Clemson’s game of musical chairs on the offensive line is settled for the time being.
Offensive coordinator Chad Morris said he’s content with the five players listed atop the depth chart, including at left guard and right tackle, where three different players had run with the first team at each position in the previous two weeks.
“We have to get other guys ready,” Morris said after Monday’s second practice. “We have to at least have seven to eight that we can get ready and get going, and a lot is going to depend on where Gifford Timothy is on game week. It is kind of hard to tell right now.”
Timothy’s injury suffered Aug. 8 has complicated matters, and finding a replacement at right tackle has been difficult. Joining All-ACC center Dalton Freeman, left tackle Brandon Thomas, and right guard Tyler Shatley are Shaq Anthony at right tackle and David Beasley at left guard.
As for Timothy, Morris is optimistic he will return at some point.
“We feel like he is going to be back, but I don’t know if he will be in a situation where he is ready to play,” Morris said. “With Dalton in there, he gives us another dimension. Our confidence level is definitely high when he is in there. Hopefully, we will have it set for him in there.”
No. 14 Clemson opens Sept. 1 against No. 25 Auburn in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
UNC hires former Clinton aide
Doug Sosnik, who served as a political director to former President Bill Clinton, has been hired by North Carolina as a consultant to help the school deal with its on-going academic scandal that has touched the athletic department, WRAL.com in Raleigh reported Wednesday morning
Sosnik has also done consulting work with Applebee’s, the NBA and several Fortune 500 companies.
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp recently announced that former North Carolina Governor Jim Martin will head an investigation into the scandal inside the schools African American Studies Department to determine the depth of the problems and how they relate to athletics. Many of the students in what have been reported as “no-show” classes were athletes, though the courses were open al all students.
Sosnik’s specific role isn’t certain, as UNC hired a public relations firm to deal a year ago with the academic part of an NCAA investigation that recently landed its football program on probation, which includes a bowl ban this season.
Wanted at Maryland: Walk-ons
Every college football program in the country welcomes walk-ons, and at most schools they are an essential part of the programs. They are invaluable to teams in helping prepare them during game weeks, and sometimes a player or two emerges who helps on game days.
At Maryland, however, the needs are more extensive. A reported 25 players have transferred since Randy Edsall took over the program following the 2010 season, including five starters from last season. So that’s why the following notice sent out by the university’s athletic department Monday was so striking:
“The University of Maryland football team will hold walk-on tryouts on Monday, Sept. 3. Interested players must be full-time students who are currently enrolled at the University. Candidates should report to Gossett Team House at 2:30 p.m.
“Anyone wishing to try out for the team must bring the completed packet found at the top of this release as well as a physical signed by a doctor within the last six months
“Potential walk-ons also need to bring the results from a completed sickle cell solubility test.”
Jackets honor history
Georgia Tech will honor its 1951 and 1952 teams when Virginia visits The Flats on Sept. 14. The teams combined to go 23-0-1, with the ’52 squad capturing one of the Yellow Jackets’ four national championships.
The teams, which were coached by Bobby Dodd, were also in the SEC at the time. The 1951 club beat No. 9 Baylor, 17-14, in the Orange Bowl and the ’52 squad defeated No. 7 Ole Miss, 24-7, in the Sugar Bowl.
Tech has also won national titles in 1917, 1928 and 1990.
