By Hale McGranahan.
The 2016 signing class may be low on numbers, but there won’t be a shortage on storylines to keep an eye on over the next 365 days.
Seniors In 2015. With Bradley Pinion’s decision to skip his final year at Clemson and the medical redshirts put on Travis Blanks and Zac Brooks, the Tigers are scheduled to have just 12 seniors on the roster in 2015.
Four are offensive linemen: Ryan Norton, Joe Gore, Eric MacLain and Isaiah Battle. From the skill positions, Charone Peake, C.J. Davidson, Stanton Seckinger and Rod Byers will round out their time at Clemson. The defense, which was full of seniors in 2014, will have only three in 2015: B.J. Goodson, Kellen Jones and D.J. Reader. Kicker Ammon Lakip is the lone specialist on scholarship who will be gone after next season.
Along with the inevitability of other forms of attrition, there will be a few eligible players who could leave early for the 2016 NFL Draft: Shaq Lawson, Mackensie Alexander and Mike Williams.
Because the 2015 Clemson senior group is so small, the number for the 2016 signing class will probably be somewhere in the low-to-mid teens. Since there’s a transition at recruiting coordinator, that may not be such a bad thing.
The New Guy. Brandon Streeter is a football lifer, so there’s no reason to suggest that he won’t be able to hit the ground running when he steps onto the recruiting trail next month. The newest addition to the Clemson staff, Streeter will take the recruiting coordinator reigns from Jeff Scott and will coach quarterbacks. Streeter’s dad, Barry, has been the head coach at Gettysburg College since 1978. After spending two years as Clemson’s starting quarterback, he played professionally in the Arena Football League. Once his playing days were over, Streeter got into coaching.
Streeter got his start at Charleston Southern in 2002 and 2003, where he coached quarterbacks and running backs and was the recruiting coordinator for one season, before returning to Clemson as a graduate assistant in 2004 and 2005.
In six years at Liberty, Streeter coached quarterbacks and worked as the recruiting coordinator. At Richmond from 2012-2014, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Good Start. A sizeable portion of Clemson’s 2016 class was already in place once the ball dropped at midnight.
Tight end J.C. Chalk became the first piece to the puzzle when he committed to Clemson over the summer. Quarterback Zerrick Cooper was second when he committed before the Louisville game. Offensive lineman Sean Pollard joined Chalk and Cooper last month when he pulled the trigger.
There’s no telling when exactly when the next 2016 pledge will pop, but there will be plenty of candidates on campus later this month for the first Junior Day event of the year.
Junior Day I. A variety of on-campus recruiting events have become critical to the success Clemson’s enjoyed in the five years since Dabo Swinney was named head coach. Along with the summer camp sessions and July cookout, junior days at Clemson are important dates on the recruiting calendar.
Typically, there have been three Junior Day events: One in late January or early February, another in March and the third in April, on the day of the Orange and White Spring game.
The first is usually an exclusive event reserved for the more elite, high-profile prospects. Junior Day No. 1 is set for Jan. 31, the same day the Clemson hoops team will take on Boston College at Littlejohn Coliseum.