Thursday May 15, 2008

Big Week For Hall of Famers at Clemson

Big Week For Hall of Famers at Clemson
On Friday we learned of the new class to be inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame and Monday two Clemson athletes will be recognized at the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Banquet at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
The newest class of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame will add eight new members the weekend Clemson plays N.C. State in September. So 10 former Clemson athletes or coaches are in the news but I wanted to share some thoughts on four of the honorees and my memories of each.

First is Cliff Hammonds who is the only of the six who is not getting inducted but will receive a tremendous honor. He will be honored as the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame's Athlete of the Year.

I don't have to remind the loyal readers of this blog of all of the attributes I admire about Hammonds and I don't have enough space here on this blog even if I wanted to. I will say I salute the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame for making a tremendous selection and for also sending the right message to the young people of this state by honoring this role model.

The official release reminded us he was a three-time Academic All-ACC performer and finalist for the Chip Hilton Basketball Hall of Fame Award for excellence on the court and for high character and he broke four Tigers' career records this season. He set marks for more games played (134), games started (133), consecutive starts (130) and minutes played (4,285). There is no official count of hearts he won over in Tigertown over the last four years but add mine to that list.

If you want a feeling of what kind of person Cliff Hammonds really is then go ask his coaches at Clemson and go ask the architecture students at Clemson. I have asked both and never get tired of hearing such positive stories. Congrats Cliff!

At the ceremony in Columbia character will be on display at the highest form as Levon Kirkland will be inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. He came to Clemson as an undersized linebacker who was not highly recruited but left with tons of honors and more respect.

The official release reminds us, 'Kirkland made first-team All-American (by Sporting News, Kodak-AFCA, Scripps-Howard and Walter Camp) and second team by UPI and Football News. As a junior in 1990, he made second team All-America by AP and UPI, and a Butkus Award finalist. When he left Clemson, Kirkland ranked No. 6 in career sacks with 19 and No. 8 in career tackles for losses with 40, and tied for No. 2 in fumble recoveries with seven. He stood out in Clemson's No. 1-ranked rushing defense in 1991 and No. 1 ranked total defense in 1990. He earned MVP honors in the Mazda Gator Bowl with nine tackles, a sack and three QB pressures. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as a No. 2 pick in 1992 and made All-Pro in 1996 and 1997 and became the NFL's highest paid linebacker in 1990. In Super Bowl XXX, he recorded 10 tackles and a sack. He played with the Eagles in 2002. Jerome Bettis called Kirkland 'the toughest linebacker I've ever gone against.' He made Clemson's All-Centennial team in 1996 and ranked No. 8 on the list of all-time Clemson players in 1999 as selected by a panel of historians. Clemson inducted Kirkland into it Hall of Fame in 2001. He returned to Clemson in 2004 to earn his degree, and now works in the school's admission office in the recruitment of minority students.'

I remember Kirkland as a stand up guy that could be counted on by his teammates. Some called him 'Captain Kirk' back then. He had a tremendous first step and was explosive coming off of the edge. In the Gator Bowl performance Kirkland made Heisman candidate Major Harris look more like a private.

Kirkland was Mr. Intangible. Heart, guts and determination personified his daily efforts. His linebacker coach at Clemson, Tommy West, told me one time, 'I knew Levon was going to be a great one very early in his career. It was a hot August day in his red-shirt year where players were dropping like flies but Levon kept coming. He was a warrior.'

Few athletes at Clemson had the respect of their teammates like Kirkland.

Anthony Simmons and Willie Underwood will go into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in September.

I remember the first time I saw Anthony Simmons on the football field. He was then and still is today the most dominant linebacker I have ever seen in person. Simmons ran like a defensive back and made plays sideline to sideline. Simmons also had incredible instincts as few found the football like Simmons. If you held him under 20 tackles then you could have considered it an accomplishment.

I saw him dominate at Spartanburg High School and remember the state championship game at Death Valley against arch-rival Dorman. Clemson play-by-play voice Pete Yanity tells the story that Dorman coach Dave Gutshall told his offensive linemen to just tackle Simmons in the second half. He said they could not block him and he was making every tackle so they would take the risk of getting a penalty.

At Clemson Simmons made his presence felt right away. Tommy West told me Simmons was the best player on the field the very first day he stepped on campus. He only played three seasons before going pro but became just the second ACC player in history to be named an AP All-American in three different seasons.

Simmons' resume is as impressive as any Tiger who ever played at Clemson. He finished second in school history in tackles despite leaving for the NFL after his junior season. Simmons led the ACC in tackles in 1996 and 1997. He was the Tigers' top tackler in 28 of his 36 games at Clemson. In his last 17 games he had a tackle for loss. Twice Simmons received the Banks McFadden Award as the top college player in South Carolina. He was the ACC's Rookie of the Year and UPI's National Freshman of the Year in 1995.

Willie Underwood made two plays in his final game that might have changed Clemson football forever. South Carolina came into the 1980 game ranked and loaded with Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers while the Tigers were 5-5. Underwood had a career high 17 tackles and two interceptions for 101 return yards. It is still one of just two games in Clemson history in which a player has had over 100 yards in interception returns in the same game. This was the first time Clemson wore orange pants and many credit the win as a springboard to the National Championship season the following year. Some also feel Underwood might have saved Danny Ford's job that season.

I was a 12 year old kid at the time but will never forget the orange pants at the top of the hill and will never forget Underwood streaking down the sidelines after the interceptions.

I know the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame just got a little bit better with these legendary Tigers.

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