Feel in need of a college football quarterback story that doesn’t involve sketchy autograph sessions, controversial Tweets or other such staples from the entitlement playbook?
A little Dabo will do ya’.
When asked about the leadership tendencies of his quarterback, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney didn’t lead with Tajh Boyd’s presence in the huddle, his big arm, his quick feet or even that game-winning drive against LSU in the Georgia Dome on New Year’s Eve. Rather, he told a completely off-the-field story about dirty floors and a clean conscience.
“We went to the movies the other day and one of our big deals is: Listen, nobody cleans up after Clemson. Clean up your own trash,” Swinney said.
“You look up. Everybody else has left the movie theater. And there’s Tajh walking around picking up the trash that some of the guys left.
“That’s the kind of leader he is. He makes everyone around him — coaches, players, everybody — better.”
Boyd will fight the urge to sweep up the Memorial Stadium stands after Saturday night’s great big game against Georgia. His responsibilities begin and end at leading the eighth-ranked Tigers against the Bulldogs’ remodeled defense.
It is going to be a tumultuous setting for an August football game — “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fan base or a group of students more excited about a game,” Boyd, a wizened senior, said last week. And the quarterback is a big reason for the hubbub.
After guiding Clemson to its most victories (11) since the 1981 national championship season, Boyd returned with the idea that his senior season could be even better. Throwing for 36 touchdowns and nearly 3,900 yards last season and passing for 346 yards in the Chick-fil-A Bowl comeback against LSU, he found himself elevated to the title of Heisman Trophy hopeful.
His performance against LSU the last time he played a game that counted was a real perception changer. In that one, he looked nothing like the player who South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney labeled “scared.” And much more like the one described by Clemson guard Tyler Shatley: “Anytime something goes wrong, he’s in the huddle talking to us about it, calming everyone down, controlling the emotional status of the offense, focusing on the next play, not dwelling on the past.”
His coach has grand plans for Boyd’s Clemson farewell tour. When the quarterback announced he would play his senior season rather than cast his lot to the NFL, Swinney didn’t feel the need to call.
“I just sent him a text message that said, hey, Rodney Williams is the all-time winning QB here. He’s got 32 wins. You got 21. I’ll let you do the math. See you tomorrow.”
By the way, should Boyd win the Heisman, it is a safe bet that he will wear the honor with more decorum than his predecessor.
This is what he told Sporting News recently when the talk turned to Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel: “I think Johnny’s a good guy, he just has to understand the position he’s in. It’s a privilege to play this game. I don’t want to waste a day; I don’t want to complain. There’s nothing to complain about. A lot of us live in the moment, but those moments have actions that will impact your future.”
Boyd gets only partial credit for character. The ultimate measure of his Heisman worthiness will lie in the hard, objective standards of victories and yardage. This is where the Tigers, beginning Saturday evening against the Bulldogs, figure they may really help his case. For as prolific as the Clemson offense was a year ago — it set 101 individual and team records — it returns seven starters who honestly believe they should get significantly better.
Sammy Watkins was an All-American-level receiver as a freshman who took a step back a year ago, but has never lacked for confidence. He was the player who earlier this year proclaimed Clemson should “beat the mess” out of Georgia.
“We can get a lot better just by playing fast on the field,” Watkins said, “running plays faster, being more physical at the line, wide receivers running better routes, being smarter all around.”
“Cut down our turnovers. Cut down our sacks. Cut down our three-and-outs,” Swinney said. “There is a lot of room for improvement.
“Tajh had some interceptions that shouldn’t have happened if he just stayed within the system. He took eight sacks himself. And that’s just one position.”
There is a sense of mission shared by the quarterback and the coach. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship born together at the close of the 2008 season. Swinney was rushed to his first head coaching position after Tommy Bowden’s resignation. Boyd had been given the stiff-arm by incoming Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who had no interest in this Phillip Fulmer recruit.
When Tennessee didn’t send an assistant to Virginia to watch Boyd play in the state championship game, it was a sign to begin shopping around. The new coach and the displaced quarterback found they needed each other.
“He’s my first quarterback signee,” Swinney said. “He took a huge leap of faith to come here. I mean a huge leap of faith.”
Swinney remembered sitting at the kitchen table at Boyd’s Hampton Roads home in Virginia, hatching grand plans.
“It is going to be a journey, but when all is said and done we are going to change Clemson,” he told Boyd.
“I can build this thing around you,” he promised.
What was spoken at that table has been realized; it has come together just as planned, Swinney said.
Oh, one more thing, the coach added. “He’s not done yet.”
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