Sacrifices well worth it for Jonathan Weitz to live out Clemson dream |
JACKSONVILLE – From selling his truck just to pay for an empty New York apartment to delaying his career on Wall Street, the sacrifices
Jonathan Weitz made for one more season in a Clemson football uniform were worth every penny.
Called off the Charleston beach, Weitz's graduate season started with a missed game-winning kick against Florida State but ended in fairy-tale fashion with three made field goals against rival South Carolina and a 52-yarder that doinked over the goal post in the win over Kentucky in the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl. After Clemson’s 38-35 win over Kentucky, Weitz said he knew something special was going to happen from the moment he got the call from head coach Dabo Swinney. “I was a little worried because the South Carolina game was a dream come true: in-state rival. You want to keep making all of your field goals, but it felt like that should be the ending going out like that,” Weitz said after the Gator Bowl victory. “Then you have the bowl game, and you have to reset your mind and reset your heart. Just going into this game, I'm like, I'm going to do my best, put my best foot forward and help this team however I can. To be able to have a really good day out there, help the team and see the offense drive down and win in that fashion, it makes it even better. It just compounds that last game. “It really is just a dream. I went through that adversity at the beginning, and here I am at the end, knowing something big was going to happen. I'm so glad I could do it with these guys. I had my ups and downs, and they supported me through it all. It's just special.” Hitting the field goals late in the season was great, but being named captain by his teammates made selling his truck to pay for an apartment he wouldn’t step foot into for nearly five months worth the investment. “When all this started happening at the beginning of the season, my parents were like, 'You're supposed to be paying all of your bills. You've got to find a way to pay for your apartment up there.' I had already had my apartment and was supposed to be moving up there that week, so I sold my truck,” Weitz said. “I've been paying it along, and it's been sitting empty all fall. It's worth every single penny. The kicks are great that I make, but the biggest honor I could have is being voted captain by my teammates. I'm getting chills just thinking about it. It's the biggest honor to have my teammates vote for me for that. I can't believe it that I will be there along with all those other names on Tiger Walk.” What’s next for Weitz as he moves back into the real world? “We have our football banquet in a week and a half, and I'm pretty much heading up to New York right after that,” he said. “I'm looking forward to getting up there. I have a lot of friends that I'm looking forward to seeing from living there this summer. I know they're cheering for me up there. I was with one of them last week. His name is Caleb, and he's my biggest supporter. He was texting me before the game. I'm looking forward to getting up there and seeing him and all of my friends. All of my friends in Charleston or wherever we are, and my family, I appreciate all of their support.” As for his truck, Weitz will probably never see it again, and that’s okay. “It's probably long gone at one of those car dealers, but I won't need a truck in New York. I'll just be taking the subway,” he said. O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!
Jonathan Weitz hits it from 52 yards out to give @ClemsonFB the lead! 🏈
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/1gTLqVRUdf
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