Korn finally on Clemson's campus

CLEMSON, S.C. - Willy Korn is finally on campus, the fans&#39; long-awaited answer at quarterback ready to bring his highly regarded talent to Clemson&#39;s depth-chart.<br> <br> How has Korn fit in so far? Has he worked with his new teammates? Or watched film of coordinator Rob Spence&#39;s attack?<br> <br> Not so fast. ``I asked him if he&#39;d found his books yet and got to class on time,&#39;&#39; Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said.<br> <br> The football questions about Korn, the Byrnes High star who enrolled for Clemson&#39;s spring semester this week, will come soon enough. They usually do with the hype and anticipation that&#39;s surrounded Korn the past few seasons.<br> <br> Bowden says he&#39;ll do what he can to slow things down and let Korn get his footing. ``We&#39;re not going in with preconceived expectations,&#39;&#39; Bowden said. ``He&#39;s going to have enough pressure on him, a local guy, a highly recruited guy. This will be a very exciting spring for him and for the rest of our team.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Korn was among five early enrollees, along with receiver Xavier Dye, tight end Brian Linthicum, defensive back D&#39;Andre McDaniel and offensive lineman Landon Walker, who will take part in spring practice when it starts in March.<br> <br> Most Clemson fans will focus on Korn, who committed to the program about 18 months ago and is looked at by some supporters as bringing star quality to the quarterback spot like Woody Dantzler and Charlie Whitehurst.<br> <br> But Korn starts fourth on the depth chart behind redshirt juniors to be Cullen Harber, Tribble Reese and Michael Wade, a redshirt freshman.<br> <br> Korn&#39;s attributes are well known. The 6-foot-2 quarterback was part of Byrnes&#39; run to four straight state championships, finishing his career with 10,716 yards and 125 TD passes.<br> <br> The system used by Byrnes coach Bobby Bentley puts a lot of decision-making skills on the quarterback, similar to Spence&#39;s schemes at Clemson.<br> <br> ``That background is going to help,&#39;&#39; Bowden said.<br> <br> Still, Korn will face ``stiff competition from the guys we have here,&#39;&#39; Bowden says. ``The competition will be fierce, which is good.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Bowden was asked if he loaded down Korn with the Tigers playbook. ``Did that about a year and a half ago,&#39;&#39; he quipped. ``No, that would be illegal.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The reality is it won&#39;t take long for Korn to get into the daily routine of film study and scheme review.<br> <br> How quickly Korn picks it up will determine how quickly he gets on the field as a starter or as part of a two-man rotation.<br> <br> Bowden&#39;s had those options before, using both Dantzler and Brandon Streeter under center, or Dantzler and Willie Simmons. ``You&#39;d like to have one guy&#39;&#39; as starting quarterback, Bowden said, but ``if you don&#39;t I wouldn&#39;t feel uncomfortable with it.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Clemson might have benefited from a rotation this year. Fifth-year senior Will Proctor, despite making only one career start, was the most experienced passer and took the majority of snaps this season. However, the Tigers passing game came under sharp criticism the last half of the season when opposing defenses crowded the front line to stop Clemson&#39;s strong running attack.<br> <br> Harper and Reese combined for only 23 pass attempts this past fall, prompting some to wonder about their ability and effectiveness.<br> <br> Bowden says his three quarterback returning all made progress throughout the season, even if they didn&#39;t get to show it on the field.<br> <br> No matter who takes the first snap next season, Bowden knows Clemson will have similar questions about that QB&#39;s lack of playing time as with Proctor this season. ``You can never duplicate experience,&#39;&#39; the coach said.<br> <br> You can certainly give those in contention as much practice as possible and that&#39;s what Korn and the others will get the next eight months.<br> <br> Korn&#39;s excelled in difficult situations before and has shown attributes like character and maturity that will help him this time, too, Bowden says.<br> <br> ``Sometimes a quarterback will come in with a little bit of baggage,&#39;&#39; Bowden says. ``He doesn&#39;t have any additional baggage.&#39;&#39;<br> Tiger Bites: Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said that freshman Ray Ray McElrathbey, switched from defense to offense late in the season, was listed third on the depth chart at running back behind co-starters James Davis and C.J. Spiller. Bowden said McElrathbey showed some success at the position during bowl workouts last month. McElrathbey gained attention this past season for gaining custody of his 12-year-old brother, Fahmarr, because of their mother&#39;s continuing drug problems. The two brothers share an apartment off campus.