Blackwell high on LB corps

CLEMSON — Linebackers coach David Blackwell likes the makeup of his group. He likes the improvement he's seen over the past several weeks. And he really likes the long-term potential.

Regarding the immediate future — as in, Saturday night against No. 24 Alabama — Blackwell said he has no idea how his guys will respond.

"We can scrimmage all we want," he said. "We can take them in the stadium and do all we want. But until you put 70,000 people in there and you create the atmosphere of game day, you can't simulate it. And how those guys are going to respond under the big lights, we'll see."

"Those guys" have often been cited as the No. 2 weakness of this team behind the offensive line. The top four linebackers are gone from last year, and fourth-year junior Kavell Conner and sophomore Scotty Cooper (four combined career starts) qualify as the veterans.

The starter in the middle is Brandon Maye, a redshirt freshman. His backup is Stanley Hunter, a first-year freshman.

Blackwell is encouraged, though. Conner, who mans the weak side, has quickly established himself as the leader of the group. Blackwell said he's become much more physical and is "knocking people out."

Maye, who's from Mobile, Ala., and grew up an Auburn fan, has improved in pass coverage and in grasp of assignments. Cooper said he'll start at the strong side, and he'll share playing time with fellow sophomore DeAndre McDaniel.

Blackwell said Conner has earned the brunt of the playing time at his position, and there could be more rotation in the middle among Maye, Hunter and senior Josh Miller.

"We still do some weird, stupid things, especially at (middle linebacker)," Blackwell said. "We do some dumb things every once in a while. … They're not going to be perfect. But I think they've prepped hard, and I think in their minds they're ready. I think they have some confidence."

Weather or not

Everything was back to normal at practice Wednesday, when the Tigers didn't have to worry about thunderstorms or tornadoes wrecking their plans.

Coach Tommy Bowden said the weather cost his team almost an hour-and-a-half of practice time combined Monday and Tuesday.

"That's about 12, 14, 16 periods of work that we missed because of the weather," he said. "The biggest thing would be assignments and execution. ... You definitely miss a little bit, but what can you do?"

Tailback Harper still questionable

Tailback Jamie Harper (sprained ankle) participated in practice and wasn't wearing a yellow or green jersey, but he said he's not certain whether he'll play Saturday.

He said he's "pretty sure" he'll dress out for Alabama. He added that he doesn't want to rush it and risk suffering a worse injury that could threaten his season or career.