Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the RubbingtheRock.com staff. Thanks for reading our coverage of Clemson football and all Tiger sports over the last 9 months or so.
Am I the only one surprised to find out that a few players in the Class of 2023 that just signed Wednesday are practicing with the team during Orange Bowl prep?
Vic Burley, Khalil Barnes and Shelton Lewis are all practicing with the team and are allowed to go with the team to Miami to practice for the Orange Bowl.
In addition, Stephiylan Green and Ian Reed are expected to travel to the bowl game, but it’s unclear if they’ll practice.
We have previously extolled the virtues of a bowl game and 15 extra practices for guys like Cade Klubnik and Cole Turner, and the benefits of enrolling early, but this combines both and gives these early enrollees even more of a head start on those that will arrive in the summer.
Burley’s a top 100 player, so odds are he plays early and often next season anyway, especially with the expected attrition along the defensive line, but it’ll be interesting to track the others through the summer and into next season.
Former Clemson football quarterback Tajh Boyd’s ACC touchdown record has been surpassed
Sam Hartman of Wake Forest broke Tajh Boyd’s ACC record for touchdown passes, notching his 108th in Wake Forest’s bowl victory over Missouri, Friday night.
Hartman had 33 touchdown passes after three seasons at Wake, but has totaled 39 and 38 in the last two years, respectively and finished his Wake career at with 12,967 yards, 110 touchdowns and 41 interceptions.
From all appearances, Hartman is a good and grounded young man and he’s had a remarkable career at Wake Forest, despite their ending to this season.
Hartman still has a year of eligibility left if he wants to use it, whether at Wake or with another team. With the transfer portal being a thing and quarterbacks being at a premium, I wouldn’t rule it out.