Saturday was a special and memorable day for both Dabo Swinney and his oldest son, Clemson fifth-year senior wide receiver Will Swinney.
Not only was it Senior Day at Death Valley – marking Will’s last time rubbing Howard’s Rock and running down the hill – but with Clemson’s receiving corps depleted by injuries, Will also got his first career start in his final game wearing the Paw in front of the home crowd.
After the Tigers lit up the scoreboard in a 48-27 win over No. 10 Wake Forest, Dabo joked in his postgame press conference that his wife, Kathleen, wondered what took him so long to let Will start.
“We started true freshman (receiver Beaux Collins), true freshman (receiver Dacari Collins), and fifth-year walk-on Swinney,” Dabo said. “His momma told me that we now are averaging 48 points a game when Swinney starts at receiver, so don’t know what took us so long.”
In addition to serving as Clemson’s holder for a 67th consecutive game, Will became the first son of a Clemson coach to start a game on offense or defense since 1963, when halfback Jimmy Howard started for head coach Frank Howard.
Dabo was emotional as he spoke about Will and watching him grow up during Dabo’s 19 years as a Clemson coach.
“He’s literally gone from a little big boy to a grown man on that field,” Swinney said. “19 years, he’s never missed a Clemson home game. 19 years straight. I haven’t either. So, it’s been an amazing journey. It’s really hard to understand, enjoy being a parent until you are one. And then they grow so fast. He’s grown up in this town. There’s nobody who loves Clemson more than Will. Unbelievably committed. Just a grinder, and it’s just crazy how it worked out. He did a good job, man. He was ready and took advantage of his opportunities. He’s done an unbelievable job in his role since he got here.
“But yeah, it was a very special moment. It was a special moment last night in our meeting last night for everyone. But I’m really proud of him.”
Will, a former walk-on who scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 6-yard fake field goal in last week’s win over UConn, is part of the Tigers’ senior class that improved to 26-0 at home from 2018-21 and became the second Clemson senior class in the modern era (and in Death Valley history) to go undefeated at home in a four-year span, joining the 2020 seniors.
“I’m proud of him, and it was a special day to be able to have that moment with him,” Swinney said. “19 years, home games – he’s lived and died with every single one of them. It was good to see him walk off that field undefeated in his career here.”
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