Why Clowney, or anyone, want sto go to Clemson (long)

Feb 7, 2011, 10:15 PM

I know there are probably many ways that T-net would like to influence Clowney, most of which would be a violation. I would like to suggest the following:

Trust in Clemson

What I mean by that is….I was raised in Columbia SC, and was a typical teenage male. I only paid attention to the things I absolutely had to and only for as long as I had to. In my mind, life was for the experiences and I was experiencing all I could. This left me very impressionable.

So as a Sophomore in High School I went to Clemson for the first time to participate in a ROTC drill meet. I knew absolutely nothing about Clemson and certainly had not even thought about attending college. Therefore, I had no expectations or pre-conceived notions about Clemson, but that was about to change.

I still have a perfect picture in my mind of the first glimpse of the campus (I'm 53). The bus had come through downtown and as it turned in front of Bowman Field ( it was early spring, the grass was green, the trees were budding, the sun was shining through the oaks and backlighting Tillman Hall) I was totally, 100% percent AWE-STRUCK!!! (remember I grew up in Columbia, so USC was my only Campus reference, and trust me, prior to this, the only thing that had ever impressed me was of the female variety) Needless to say after being on campus for 2 days I knew without a doubt that this was the ONLY place I would consider attending. For the next 2 years I did experience other campuses, and some were very nice, but there was never a doubt that Clemson was the only place for me.

I spent over 5 years here as a student (I never said I was a good student) and every day spent here only reinforced the love I have for Clemson. I don't remember EVER having a bad day at Clemson. I moved back to Clemson 2 years ago to work in the area, and I can't explain the why it feels SOOOOO GREAT to be back but it is totally unbelievable.

I know that there are literally thousands that have similar feelings and experiences from Clemson. That is why I'm not really worried about what we DO to recruit Clowney. Clowney has been to Clemson and that is really all that has to happen. If the Clemson "EFFECT" doesn't hook him then maybe there wasn't "Something in Those Hills" for him, and in that case, then, it is probably best that he go somewhere else. But I think that is very unlikely.

Just to make thing clear, I don't really care if Clowney plays for Clemson or not, but all the talk about why he would want to come drove me to relate why I think most people come to Clemson and why, once they get here, they usually fall in love with the place.