Clemson raises football season ticket prices

Surprise, surprise! It's now going to cost $11 more for a season ticket package at Clemson.

They're now $320. Not too much for a pretty solid home lineup, though. Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and South Carolina are the highlights.

2012 home game designations set

Are you ready for some Youth Day? That's the designation for the Sept. 8 game against Ball State. As always, there are a few others, including Homecoming against Maryland on Nov. 10.

 • Former Clemson quarterback Willy Korn, who was a bust at Clemson but crafted a great career at North Greenville, worked out with other Tiger NFL hopefuls recently.

'Football Scientist' sees bright future for Tigers

"Football Scientist" K.C. Joyner sees good things ahead for Clemson based on his in-depth statistical analysis, which, unfortunately, is behind a paywall.

But ESPN's Heather Dinich summarizes the good doctor's findings.

More spring practice: Changes up front, Venables sees progress

Clemson's spring practice continues, which means there are sports writers, much like mother robins, are  looking to stuff the chirping, gaping maw of the Internet with nice, wiggly stories:

• So far this spring, Clemson is trying some new combinations on the offensive line.

• New defensive coordinator Brent Venables sees "good progress." That beats bad progress any day of the week.

Clemson's offensive coaches travel far, wide

The Clemson offensive coaching staff has been hitting the road hard during the offseason, according to this Orange and White story. They've visited Oklahoma State and Nevada in order to learn some new offensive wrinkles.

• Spring practice update: The youngsters are working hard!

Obligatory spring practice update No. 1

Spring football practice begins today at Clemson. I kind of hate it (fall practice, too), because nothing of note is ever reported unless somebody gets hurt or quits the team, so the daily updates are just a flood of upbeat coach-speak. Anyway, here goes:

• Dabo Swinney is optimistic about spring practice.

• Alternately, Dabo Swinney is ready for spring practice.

There is a bit of real news: Running back Mike Bellamy, who was suspended from the team prior to the ACC title game in December, will participate in spring practice.

Look for a lot more posts like this over the next month. I'll go ahead and apologize in advance.

Spring practice preview

Clemson's spring football practice begins on Wednesday, and there is really only one motivator:

70-33.

That was the score of the Tigers' Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia.

Let's hope everybody works hard and gets better, and practices the things they need to practice!

There will be 15 practice sessions leading up to the spring game, which is set for April 14 at 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

Redshirts ready to step up

With Clemson's spring practice set to begin on March 7, Orange and White takes a look at 14 redshirt freshmen who could make big contributions this fall.

For example, tight end Eric MacLain could start immediately considering that All-American tight end Dwayne Allen is going pro.

Much more at the link, so do read the story.

Clemson releases 2012 football schedule

It's official: Clemson has finalized its football schedule for 2012.

Here's how it looks:

Sept. 1 Auburn (in Atlanta)
Sept. 8 BALL STATE
Sept. 15 FURMAN
Sept. 22 at Florida State
Sept. 29 at Boston College
Oct. 6 GEORGIA TECH
Oct. 13 Open Date
Oct. 20 VIRGINIA TECH
Oct. 25 at Wake Forest
Nov. 3 at Duke
Nov. 10 MARYLAND
Nov. 17 N.C. STATE
Nov. 24 SOUTH CAROLINA

Auburn in the Georgia Dome to kick things off. Three home games to finish the season. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech at home with a week off between those tough games, but then only a five-day break before playing at Wake Forest on a Thursday night.

This sounds like a lot of fun.

Sammy Watkins, punt returner? Bring it on

ESPN's Heather Dinich reports that All-American receiver Sammy Watkins wants to return punts next season. (He already returns kickoffs spectacularly.)

“I want to be more known as a great athlete not just at receiver, but as a kick returner and special teams, also," Watkins told Dinich.

Let's make that happen.