The Clemson Dubcast

Cade Klubnik's return to Austin to face former high school rival Quinn Ewers is one of the more compelling stories of the inaugural 12-team playoff. The story has fascinating roots, and with that in mind we revisit two interviews we conducted years ago to learn more about Klubnik's background: -- With Klubnik in December of 2021, days before he was to fly to Clemson to begin life as a Tiger; -- With Klubnik's high school coach, Todd Dodge, in December of 2022 as Klubnik was set to take over as Clemson's starting quarterback. The most remarkable part of Klubnik's journey to Clemson is that he stuck with the Tigers even when they didn't offer him. He had to wait until Ty Simpson decided between Clemson and Alabama before that offer came. And meanwhile, Steve Sarkisian at Texas and Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M had already offered him. Dodge decided to retire after Klubnik led Westlake High School to a third consecutive state title as a senior. After two years out of the game, Dodge returned to the football field last offseason when he took over at Lovejoy High in Lucas, Texas.

B.T. Potter has known current Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser since Hauser was in middle school. Potter, who kicked for the Tigers from 2018 to 2022, was in Bank of America Stadium when Hauser drilled the 56-yard field goal that put Clemson in Austin for Saturday's first-round playoff game against Texas. Potter says Hauser has a confidence that he lacked as a freshman and had to learn over time. What's it like to be on special teams when the rest of the team is grinding away through physically demanding practices? What's it like to get reamed by Dabo Swinney on national television, as Potter did in 2021 after missing two short field goals he should've made in a close game against Florida State? What's it like to get cut from an NFL team and wonder if your football career is done? Potter, who recently signed with the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League, has a lot going on right now including preparing for a wedding. He shares his story here.

Thirteen days ago, Roy Philpott got the assignment of his dreams from ESPN: South Carolina at Clemson, Nov. 30. Philpott, a Clemson graduate who spent many years in the area working in various media capacities covering the Tigers, joins The Dubcast to reflect on a wild afternoon at Death Valley and what it meant for both teams. There were so many twists and turns late in the game that Philpott walked away from the stadium asking himself if he did justice to the game, its stakes, and the extraordinary show put on by Gamecock freshman LaNorris Sellers. Philpott spent quite a lot of time with Dabo Swinney and a few other staff members the day before the game. What were his takeaways? What does he think about Swinney's ability to adapt to a rapidly changing collegiate model enough to get Clemson back to the top of the mountain? Philpott's normally busy schedule is about to get even crazier with the overlap of college football and college basketball. He still lives in the Upstate and has no desire to leave.

A year ago on this podcast, Ellis Johnson correctly foreshadowed a Clemson victory in Columbia because in his mind the Tigers were just better. Now he has no idea how to predict Saturday's Top 15 showdown in Death Valley. "I think it's a dead-even game," he said. Johnson has been on both sides of this rivalry, in the mid-1990s at Clemson under Tommy West and as Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator in Columbia from 2008 to 2011 (and as an analyst under Will Muschamp from 2016-18). Johnson is a closer observer of Clemson now because is son Charlie is a walk-on for the Tigers. Ellis' routine during the season is traveling to Clemson and watching every Tuesday practice. In addition to sizing up this rivalry matchup, Johnson gives his thought on the tumultuous state of college athletics as the model transitions from amateurism to NIL to the full-on revenue sharing to come starting in the summer of 2025. "The NCAA has created a mess," he said. "Letting the top level of college football get too far out of hand is going to seriously damage the overall college football scene. And when that damage happens, it's always the kids that get affected by it."

Scott Hamilton is a media survivor. He prefers to call himself a cockroach. Whatever the name, his current title is sports columnist for The Post and Courier newspaper and he's utterly thrilled to hold this position as the only newspaper sports columnist left in the Palmetto State. "I feel like I'm 28 years old again," he said. "It's so exciting." Hamilton joins the podcast to reflect on a career that has included newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and sales for a minor-league baseball team. And to think: He went to college to become a history teacher. Hamilton shares insight into his daily routine, the state of newspapers, and the current state of college football. And yes, he's totally geeked about this week's South Carolina-Clemson showdown in Death Valley.

In a mere three years, Terrence Oglesby has established himself as a successful college basketball broadcaster and analyst. It's taken lots of hustle and networking, but most of all Oglesby's continued upward trajectory is a tribute to his smooth style and his strong command of the game. Oglesby's duties consist of: Analyst for Charlotte Hornets home games; ESPN; FOX; NBA TV; The Field of 68; and CBS Sports Network. Just this past week he was in Milwaukee broadcasting a game Monday night, and by the next afternoon he was driving from Atlanta to Clemson to work his alma mater's game against Eastern Kentucky. The former sharpshooter for Oliver Purnell spent several years living in Clemson, but last fall he moved his family to Greenville so he could be closer to the airport. Oglesby gives his thoughts on the current state of Clemson basketball under Brad Brownell. He's convinced that Brownell is going to lead the Tigers to sustained prominence as Brownell continues to take advantage of the transfer portal and maintaining the relationships with major donors that are necessary to pay for high-end talent in the NIL era.

Earlier this week, Dabo Swinney wished a happy 80th Birthday to his mother and shared some details of her positively remarkable life story. Five years ago, Tigerillustrated.com sat down with Carol and she told the story in full. A small excerpt: At some point my mother noticed there was something different about how polio had affected me, compared to others. It left me weakened from my waist up and affected my upper body, but not my legs. If polio affected your legs you had no strength or use of them, never growing and never developing any muscles. These people were in big, heavy braces just dragging themselves around. Some were on crutches that held their arms up. At the time I thought: “You know, I’m so thankful.” It was better for your arms to be affected by polio than your legs. I couldn’t raise my arms. I couldn’t use them. I couldn’t use my hands. So at first I was put into body braces that came around my body, under my arms so they could help keep my arms up. And still to this day, you can see the tremors in my hands and the atrophy. That’s what polio did to me. So I wore those braces until they would have to be changed, and then I would get a new brace. And that went on and on and on. My upper body was so weak that I developed a bad case of scoliosis, a severe curving of the spine. Because the polio attacked my muscles, I was temporarily paralyzed. And it was drawing me way over to my left side. My body was curved so badly that had I not had corrective surgery and braces, I would have remained curved over had I lived. That’s when my mother realized something was wrong, really wrong. Even with the braces, she would take the braces off just to bathe me and put them back on. But my body would still flop to the left. So my mom took me back to the Crippled Children’s Clinic and Hospital in Birmingham. My body had to be encased as I continued to grow so it would remain straight until I was old enough to have surgery. I was put in a full body cast and spent 14 months in it. At the time I had long hair; my mother had let it grow out into a long ponytail. And the day they were going to put me in that body cast, they had to cut my ponytail off and basically shave my head. I was almost 9 years old, and I thought that was the most terrifying thing for them to do. My mom wasn’t there; they wouldn’t allow her to be there with me. She did ask them to save my ponytail. So they did, and they put it into a plastic bag and they gave it to her and she kept it for years. Today we present the audio from that 2019 conversation with Carol. And we join her son in wishing her a happy 80th birthday.

On May 3, WYFF News 4 Sports Director Marc Whiteman shared this on social media: Been pretty low key on social media and at work lately, and I’m ready to share some news. Liam Finn Whiteman was born at just 28 weeks old last weekend at 3 lbs and 12 ounces. Earlier in the week, Mary and I were rushed to the hospital under the threat of preterm labor, and a little less than 72 hours later, Liam was here. We didn’t have his name picked out. We thought we had more time. But as it became apparent that he was coming, sooner than expected, we realized it was always Liam. In Irish, Liam points to a “strong-willed warrior.” In Hebrew, a “determined guardian.” We knew whatever was coming, he’d need to be both of those things. He is already so much more. We’re anxious to get our little guy home from the NICU, and are so confident in the incredible team of doctors, nurses and caregivers at Prisma looking after him. Progress isn’t always linear, but we’re incredibly encouraged by his growth so far. He’s a tough little nugget. Mary and I already love him so much more than we could even fathom, and are so eager to watch him get a little bit bigger, stronger and healthier each and every day. We’re so thankful for the village we have around us. Our family, friends and incredible co-workers have picked us up and looked after us as we grapple with each day. They’ve dropped what they were doing, rearranged their lives, and come to our side. We’re looking forward to repaying that kindness in the future, and showering our baby boy with all the love in the universe when he comes home. After 67 days in the hospital, Liam finally came home in late summer. He is now more than sixth months old. Marc joins the podcast to share their story.

In 2006, Patricia Watkins thought her son was going to play college football for the Florida Gators. She had never even heard of Clemson when CJ Spiller traveled for a visit there that changed his life, and their lives. Last week, Watkins was a part of Spiller's entourage on the field at Death Valley when he was inducted into Clemson's Ring of Honor. It brought tears to her eyes because the first thing she thought of was when CJ tried to join a youth football team as a 6-year-old and was told he was too young (he spent that season as the water boy instead). CJ bawled his eyes out that day when told he couldn't play. He was crying again last Saturday, but they were tears of joy and gratitude. Watkins joins The Dubcast to reflect on the journey since Spiller's recruitment when she first heard the name Dabo Swinney. Swinney, then the receivers coach, was the key figure in convincing Spiller that Clemson was the place for him. And then a year later, Swinney was again the catalyst in convincing Spiller to remain at Clemson after he'd made up his mind he was going back home and transferring to Florida to join Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. The mother of the most important recruit in Clemson football history opens up about her story, and their story.

David Hale of ESPN has a fascinating, tumultuous relationship with Dabo Swinney dating back nine years when Swinney's nuclear response to a Hale question about "Clemsoning" went viral. Hale joins the podcast to share what that relationship has been like in recent years as he communicates with Swinney both in press conferences and in more informal settings. In a transformative time for college athletics, Hale has visited with numerous athletics directors to try to get a sense of how they might adjust to the advent of revenue sharing with athletes. Is it naive to think a more regulated, policed NIL is actually going to work? And what of the ACC as its profile falls even further behind in the shadow of an expanded SEC and Big Ten? What's the best move for Clemson and Florida State? Stay in the ACC in exchange for more money and a reduced Grant of Rights agreement? Or continue fighting like hell to get out because they can't afford falling into obscurity over the next 5-6 seasons? Lots of questions and few concrete answers. But Hale possesses a smarter and more informed grasp of the big picture than most anyone out there.

Mickey Plyler, a Clemson-area sports-radio institution, rejoins The Dubcast to talk football ... and the current political-football fiasco taking place in Clemson. Plyler turns the tables on the interview and asks his own questions about: -- Seneca Journal publisher Jerry Edwards using shady tactics to try to influence the Clemson mayoral and city-council elections; -- The publisher joining forces with a current Clemson mayoral candidate (and sitting council member) to fabricate a gender war between the men and women on Clemson's city council, in addition to alleging that the mayor and other council members pocketed money from developers; -- The idea that growth has been bad for Clemson, and criticisms that said growth has turned Clemson "into another Atlanta, Chicago or Detroit" as some in the anti-development faction have alleged. In the second half of the interview, we try to wrap our arms around how quickly the perception of Clemson football changed over the past two games after a debilitating loss at Georgia was (incorrectly) said to inflict long-range repercussions. Plyler also shares some deeply personal and meaningful revelations he experienced recently when he observed his 5-year-old son experiencing the wonder of a Clemson game at Death Valley.

Earlier this summer we sat down with Brad Brownell for an interview that lasted more than two hours. The full Q&A was published at Tigerillustrated.com in June. Last week was Part 1, and now we present Part 2 of a conversation that touched on a number of topics including Clemson's stirring run to the Elite Eight in last season's NCAA Tournament.

Earlier this summer we sat down with Brad Brownell for an interview that lasted more than two hours. The full Q&A was published at Tigerillustrated.com in June. We now present the full audio of that conversation that touched on a number of topics including Clemson's stirring run to the Elite Eight in last season's NCAA Tournament. Part 2 of the interview will be published next week.

Three years ago, Jon Blau left Bloomington, Ind., and found himself in a strange new world of big-time college football after he took over as the Clemson beat writer for The Post and Courier of Charleston. Jon has fashioned a reputation as an excellent storyteller during his stint, uncovering angles and depth that others don't see. He joins the podcast to reflect on his job and how he does it, including the balance between spending too much and too little time on social media. With Clemson opening the 2024 season against Georgia, Jon says this game and this season is a critical juncture for Dabo Swinney's program as it tries to get back to breathing elite air after a three-year absence.

Brad Scott has retired from football and is now back in Clemson enjoying the grandad and golf life. Jeff Scott is fully immersed in his custom homebuilding business and out of football for a second consecutive season. In other words, father and son have time to sit back and tell stories from their decades in college football that included epic runs at Clemson and Florida State. Brad remembers going out to dinner with Dabo Swinney in Clemson when Swinney was interviewing with Tommy Bowden for a job coaching receivers in the spring of 2003. When Swinney landed a blockbuster recruiting class in 2011 after a 6-7 season, Brad was the major figure in the signings of Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant and Mike Bellamy. He remembers the NCAA coming to campus to ask him questions after people wondered how Clemson could sign so many high-profile players after a disappointing season. Brad also shares a story from 1986 when he was on Bobby Bowden's staff at FSU and Bowden called. "Brad, I'm going to Alabama and taking you with me," Bobby told him over the phone. Bowden ended up backing out of the job after accepting it. Jeff shares a recollection from 1998, three days after South Carolina fired his father as head coach. Tommy Bowden had taken over at Clemson and offered Brad a spot as tight ends coach. Brad took the job, and soon thereafter Jeff was wearing a Clemson cap when he ran into former Gamecock quarterback Steve Taneyhill. Taneyhill thought Jeff was just bitter and wearing the hat out of spite. "Steve," Jeff told him. "We're really going to Clemson. My dad just got a job coaching tight ends."

Under Gary Stokan's leadership and vision, Peach Bowl Inc. events have generated an economic impact of $1.27 billion and $76.74 million in direct government tax revenue for the city of Atlanta and state of Georgia since 199. Stokan was also a key driver of relocating the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta. Once upon a time in the early 1980s, Stokan was a late-20s sneaker rep for Adidas and thought he had Michael Jordan locked up for a shoe deal. Nike swooshed in and gave MJ a deal he couldn't refuse, and Stokan still views it as the biggest disappointment of his business career even though he managed to lock up Herschel Walker and Mike Krzyzewski during the same time period. Stokan joins the podcast to discuss the upcoming matchup between Clemson and Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Sixteen years ago, Clemson played in the inaugural game when it faced second-year Alabama coach Nick Saban. Stokan says both the Bulldogs and Tigers have sold out their ticket allotments, and he anticipates a crowd split of close to 50/50 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 31. We also share Cade Klubnik's Aug. 12 press conference where he shared his insight into the progress shown by Clemson's offense thus far during camp.

With Kirby Smart and his program facing repeated off-field-incidents, the latest the arrest of receiver RaRa Thomas and his subsequent dismissal from the team, what's the common view of Smart and his culture from typical Georgia fans? Is it fair to say he and his program have a character problem? What of Dabo Swinney, and the view of him from Bulldogs people? Is there a belief in Athens that Clemson is a legitimate threat to beat Georgia in the Aug. 31 opener? Young, who has three different jobs -- one at the UGA Rivals site, the other teaching at UGA's college of journalism, and the other in public relations -- is well positioned to give an answer to those questions and many others. Young is also a weekly guest on Mickey Plyler's morning radio show at WCCP-FM.

In our final installment of the full, uncut media sit-downs recently conducted by Clemson's assistant football coaches, we present Kyle Richardson and Mickey Conn. Richardson is in his third season coaching the Tigers' tight ends, and he has a potential star in Jake Briningstool. Conn, who is in his eighth year coaching safeties while also holding the co-defensive coordinator title for a third season, reflects on the depth he has on the back end with RJ Mickens, Khalil Barnes and Tyler Venables ahead of a cluster of young players who should push for playing time. The Tigers began August camp Thursday. They open the 2024 season Aug. 31 against Georgia in Atlanta.

We continue with the uncut audio from the recent sit-downs with Clemson's football assistants. Tyler Grisham prepares for his fifth season in charge of Clemson's receivers after taking over for Jeff Scott in 2020. He sees big things out of this group if the receivers can stay healthy, something that's been a major obstacle in recent years. Mike Reed discusses replacing Nate Wiggins after a spectacular 2023 season from the cornerback. Avieon Terrell is expected to be an elite presence sooner rather than later as he enters his sophomore season. Jeadyn Lukus and Shelton Lewis could be in a fierce competition for the starting spot on the other side. And newcomers Tavoy Feagin and Corian Gipson are considered fast risers also. Reed has been at Clemson for 11 seasons. This past offseason he was in the mix to become head coach at his alma mater, Boston College, but the Eagles ended up hiring Bill O'Brien from Ohio State. Clemson begins August camp Thursday and opens the season Aug. 31 against Georgia in Atlanta.

We continue presenting the full, uncut audio from the recent interviews conducted of Clemson's assistant football coaches. Today C.J. Spiller reflects on his upcoming induction into Clemson's prestigious Ring of Honor, and also his assessment of the Tigers' situation at running back behind starter Phil Mafah. Nick Eason, back for his third season as defensive tackles coach, holds court and shares his thoughts on what should be a highly disruptive interior. He also gives his opinions on the current state of college football with the transfer portal and NIL. Clemson begins August camp a week from today. The Tigers open the season Aug. 31 against Georgia in Atlanta.