Florenzo on his big Death Valley moment: “I’ll never forget it”

Phillip Florenzo got some rare attention for a long snapper after doing his job well in getting to the punt return and recovering a fumble.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Nov 09 14:30:14 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - When you think of the players on a football team, the long snapper is probably the last person that comes to mind. But, redshirt junior Philip Florenzo came up big in Clemson’s victory over No. 15 Notre Dame last week.

After the Irish muffed a punt, Florenzo recovered the fumble and set up a 21-yard field goal from kicker Jonathan Weitz. It quickly became one of the best moments for him as a Tiger.

“In the moment, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t really know what was happening. It happened so fast and so quick, when I popped up, I didn’t really know what to do because you dream about a moment like that, but you never really know what you’re going to do when it actually happens. So you could tell on the film, I kind of stand up and look around and my teammates are telling me, ‘Run to the end zone’ and like, ‘Go celebrate.’ And I was like, ‘We get to do this now, let’s go,’” Florenzo said. “It was a surreal moment, and now that I look back at it, it was undoubtedly a highlight of my career, just how far I’ve come through my whole journey, being here at Clemson and to get that one moment, that one moment when the full crowd is cheering for you, and you hear your name on the loudspeaker, you look up and your parents are cheering.

“There’s nothing that can beat that, and I’m just thankful every day that I had the opportunity to do this. I’ll never forget it.”

Many players come to Clemson because the Tigers recruited them as they were standouts in high school. Clemson has numerous five-star prospects on the roster, as well as four-stars. Florenzo is not one of those players. In fact, he went after the Tigers and fought to get on their roster. His journey to being a Tiger started when COVID-19 hit after his senior year of high school.

“After my senior season, COVID hit, and I just thought, ‘Alright. I’m going to figure out how to long snap. That’s going to be my goal during COVID,’” Florenzo said. “So, that’s what I did, and it’s been working out so far, I would say.”

Prior to training himself to be a long snapper, he played a variety of different defensive positions, as well as lacrosse. Lacrosse offered the benefit of teaching him about angles and what angles players are coming from. That knowledge is part of how he is able to be the first player to get down the field and make plays like he did last Saturday.

“I was a linebacker. I was a guard. I was a D-end. I played lacrosse growing up. So, I really having an understanding of how to play the game besides just being a long snapper,” Florenzo said. “So, I understand leverage, angles, and how to get away from guys because most the time, one thing I’ve learned since playing is, on every punt I go out there for, I am probably, if not the most unathletic guy on that field. So, I have to figure out how to get away from them without them really getting their hands on me.”

Florenzo was a walk-on and proved through his ability and his passion that he was able to play football for a Power-Five school. At 21 years old and having completed two micro internships during his spring semesters, naturally, there are questions about what he will do after college football. But that’s not something he can think about right now.

“I don’t like to think too far ahead... I have some time of eligibility that I’m going to use, and I think it would be almost insulting to all the work I’ve put in if I look too far ahead. This is an amazing experience playing for Clemson and playing this level of football that kids wish and dream for and would die for, and it would be just disrespectful for me to look forward, not enjoy every part of this,” Florenzo said. “So, going forward, I’ll figure something out. But, I really just want to enjoy every moment of being at Clemson and having these experiences I have because nobody gets to experience what I just experienced on Saturday, and I can’t take that for granted at all and think what’s next, just enjoy the moment and enjoy where I am and just be so thankful for being a part of Clemson and going to this amazing university.”