COVID-19
experience which has thrust us into the Dark Territory much earlier than
expected and indefinitely
Jaelyn Lay
Jersey, I thought I revisit a few historically good individual performances
from Clemson players of the past. I love to hear your memories of that same game
if you were there or watched it happen on TV in the comments. These are all
based on my direct experience either being there or watching it on live
broadcast. Some of these performances came in losses, unfortunately, but were
noteworthy nonetheless.One of the things I wanted to do with this series is pay
homage to some of my all-time favorite Tigers, some of whom flew under the radar
on a national stage. I started with Tony Horne and his 1997 FSU game
performance. Today, I flip to the other side of the ball to another undersized
guy who played WAY bigger than he was Jamaal Fudge. The andyman as we would come
to call him was listed at just 190 as a safety but was absolutely fearless
patrolling the middle of the field and coming down into the box for run support
Kevin Swint
Jersey. Clemson 2003 season was perhaps the most enigmatic in school
history. The Tigers started off with a miserably disheartening 30-0 drubbing at
the hands of the hated UGA Bulldogs, then rebounded with 3 straight wins,
highlighted by a rare blowout win in Atlanta over GT . Just when you thought
things were OK, the Tigers went up to Maryland and lost after scoring just 7
points. That set up the game this article focuses on, the 2003 UVA game. Later
that season, the Tigers would be embarrassed at Wake Forest 45-17 , nearly
costing Coach Tommy Bowden his job
Youth Clemson Tigers
Jerseys, before the team rebounded to notch the biggest win since 1989 with
a 26-10 win over then 3 ranked Florida State. That launched a dominant four game
win streak of blowouts over Duke, U of SC , and then 6 Tennessee in the Peach
Bowl. If you are a younger or more recent Tiger fan accustomed to the dominance
of the Dabo Swinney era, you might be surprised to know that UVA came to Death
Valley in 2003 with a more talented roster. Al Groh initial stretch in
Charlottesville featured some major recruiting success, and the ?3 team was
coming off a 2nd place ACC finish the year before and had the reigning ACC
player of the year Matt Schaub at quarterback. The Cavs were the ranked team
that day in Death Valley.Clemson dominated the first half of play statistically
but only led 10-0 at the half after going just 2-4 in the red-zone. Schaub came
out firing in the second half as UVA abandoned the running game altogether,
leading the Cavs back to a 14-10 lead. Another long drive looked like it was
going to lead to another UVA touchdown, but that is when the Candyman rose up
and made one of the biggest defensive plays of the season. The Cavs featured two
excellent tight ends that year in Patrick Estes and future Steelers star Heath
Miller. Schaub had already connected with both for TD passes earlier in the
third quarter and looked to hit the 258 pound Miller again over the middle of
the end zone when Fudge delivered a crushing hit to break up the pass and force
a field goal
https://www.cletigersshop.com/Clelin_Ferrell_Jersey-32.
I was sitting in the West Stands, so the play was right in front of me. It
helped swing momentum back to Clemson who would take the lead again 24-17. The
Cavs answered with a late TD to tie the game and send it to OT, where Charlie
Whitehurst hit Kevin Youngblood on a 4-yard fade pass to secure the 30-27 win .
UVA gameplan started with trying to pound the run game with running backs Alvin
Pearman and Wally Lundy, but the Tiger defense was extremely stout against them.
When they turned to the passing game, they featured Pearman and the tight ends
moreso than the wide receivers, putting extreme pressure on the safeties to make
plays in space and in coverage. Fudge responded with 20 tackles, an
interception, and that memorable pass breakup in the endzone on Heath Miller.
Fudge total tied a Tiger record for tackles by a defensive back, and he would go
on to finish 2003 with 116 tackles. This was a critical win at the time during a
brutal stretch of games with Maryland, UVA, and NCSU. The Tigers were underdogs
in all three, but going 1-2 was a lot better than 0-3. Guys like Fudge had to be
ironmen in those days because of the lack of depth in the program, and Fudge
super high tackle totals were always accompanied by super high snap counts.
While I wasn able to find video to use for this game, I will include THIS play
by Fudge in that year FSU game when he came down to fill on Greg Jones of
Florida State, another guy who was much bigger than him. So all hail the
Candyman, a Clemson legend in my eyes.
The Wall