It might be a longshot, but the No. 20 Clemson Tiger faithful are already pushing senior tailback Raymond Priester for the Heisman Trophy.
Too bad he1s not even the best player on his team.
Yes, Priester is the only active rusher in the nation who holds his school1s single-game, season and career-yardage records. Yes, The Sporting News calls Priester 3The Best Senior Running Back in the Nation.2 And yes, the Clemson offense will only go as far as Priester1s strong legs can carry it in 1997.
But the most important player wearing orange this year won1t be on the field with Priester and the offense. The centerpiece of the 1997 Clemson Tigers is junior linebacker Anthony Simmons.
3Anthony is probably the most consistent football player that I1ve ever been around,2 head coach Tommy West said. 3He1s never played a bad game; he has not had a bad football game in two years. He1s a model of consistency, and he does it in practice, too.2
Simmons is the best linebacker Death Valley has seen since two-time All-American Levon Kirkland, now an All-Pro with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And he might just be the best ever.
In two years, Simmons has accomplished just about everything a linebacker couldDand as a junior he1s still getting better. Ranked as the No. 1 emerging star in college football by The Sporting News, Simmons is the first defensive player to be named UPI Freshman-of-the-Year. And he1s the only Atlantic Coast Conference player ever to earn AP All-American honors in his first two seasons. Simmons was named to AP1s third-team in each of his first two years.
The Spartanburg, SC, native has started 23 of 24 games in his Clemson career, and has averaged a monstrous 13.7 tackles per game. He has a streak of 12 straight games with at least 10 stops, going back to his freshman year.
When asked to assess his team1s strengths, West points to the obvious senior leadership of a team that returns more lettermenDincluding 16 startersDthan any school in the ACC. The entire offensive line returns from 1996, and senior quarterback Nealon Greene has started 27 consecutive games since his freshman year.
Still, the improvement of a team that went 7-5 a year ago (6-2 ACC) will be measured by the results on Simmons1 side of the ball. Clemson1s pass defense ranked next-to-last in the conference last year, and with new starters at both cornerback positions, West fears opponents are going to continue to air it.
3We1ve got some concerns in the secondary,2 West said bluntly. 3We1re going to be as talented as last year, or possibly even more.... But we don1t have any experience.2
Simmons anchors a solid run-defense that will have to overcome the loss of NFL first-round draft choice Trevor Pryce, who left school after amassing 7.5 sacks as a junior. Senior nose guard Raymond White, whose 94 tackles were among the top five for interior linemen in the ACC, will have to pick up the slack with Pryce gone.
Defensive concerns aside, Clemson has assembled its best squad since the glory days of the 180s, when the Tigers finished in the AP Top 20 seven times in nine years. West1s first full season in 1994 was a mediocre 5-6 campaign, but since then the Tigers have developed a solid nucleus. The past two years, with Greene as a signal-caller and Priester shouldering the load on the ground, Clemson has gone 15-9.
Priester1s 3010 career yards are the most ever at a school which has sent an astounding 23 running backs to the NFL. Moving the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Priester from fullback to tailback in 1995 might have been the best move West ever madeDfor both the coach1s career and the player1s.
The Allendale, S.C., native has rushed for 100 yards 12 times in his career and set a school mark with 263 against Duke in 1995. This year, West vows he will open up the passing game more for Greene, who needs just 1141 passing yards this season to overtake Rodney Williams as the school1s all-time leader.
Still, West plans to continue using Priester as the Tigers1 workhorse.
3We1d like to get the ball in Raymond1s hands between 25-30 times a game,2 West said. 3What we1d like to be able to do is get it to him in different ways; hopefully we can throw the ball to him some out of the backfield now.2
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.