Clemson's Dabo Swinney and a New Recruit Prove It's Not All About Wins

Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fl.)—Jake Nicolopus just signed a letter of intent with Clemson during all this recruiting chaos, and yet you might have never heard his name. He will never play a down at Clemson, and he'll never make a tackle, but he will make an impact at Clemson.

Jake, you see, is just lucky to be alive. He was preparing to come to Clemson and make his big 220 pound, 6'2" frame into a linebacker force to be reckoned with, when just a few months ago in December, he suffered a major stroke.

Dabo Swinney and Brad Scott, an assistant who recruited Jake, visited Nicolopulos soon after the stroke when the teenager could not speak and only had control of the left side of his body. They presented him with a No. 9 Clemson jersey with his name on the back, Scott said.

"He clutched that thing and pulled it right up to his face with his good hand," Scott said. "I'll never, ever forget that."

This stroke was a massive one. It left this athlete of superior physique unable to speak, walk, or even hold a pen to sign his name. However, after two months of surgery, therapy, and a lot of determination, he finally held a pen and signed his national letter of intent as he promised he would in order to fulfill a lifelong dream.

In one of the classiest moves of the entire recruiting year, Dabo Swinney, head coach of Clemson, said they would honor that commitment and would welcome Jake to the school and team when he was ready.

Speaking about the gesture made by Clemson and Coach Swinney, Jake's father Craig Nicolopulos said, "It was a glorious day for Jake and us."

This is a young coach entering his second full season, yet this was a decision born of a man with many more years of wisdom than he has lived.

"He'll be a part of this family," said Swinney, who realizes that that he is captain of a team that needs an identity, so perhaps Clemson needs Jake as much Jake needs them.

"This realized a dream for him that he achieved, that he earned," Swinney said. "God had a little bit of a different plan for him. But I don't have doubt at all Jake Nicolopulos will make an impact at Clemson."

And you can bet he will.

Ahead of Nicolopulos lies many more weeks and months of therapy so that he can begin doing such basic things as talking, walking, and muscular motor control, but Nick never quit on the field, and he won't quit now.

And when he's ready, Clemson will be waiting for him, and so will one of the classiest coaches in America, Dabo Swinney.