."

Tough fans, tough decisions

In his seven seasons at Clemson, Bowden has taken the Tigers to six bowl games and had them eligible for a seventh (they didn't go to a bowl in 2004 as punishment for a fight with South Carolina).Along the way, he has endured criticism that raised the question of whether he would survive at Clemson. Known for his imagination with offenses, Bowden has been forced to adjust his style in recent years.

When it became apparent to him that he couldn't coax enough production from the running game, he made the difficult decision to replace offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain with Rob Spence before last season. Bowden also surrendered play-calling responsibilities, becoming more of a CEO-styled coach than a micromanager.

"You can't be half in and half out. Stepping back helped out," Proctor said of Bowden.

In the coach's words, "I have more wisdom now."

Amassing talent

He also has more talent than he's had at Clemson.

The past two 100- and 200-meter state high school champions in Florida signed with Clemson (Spiller and Jacoby Ford). Four Parade All-Americans signed with the Tigers last year. Nineteen freshmen played in the season opener. Recruiting experts have ranked the Tigers' past two classes among the nation's top 20, and Bowden has 14 players committed for the next class.

When the Tigers opened at home Saturday, the $40-million WestZone project also opened. It is a striking renovation and upgrading of the west end zone, featuring 1,000 covered club-style seats, an enormous lounge overlooking the field where fans and guests can have lunch and drinks with flat-screen TVs dotting the walls.

There is a new locker room, the walls are covered with photographs and memories of Clemson football and the coaches' offices will eventually be moved to the new building. In the never-ending facilities battle that has become a part of the college game, Clemson now owns a distinct advantage.

"It's not chance or coincidence that we've had three good recruiting classes since we started digging in the dirt there," Bowden says. "You can talk about your commitment all you want, but they want to see it."

For a program that imagines itself on the level of the sport's traditional powers, the reality has been sobering. Clemson hasn't won the ACC title since 1991 and hasn't had consecutive top-20 seasons since then.

"Everybody says this is the year," Bowden says. "I think it's getting closer if this is not the year."

Bowden's noon-time run over for another day, he has put his '60s music and sunglasses away.

But he's still running down a dream.

[aucanucktiger 1,795]

Several friends that watched the pay-per-view of Clemson vs. FLa Atlantic told me Tommy Bowden literally physically pushed one of the refs in anger during that 46-3 blowout, without any reaction from the ACC. Has anybody heard any followup to this?

[Kletus 0]

Several friends that watched the pay-per-view of Clemson vs. FLa Atlantic told me Tommy Bowden literally physically pushed one of the refs in anger during that 46-3 blowout, without any reaction from the ACC. Has anybody heard any followup to this?

Nope, Tommy didn't push the ref. But he did hit the ref with his headset when he threw it down in disgust. The replay looks like it caught the ref right in the crotch. From what I hear, Tommy tried to take a time out for them to review a play and the ref told him that he couldn't do it because the 25 second clock had already started

Needless to say, Tommy blew a gasket for about 5 minutes. The ref's had to know that they had screwed up, because thats the only way he managed to stay in the game. I was sure he was gonna get flagged or booted.