June 29, 2009

Since Dec. 1, officially, the university has hired a new football coach, five new full-time assistants, a director of player operations, a director of football operations and three additional strength staffers.

Following Clemson's annual spring game on April 11, players began preparing for another phase of the offseason, the first session of summer voluntary workouts. Drills began May 19 and concluded June 19.

JOEY BATSON'S ALL-AMERICAN FILE

Nine of Joey Batson's former assistant strength coaches at Clemson are now strength training directors at NFL or college programs. The veteran coach has also now produced 17 strength All-Americans in 12 years.

Strength All-Americans under Batson

1997: TE Lamont Hall

1998: OL Jason Gamble

1999: DL Damonte McKenzie

2000: DL Terry Jolly

2001: QB Woodrow Dantzler

2001: OL T.J. Watkins

2001: OL Kyle Young

2002: DL Nick Eason

2003: LB John Leake

2003: OL Greg Walker

2004: LB Leroy Hill

2005: FB Steven Jackson

2006: OL Dustin Fry

2006: LB Anthony Waters

2007: QB Cullen Harper

2008: RB C.J. Spiller

2008: DB Chris Clemons

Batson would not disclose attendance records for the first session of drills but said the team was "dead on the money" with its attendance goal. He said several players did miss a portion of the first session due to personal reasons, such as funerals, weddings, classes and speaking engagements.

Though workouts ended June 19, several players participated in a Personal Enhancement Opportunity session on June 22.

A handful of players also sought extra workout time, Batson said, notably junior cornerback Byron Maxwell and sophomore quarterback Willy Korn. Maxwell was in at 8 a.m. each day to target flexibility after being challenged by staffers to improve in that area this offseason.

Korn, who was officially deadlocked with Kyle Parker, a redshirt freshman, in the race for the starting job under center coming out of the spring, worked diligently to refine his throwing delivery and improve his core strength following the second shoulder surgery of his collegiate career last fall.

Batson says both, among several others, captured newfound respect of their teammates over the first session.

"I think it's safe to say that some guys separate themselves because they're doing extra things to improve," he said. "Sometimes I don't think people realize how important leadership is on a team. Because you'll never rise above your leadership. If it's seven wins, you'll win seven games. If your leadership is 10 wins, you'll win 10 games."

Batson said several seniors approached him in the spring after the Orange & White game, asking to "put the team on their shoulders" and be a part of the accountability process.

"I think that's one reason why this first session has been great," Baston said. "It's been great because of the players.

"Think about this for a moment. If you go into a locker room and you're a fly on the wall, the players that run that locker room are the players that run your team. It's one of the great mysteries of football. Sometimes people may not know who's running that locker room. But I guarantee you if you were a fly on the wall for a week, and you observed the activity in the locker room, you would be able to determine who runs your team."

Though Batson would not name the players who approached his staff before summer drills, Tigerillustrated.com has learned that both tight end Michael Palmer and offensive lineman Thomas Austin were among that group.

"People ask how hard is the team working. Well, there's no option. It's not an option. They have to work hard if they're going to be out here with us in the summer. They're giving it every single day," Batson said. "I don't think a player can have a bad day in the summer, because he can't have a bad day in the fall.

"We're trying to teach that consistency. You want a consistent effort and attitude and belief. You're preparing players to play for 14 games in the fall."

Tigerillustrated.com senior writer Larry Williams contributed to this report.

	Cris Ard is the publisher and owner of TigerIllustrated.com, the largest Clemson-themed subscription-based Web site on the Internet. Ard has covered the Tigers since 1993, and regularly appears on radio and television shows throughout the state.
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