Whatever Happened To The 2007 Wide Receiver Class?
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, January 25, 2010
The announcement late Friday that rising junior wide receiver Matt Clements was leaving the team was hardly shocking considering his limited playing time this past season. He had no catches in two games.
It also put the spotlight back on the once-heralded 2007 wide receiver class that was ranked No. 1 in the country by Rivals.com.
But here we are three years after that class was signed and only two receivers remain – Jason Barnes and Dion LeCorn. Both receivers have had their moments (Barnes’s best game came at Ole Miss in 2008) but have yet to show the consistency you want.
LeCorn, of course, struggled to return from the broken lower leg sustained in last year’s spring game. He had just four catches this past season. He moved to the front of the pack in 2007 largely because of his blocking skills. USC certainly missed him this past season.
But he has done little since then. The 2010 season will be his time to step up and become one of the leaders of the wide receiver corps.
Chris Culliver was signed as a five-star WR but moved to safety in the spring of 2008, a move that has largely paid dividends for both him and the Gamecocks even though he encountered some rough patches this past season.
Clements is one of four receivers signed in 2007 that are no longer with the team. Larry Freeman didn’t work out after being signed out of junior college (2 catches in 2008), while Joe Hills transferred to Tennessee State last August and Michael Bowman was denied admission into USC (remember Spurrier’s press conference?) and eventually enrolled at East Carolina.
I admit I was wrong about Clements. When he first arrived on campus, I thought he would have a nice career at USC. I recall wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. spending extra time with him after workouts trying to accelerate his progress.
But it never worked out, for whatever reason.
Our society loves to play the blame game, so who’s at fault for the fact the 2007 wide receivers class failed to materialize?
Were mistakes made at the outset in the recruiting process? Probably. It’s clear now some of the guys weren’t as talented as the coaches initially thought (too many drops) or they struggled to adjust to having to play at a higher level against SEC defensive backs.
Obviously, some people will point to Spurrier Jr. as the culprit. But this is the same coach that also developed Sidney Rice, Kenny McKinley and now Alshon Jeffery. So, he’s done something right.
As usual, liability is probably best shared between the coaches and players.
And, let’s be frank, wide receiver isn’t the only position from the 2007 class that fell below expectations.
Out of the 31 players signed in 2007, 12 have already left the program for various reasons, an attrition rate of close to 40 percent. Remember these names? Mark Barnes, Donte’e Nicholls, Sam Pope, Jamire Williams and Matt Williams.
To be fair, the class has also produced a number of productive players as well – Stephen Garcia, Cliff Matthews, Travian Robertson, Ladi Ajiboye, Akeem Auguste and Patrick DiMarco.
But, at this point, not enough of them. There are also a number of other players from that class that must step up in 2010, including Jason Barnes. You can add Melvin Ingram, Brian Maddox, Kyle Nunn, Quintin Richardson and Weslye Saunders to that group, as well.
How those players perform in 2010 could determine how the history books treat the 2007 signing class. It was one that created a lot of jubilation in Gamecock Nation three years ago. It was ranked No. 6 in the country by Rivals.com and was thought to be the class that would put USC among the SEC elite. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet.
There’s still time for the 2007 signing class to live up to its lofty ranking, but time is running out.
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And the hits just keep on coming.
The announcement late Friday that rising junior wide receiver Matt Clements was leaving the team was hardly shocking considering his limited playing time this past season. He had no catches in two games.
It also put the spotlight back on the once-heralded 2007 wide receiver class that was ranked No. 1 in the country by Rivals.com.
But here we are three years after that class was signed and only two receivers remain – Jason Barnes and Dion LeCorn. Both receivers have had their moments (Barnes’s best game came at Ole Miss in 2008) but have yet to show the consistency you want.
LeCorn, of course, struggled to return from the broken lower leg sustained in last year’s spring game. He had just four catches this past season. He moved to the front of the pack in 2007 largely because of his blocking skills. USC certainly missed him this past season.
But he has done little since then. The 2010 season will be his time to step up and become one of the leaders of the wide receiver corps.
Chris Culliver was signed as a five-star WR but moved to safety in the spring of 2008, a move that has largely paid dividends for both him and the Gamecocks even though he encountered some rough patches this past season.
Clements is one of four receivers signed in 2007 that are no longer with the team. Larry Freeman didn’t work out after being signed out of junior college (2 catches in 2008), while Joe Hills transferred to Tennessee State last August and Michael Bowman was denied admission into USC (remember Spurrier’s press conference?) and eventually enrolled at East Carolina.
I admit I was wrong about Clements. When he first arrived on campus, I thought he would have a nice career at USC. I recall wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. spending extra time with him after workouts trying to accelerate his progress.
But it never worked out, for whatever reason.
Our society loves to play the blame game, so who’s at fault for the fact the 2007 wide receivers class failed to materialize?
Were mistakes made at the outset in the recruiting process? Probably. It’s clear now some of the guys weren’t as talented as the coaches initially thought (too many drops) or they struggled to adjust to having to play at a higher level against SEC defensive backs.
Obviously, some people will point to Spurrier Jr. as the culprit. But this is the same coach that also developed Sidney Rice, Kenny McKinley and now Alshon Jeffery. So, he’s done something right.
As usual, liability is probably best shared between the coaches and players.
And, let’s be frank, wide receiver isn’t the only position from the 2007 class that fell below expectations.
Out of the 31 players signed in 2007, 12 have already left the program for various reasons, an attrition rate of close to 40 percent. Remember these names? Mark Barnes, Donte’e Nicholls, Sam Pope, Jamire Williams and Matt Williams.
To be fair, the class has also produced a number of productive players as well – Stephen Garcia, Cliff Matthews, Travian Robertson, Ladi Ajiboye, Akeem Auguste and Patrick DiMarco.
But, at this point, not enough of them. There are also a number of other players from that class that must step up in 2010, including Jason Barnes. You can add Melvin Ingram, Brian Maddox, Kyle Nunn, Quintin Richardson and Weslye Saunders to that group, as well.
How those players perform in 2010 could determine how the history books treat the 2007 signing class. It was one that created a lot of jubilation in Gamecock Nation three years ago. It was ranked No. 6 in the country by Rivals.com and was thought to be the class that would put USC among the SEC elite. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet.
There’s still time for the 2007 signing class to live up to its lofty ranking, but time is running out.
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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 @.