Similarities Between Clements, McKinley Evident Early On
posted by Scott Hood, Saturday, August 11, 2007
Twenty minutes after practice had concluded, after the customary interviews of Steve Spurrier and a few players had wrapped up, as I was walking off the field back to my car, I looked back towards the far end of the field and there was Clements and wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier, Jr. all alone in a 1-on-1 tutorial.
They were the only ones left.
Spurrier, Jr. pointed left, then he pointed right. All the while, Clements watched him attentively.
The only direction Spurrier, Jr. didn’t point was up. But he should have, because it appears that’s the direction Clements’ career is headed.
Obviously, Spurrier, Jr. believes Clements has potential because coaches typically don’t spend 20 to 30 minutes after practice tutoring a player they feel won’t help the team.
As I watched from a distance for a few minutes, I couldn’t help but flash back to two years ago when I watched Spurrier. Jr. put a young receiver named Kenny McKinley through the same rigors to get him ready to play.
That worked out pretty well, I would say. McKinley has 76 receptions in his first two seasons, including 51 last year when he was the No. 2 target behind Sidney Rice.
But with Rice now out of the picture, McKinley is now the top gun on a deep and talented wide receiver corp.
Will history repeat itself when it comes to Clements? Only time will time. But the early signs are positive.
I have to admit, though, I knew little about Clements when he committed to South Carolina. All I had heard was that he was about six-feet tall and had caught a bunch of passes as a junior at Barron Collier High School in Naples, Fla.
I also knew he had turned down a bunch of offers from powerhouse schools like Auburn, Ohio State and West Virginia to sign with USC.
But reading his bio in the football media, I’ve learned he also played QB for the first part of his senior season in high school.
So, maybe there is something to these comparisons between Clements and McKinley, who was exclusively a QB in high school before making a smooth transition to WR when he started college.
The initial experiences of Clements and McKinley at USC are similar as well, and go beyond the fact both are about the same height (6-0) and weight (170 pounds) when they reported.
Both also arrived in Columbia with less fanfare than fellow signees.
McKinley was lost in the O.J. Murdock hype. Likewise, Clements didn’t receive the same quantity of media coverage Chris Culliver and Jason Barnes got.
Obviously, that’s no fault of Culliver and Barnes, both of whom are great players in the own right.
Of course, that may have a lot to do with the fact Clements lives in south Florida on the western side of the State. It’s a long way from Naples, Fla. to Columbia.
Yeah, Charlotte is a lot closer to the capital city of South Carolina. So is Garner, N.C.
But I have a feeling Clements is going to quickly close that publicity gap when the season starts.
Ironically, Clements is wearing the No. 15 jersey formerly worn by Murdock. Let’s hope he fares a lot better.
If he gets off to a quick start, he’ll be ahead of the pace McKinley set in 2005. McKinley had just three receptions in the first four games before breaking out with five consecutive multiple reception games, ending with the contest at Arkansas in which he caught the game-winning TD from Blake Mitchell in an unforgettable play.
Significant contributions from at least three of the five freshmen wide receivers, together with another great season from McKinley and the anticipated growth of Moe Brown, Freddie Brown and Larry Freeman, should give USC a formidable group of receivers.
What’s remarkable is everyone will return in 2008. Mike West was the only senior receiver and he was shifted to cornerback.
Blake Mitchell will have plenty of targets to throw to this season, unlike last year when his primary targets were Rice and McKinley and Boyd occasionally out of the backfield.
Yes, diversity is a good thing.
Matt Clements? I expect him to get his share of receptions.
And prove there’s more to the 2007 wide receiver class than just Culliver and Barnes.
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I saw something late Friday night that convinced me Matt Clements may be better that I thought.
Twenty minutes after practice had concluded, after the customary interviews of Steve Spurrier and a few players had wrapped up, as I was walking off the field back to my car, I looked back towards the far end of the field and there was Clements and wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier, Jr. all alone in a 1-on-1 tutorial.
They were the only ones left.
Spurrier, Jr. pointed left, then he pointed right. All the while, Clements watched him attentively.
The only direction Spurrier, Jr. didn’t point was up. But he should have, because it appears that’s the direction Clements’ career is headed.
Obviously, Spurrier, Jr. believes Clements has potential because coaches typically don’t spend 20 to 30 minutes after practice tutoring a player they feel won’t help the team.
As I watched from a distance for a few minutes, I couldn’t help but flash back to two years ago when I watched Spurrier. Jr. put a young receiver named Kenny McKinley through the same rigors to get him ready to play.
That worked out pretty well, I would say. McKinley has 76 receptions in his first two seasons, including 51 last year when he was the No. 2 target behind Sidney Rice.
But with Rice now out of the picture, McKinley is now the top gun on a deep and talented wide receiver corp.
Will history repeat itself when it comes to Clements? Only time will time. But the early signs are positive.
I have to admit, though, I knew little about Clements when he committed to South Carolina. All I had heard was that he was about six-feet tall and had caught a bunch of passes as a junior at Barron Collier High School in Naples, Fla.
I also knew he had turned down a bunch of offers from powerhouse schools like Auburn, Ohio State and West Virginia to sign with USC.
But reading his bio in the football media, I’ve learned he also played QB for the first part of his senior season in high school.
So, maybe there is something to these comparisons between Clements and McKinley, who was exclusively a QB in high school before making a smooth transition to WR when he started college.
The initial experiences of Clements and McKinley at USC are similar as well, and go beyond the fact both are about the same height (6-0) and weight (170 pounds) when they reported.
Both also arrived in Columbia with less fanfare than fellow signees.
McKinley was lost in the O.J. Murdock hype. Likewise, Clements didn’t receive the same quantity of media coverage Chris Culliver and Jason Barnes got.
Obviously, that’s no fault of Culliver and Barnes, both of whom are great players in the own right.
Of course, that may have a lot to do with the fact Clements lives in south Florida on the western side of the State. It’s a long way from Naples, Fla. to Columbia.
Yeah, Charlotte is a lot closer to the capital city of South Carolina. So is Garner, N.C.
But I have a feeling Clements is going to quickly close that publicity gap when the season starts.
Ironically, Clements is wearing the No. 15 jersey formerly worn by Murdock. Let’s hope he fares a lot better.
If he gets off to a quick start, he’ll be ahead of the pace McKinley set in 2005. McKinley had just three receptions in the first four games before breaking out with five consecutive multiple reception games, ending with the contest at Arkansas in which he caught the game-winning TD from Blake Mitchell in an unforgettable play.
Significant contributions from at least three of the five freshmen wide receivers, together with another great season from McKinley and the anticipated growth of Moe Brown, Freddie Brown and Larry Freeman, should give USC a formidable group of receivers.
What’s remarkable is everyone will return in 2008. Mike West was the only senior receiver and he was shifted to cornerback.
Blake Mitchell will have plenty of targets to throw to this season, unlike last year when his primary targets were Rice and McKinley and Boyd occasionally out of the backfield.
Yes, diversity is a good thing.
Matt Clements? I expect him to get his share of receptions.
And prove there’s more to the 2007 wide receiver class than just Culliver and Barnes.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.