Happy New Year, everyone! We just wrapped up with our Clemson Media Day interviews. The players seemed relaxed and confident, as you'd expect with this being the second or third National Championship Game for several of them. Trevor was the same as he's been all year--nothing phases that guy! I thought it was interesting that both Hunter and Clelin said that the loss last year sticks out in their minds more than the win two years ago. They both said that it's fresher in their minds and they don't want to go out that way again. Ferrell said it has less to do with losing to Alabama last year and more to do with the way they played. Hunter said it will be easy for him to push aside the emotions of playing in his last game as a Tiger and that once the whistle blows all of that goes away. He said he allowed the emotions to get to him a little bit on Senior Night against Duke, and that was the game he left early with a concussion.
Many of the players have never been to California, as you'd expect, but there will not be much sight seeing on this trip. They are all looking at this like a business trip and will be singularly focused on bringing a third National Championship Trophy home to Clemson. Ironically, a few of the players I spoke to today have been to California before. Trevor Lawrence has been out there a couple of times for quarterback camps. In fact, he briefly met Tua at one of the camps he attended over the summer. Amari Rodgers has also been there because his dad, Tee Martin, was Offensive Coordinator at USC up until the end of this season. Incidentally, Amari told me his dad was able to make the trip to the Cotton Bowl and will also be in Santa Clara for the big game. Tee Martin, of course, was the starting quarterback on Tennessee's 1998 National Championship team, and Amari has been chasing the dream of winning a title himself. I could tell it means a lot to him that his dad was at the Cotton Bowl and will be able to attend the Championship Game as well. Martin was let go by Clay Helton at the end of the season, so he has more free time at this time of year than he has had for several years. Garrett Williams has also been to California before, telling me he made a trip to Stanford, which isn't too far from Santa Clara, when he was younger. I asked Garrett Williams if he has made a decision about next year yet. As I reported a while back, Dabo told us that the tight end is considering foregoing his final year of eligibility to join the military. Garrett told me he has not made a decision yet and will think about it after the game.
I'll have interviews with Trevor, Travis, Hunter, Christian, Clelin, Tee and several more posted shortly!
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