The trash talk has already started for Baylon Spector, though Clemson’s senior linebacker wouldn’t exactly classify it as that.
Like many players on the Tigers’ roster, Spector hails from Georgia. In less than a month, Clemson will begin its season against the SEC school from Spector’s home state in what will almost certainly be a top-5 matchup in Week 1.
Spector, who’s from Calhoun, Georgia, has a lot of friends who attend Georgia. He has family members who root for Georgia. Even one of his cousins, he said, played for the Bulldogs.
Spector said Clemson’s Sept. 4 opener against Georgia is a topic of conversation between family and friends “here and there,” and one could only imagine what that banter has been like. Spector preferred to describe it as good-natured ribbing.
“It’s exciting. A jab here. A jab there. It is what it is,” Spector said. “Just between me and my buddies. Nothing personal. Just having fun with it.”
But Clemson is all business when it comes to what it’s trying to get done on the field against the Bulldogs, who have finished in the top 7 of the Associated Press Top 25 each of the last four seasons.
In a season full of them, players and coaches have reiterated that their initial goal is to win the opener. Being able to do that against a Georgia team that’s once again expected to compete for the SEC crown would be a gold star on Clemson’s College Football Playoff resume.
Spector and the rest of the Tigers’ defense also want to rinse the sour taste out of their collective mouth from a poor Sugar Bowl performance their last time out. Clemson yielded more than 600 yards in that CFP semifinal loss to Ohio State.
But Spector, a second-team all-ACC performer last season, is back at weakside linebacker for a Tiger defense that returns all 11 starters from last season and has its share of depth behind them, particularly along the defensive line. Spector said that’s helped the unit’s belief in what it’s doing ahead of an important game right off the bat.
“We’re excited,” Spector said. “We know they’re a tough opponent. They’re going to be great. They’re going to be ready, but it gives us confidence and it gives us knowledge. Dudes are coming back hungry.”
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