Clemson Seniors Get Final Curtain Call Against Virginia

Emotions in Clemson will be running high this Saturday when the Virginia Cavaliers come to town. The intensely loyal Clemson fan base has been waiting 18 years for a shot at the ACC title. On Saturday, the Tigers can punch their ticket to their first ever ACC championship game.

In fact, it may have been decades since the Clemson football community was this energized. C.J. Spiller, the pride of the Tigers, has entered the Heisman conversation at the same time as the excitement over new head coach Dabo Swinney and the chance to win an ACC title builds to a boiling point.

Clemson will enter Saturday’s Virginia came with five straight wins, all coming with at least 38 points scored.

Surprisingly, for 15 members of the Tiger football team, all of these story lines will take a back seat to the raw emotion of playing their last home game at Death Valley. These 15 seniors will rub Howard’s rock, run down the hill, and feel the energy of the Tiger fans for the very last time.

Some will go to the NFL, others will not. Many will likely go on to accomplish great things in their lives. One or two may even get a Super Bowl ring one day. Yet each and every one of those 15 men will remember their last game in Memorial Stadium as Tigers for the rest of their lives.

Will Merrit, Clemson color announcer and former offensive lineman, claimed on the broadcast last week that his final game as a senior remains one of the most powerful experiences of his life.

This is not a Clemson class that will go unnoticed by any means. This class includes the likes of Kavell Connor, Chris Chancellor, Crezdon Butler, Thomas Austin, Michael Palmer, Ricky Sapp, Jacoby Ford, and of course, C.J. Spiller.

The senior class of 2010 will be severely missed at Clemson University, on and off the field. These seniors have been the foundation of the Clemson football program and successfully guided the team through a tumultuous coaching change.

This Saturday, 15 Clemson seniors will run down the hill one last time, put the hopes and dreams of the Clemson faithful on their backs, and send the Tigers to their first ever ACC championship game.