Time for the latest edition of Ask TCI.  Each week we will take questions on the message board The Rock.  We will take questions up until midnight on Tuesday.

Each weekend we will run our Ask TCI feature with answers to some of the questions asked by the Clemson Insiders.  Make sure to get your questions in next week.

Question – Who do you see returning kicks next year? I assume Hopper would be a candidate.

TCI – Well for punts look for Humphries and Watkins to continue to share the duties.  If we see the “old Sammy” next season you will see him more on kickoffs and punts.

Hopper will certainly be a candidate for kickoffs.  DeMarcus Robinson could also be a candidate if he enrolls at Clemson.  Bryant is another guy that will get his chances.

Question – Was this a true coming of age for the defense or was this a fluke performance due to the massive amount of hype going into it?

TCI – We won’t really fully know that answer until next season, but it was certainly a strong statement from coach Venables and the defense.  Holding LSU to one yard of total offense in the fourth quarter was amazing.  Goodman’s dominate performance had something to do with how well the defense played obviously.

There is no question tht next year’s defense will be much improved.  Linebackers are loaded with talent and now experience.  The defensive line will see improvement just from the guys already on the roster, but when you add some dominate recruits to the mix the future will be much brighter there as well.  The biggest question mark for the defense will be the secondary.  If the front seven is much improved as we expect that will make life easier for the secondary.

Coach Venables did a great job preparing for LSU.  He will have eight months to prepare for Georgia.  We will see if he can have similar results.

Question – Now that we know that Jeff Scott is the heir apparent for the OC position when Chad moves on, how involved has he been with Chad. Is he just an observer, or has he been involved in play calling, drawing up and designing plays, game planning, etc? Does he have the imagination and creativity of Chad?
You can learn from watching, but the only way to really grasp something is by “doing”.

TCI – Jeff has been shadowing coach Morris from the moment he stepped on campus.  He has participated in many ways, but don’t believe he has been involved in any of the play calling yet.  One thing to remember is Jeff was a very successful head coach and won a state championship at the high school level.  He called his own plays there and ran the spread.  Obviously this is a different level, but he has called plays before.

We would expect to see Jeff’s involvement increase over the next year as the expectations of a potential departure by coach Morris at some point increase.

Question – When should we expect ACC to release the schedule for next season?

TCI – The ACC schedule for 2013 should be released in late January or early February.  Clemson will host Florida State, Boston College, Wake Forest and Duke next season.  Road games will be Syracuse, Georgia Tech, NC State and Maryland.

Question – Why is it perceived that many of our recruits, both committed and non-committed, seem to have cooled on the Tigers? Was there a focus shift from recruiting over the last two months? Is it the coaches being mentioned for jobs elsewhere or Harbison leaving? Is it just synergy that seems to happen within a group of recruits?  At one point this season, it appeared we were destined for a top 5 recruiting class and the issue was going to be ability to accept commitments.  Do you predict a bowl-win bounce?

TCI – Most of Clemson’s recruits have remained very firm.  Clemson will finish strong with the 2013 class.  Ebo’s commitment was a good one for the Tigers on Friday night.  If you’ve followed our reporting you know we believe Clemson will sign the nation’s top defensive tackle Montravius Adams, All-American Tyrone Crowder and top corner Adrian Baker.  Clemson is also very much in the mix with a number of other top prospects.

Dabo is one of the best in the business and he will certainly use the big bowl win to his advantage.  Look for Clemson to finish strong with another top 15 class, potentially another top ten class if things fall right.  Remember this class will be a little smaller for Clemson so that hurts them a little in the rankings.

Question – Now that football season is over, what players do you see quit football/transfer or change position.

TCI – We don’t like to talk about particular names related to transfers until we get things confirmed.  We will say we believe a couple of the quarterbacks could decide to go elsewhere to get playing time.  We also expect a few other players that have learned they won’t likely see much playing time at Clemson to decide to pursue their careers elsewhere.

Question – Would the TCI crew trade the win over LSU for an ACC title and a BCS bowl win over NIU?

TCI – Absolutely, the win over LSU was a statement win for the program.  A win over NIU would have been a BCS win, but a win everyone expected.  Clemson gained more respect with a win over a top team like LSU, especially one in the “hyped” SEC.

The win over LSU will help Clemson’s confidence as they head into the offseason with Georgia awaiting on opening day.  Clemson proved they can win over one of the top teams in the nation.

Question – Is playing UGA the first game of the year an advantage or disadvantage?

TCI – It is a big advantage.  Georgia will be playing with almost an entirely new defense.  That is a big advantage for Clemson’s offense, especially with the tempo they run.

Georgia is also typically a team that comes on as the season progresses.

It will also help that coach Venables will have eight months to prepare the defense to stop Georgia’s outstanding running game.

Question – Still pumped about game. Looking forward, where does Joe Gore fit in? Do you think they move him back to D? In your opinion, What does our Oline look like vs UGA? I think MacLain will be a very good Tackle next year. Thanks

TCI – We see Joe staying on the offense.  He will remain at tackle and will see more playing time over the next few years.  The staff remains very excited about his future.

For Georgia you will likely see Shatley and Beasley at the guard, Norton at center, Thomas at one tackle and Timothy or Battle at the other.  Battle is a beast and played well in the Chick-Fil-A bowl.  He will overtake Timothy at some point next year.  We will have to see if that will be for the opener against the Dawgs.

Question – What do you think will happen with McKenzie Alexander? Is he leaning towards anyone?

TCI – Clemson is still very much in strong contention for Alexander.  The staff had a good meeting with him after the US Army All-American game.  Alexander is one that likes to play some games at times with the media so it is hard to get a confident read on his situation, but we believe Clemson has a good chance to sign the 5-star corner.