On a day that could’ve been damaging on four different fronts, Clemson managed to salvage a win in the early-entry process.
On his personal Twitter account Wednesday, Wayne Gallman confirmed that he will be returning to the Tigers for at least one more season. Gallman is a redshirt sophomore with two years of eligibility remaining, although one would suspect that, with another season like the last, he’ll be off to the 2017 NFL draft.
In Clemson’s run to an ACC title and national championship game appearance, Gallman led the team with 1,527 yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns. The running back is also an asset out of the backfield as he averaged 10.1 yards on his 21 receptions.
Gallman, though, was held to 45 yards on four carries in the loss to Alabama, although he did manage 61 yards on three receptions.
One more year won't be so bad.. #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/WSHDzU7Kkk
— Wayne Gallman II (@waynegallman) January 13, 2016
That was the lone early-entry good news on the day for the Tigers as Mackensie Alexander confirmed, also via Twitter, that he will be foregoing his remaining eligibility for early entry into the NFL draft. Alexander is considered one of the top cover corners in the nation, and is projected by some draftniks to be a first-round selection this April.
Alexander overcame a hamstring issue to start the championship game -- and fulfill the highly-anticipated individual matchup with talented Tide true freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley -- but tweaked his other hamstring midway through the second quarter and didn’t return.
https://twitter.com/MackAlexander02
Alexander was the second Tiger to declare early today, joining teammate and defensive lineman Kevin Dodd. He wasn’t the last as fellow defensive back Jayron Kearse has reportedly signed with an agent, precluding the junior’s return to college football for the 2016 season.
All told, Clemson has already lost six starting defensive players to early entry into the NFL draft.
