Tigers seniors hungry for elusive ACC success

CLEMSON — Last Friday night, an unnamed Clemson senior stood up at the Tigers’ team meeting, hours before a crucial game at N.C. State.

According to senior left guard Thomas Austin, that veteran had a point to make. Clemson was so close to something special — an ACC Atlantic Division title — and the old-timer wanted to make sure his teammates understood what it mean.

“He said to the younger guys, ‘You don’t appreciate it as much as the older guys,’ ” Austin related. “To be so close for so many years and finally be in position to win this game — you do appreciate it more now that you’ve been in it.”

In other words, the peaks are better illuminated by the valleys. Saturday, No. 18 Clemson (7-3, 5-2 ACC) can reach a peak; with a win over Virginia (3-7, 1-5) or a Boston College loss to North Carolina, the Tigers can clinch their first division title and first trip to the ACC title game, where a rematch with Georgia Tech would await.

Considering Saturday is Senior Day, it seems a fitting reward for a class which has endured what has been, at times, a turbulent Clemson career.

“It definitely is pretty cool,” senior wideout Jacoby Ford said. “This is a class that has been through some tough losses, right here. Now we feel like we can do it, get over the hump, go out and execute and bring it back to Clemson the way it needs to be. It’s going to be a great opportunity.”

The Class of 2009 always had talent. There was no question about that. It was recently rated as the ACC’s top 2006 class when the ACC Sports Journal re-ranked the classes on basis of actual success.

But a series of difficult defeats kept them from achieving the success all Clemson classes are judged by — championships. Entering Saturday, they are 31-15 overall, 19-12 in ACC play. However, they’ve finished tied for second in the Atlantic twice and tied for third once in their three years.

In 2006, a 34-33 double-overtime defeat at Boston College and a 13-12 last-play loss to Maryland sealed their ACC fate.

A year later, they needed only to beat the Eagles at home in the regular season finale to ensure an ACC title game berth. They led 17-13 in the fourth quarter before BC quarterback Matt Ryan, now an NFL star with the Atlanta Falcons, rolled right and uncorked a 46-yard touchdown pass to Rich Gunnell, stealing a 20-17 stunner.

“That’s something I’ll never forget,” Ford said. “We had that game won and Matt Ryan rolls back and makes a great play. I’m sitting on the sideline, like, ‘Man.’ I really just couldn’t believe it. We were so close.”

A year later, an embarrassing 3-3 start following Tommy Bowden’s contract extension forced Bowden’s resignation, and Swinney took over in mid-October.

The Class of 2009 joined with last fall’s seniors in guiding Clemson to a 4-1 record down the stretch, clinching a Gator Bowl bid and elevating Swinney from interim to full-time head coach.

“They’re a special group of guys,” Swinney said. “To deal with what they’ve dealt with, overcome and then jump all-in in a difficult situation, as bad as it gets, to win four of five and go to a bowl game, I’m going to miss them.”

Swinney has felt these seniors have been special for some time. He lauded the 2008’s efforts, but there is a sense the efforts of 2009 have taken it a step further.

“They came together in January,” he said. “They’ve been together. They’re not any different now than they were against Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee or TCU. They’ve been solid as a rock since day one. They haven’t wavered one bit.

“That’s why I knew during the Georgia Tech game, at halftime, this team had a chance to be special. I could see it in how they dealt with one another, how they handled the (30-27) loss in the locker room and the way they went back to work.”

Such success is grounded in the work that Austin, tight end Michael Palmer and others did last summer in sweltering heat and the unrelenting glare of strength and conditioning coach Joey Batson. They were determined to change the program’s culture with hard work, and so far, it has paid huge dividends.

“We really tried to bond a lot together and bring ourselves close,” Palmer said. “It’s a really special feeling to be able to look around the locker room, talk to all these guys and joke with them. This is the closest team I’ve had my four years.”

Considering all they’ve been through, a trip to the ACC Atlantic mountaintop Saturday would be truly special to them, too.

“Sometimes you’ve got to go through the valleys to get to the mountaintop and we’ve definitely done it,” Palmer said. “Now we’re climbing up, and to really be able to appreciate where we are, we had to have those close losses. It does make it more special for me and these other seniors.”

© 2009 Anderson Independent Mail. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.