The Clemson Dubcast

Berry Tramel and David Teel

Berry Tramel is the most respected media voice regarding the Oklahoma Sooners, and David Teel the same with the Virginia Cavaliers.

The two decorated newspaper columnists join the podcast to reflect on Brent Venables becoming the head coach at Oklahoma and Tony Elliott the head coach at Virginia.

Tramel developed a relationship with Venables at his first stop in Norman, a 13-year run as a defensive assistant under Bob Stoops. He says one of the most interesting themes will be how Venables makes the adjustment from fire-breathing defensive coordinator to a head-coaching role that demands a more measured and organized approach.

In July of 2018, Teel was invited to observe and write about the NCAA Champion Forum, a career development program for accomplished minority assistant coaches. Elliott was among the participants, and it struck Teel then that he had all the makings of a head coach.

“There are four categories where I think [student-athletes] have got to have equal development,” Elliott told Teel that day, “and that’s their athletics, their academics, their social and the spiritual. You have to create a program that has access to all those areas and have the resources in place.”

To illustrate his model, Elliott cited Wayne Gallman, a linebacker he recruited out of Atlanta and converted to running back. Gallman became Clemson’s career rushing leader and his family’s first college graduate.

 

“He’s playing in the NFL,” Elliott said, “and he’s equipped with the tools for life to go out and be a champion man beyond the game of football.”

 

Teel says Elliott's biggest challenge will be galvanizing the community and inspiring supporters to do something that hasn't been done in a long time -- consistently fill Scott Stadium.

Ben Boulware

Ben Boulware is in a state of mourning after learning Brent Venables is no longer at Clemson.

Boulware, who played linebacker at Clemson from 2013 to 2016, was the quintessential Venables player while helping lead the Tigers from being really good to national-championship great.

Boulware gives his thoughts on how Dabo Swinney is planning to replace Venables, and whether he even can be replaced.

He also shares some priceless memories from his time at Clemson, including seeing the "white foam" that accumulated in the corners of Venables mouth during games because of his constant screaming.

Boulware also shares behind-the-scenes details of him elevating his leadership in the days before the 2016 national title game against Alabama. A year before, casual attitudes from a few defensive players were recognized as significant factors in the Tigers' 45-40 loss to the Crimson Tide. Boulware took charge and demanded total buy-in from every single player on defense with the Tigers gathered in Tampa and preparing for the rematch with the Nick Saban dynasty.

Boulware gives a window into his personal life and says he's done a lot of growing over the past couple years. He considers himself a businessman now, running The Junkyard fitness center that is about to open another location at the old Astro Theater in downtown Clemson.

Matt Bockhorst

Matt Bockhorst, who is undergoing surgery today to repair the ACL he tore against Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, joins the podcast for an in-depth conversation about the end of his football career.

Bockhorst also reflects on the evolution of the 2021 team, which was once 4-3 but has won five consecutive games as the offense has gained consistency, cohesion and confidence.

Early in the season, Bockhorst was one of the few personalities on offense who was willing to speak up and lead vocally. But he learned that sometimes yelling and screaming doesn't work and a more gentle, positive form of leadership is needed.

Bockhorst is from Ohio, but his entire family has fallen in love with Clemson and the surrounding area. His older brother played football at Furman, and his younger brother is at Clemson. Their parents also have a home on Lake Keowee.

Growing up, Bockhorst dreamed of playing for Notre Dame and was recruited by the Irish. But on a visit to South Bend for a night game against Southern Cal, he and the family realized that Brian Kelly's staff wasn't as interested in him as they once thought. His path led to Clemson, and in the wake of Kelly's abrupt departure for LSU it's more confirmation to Bockhorst that he made the right move to join Dabo Swinney's culture.

 

 

”Pete” from Message Board Geniuses

He's an attorney who has amassed 34,600 followers on Twitter for scouring message boards and screen-capping the bizarre, inane and crazy things said by college football fans.

He has a wife and two daughters, and his family has no clue about the Twitter side project called Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses).

"They just think I'm on my phone doing something," he said.

He prefers being anonymous, so he went by the name "Pete" during this interview. He said he attended college at Utah State and at the time wondered by fans were so irrational on message boards.

Then "Pete" started looking at message board for other schools across the country and discovered there's crazy stuff everywhere posted by people who are obsessively following a sport.

"It's literally the same type of people on every message board," he said. "You have this contingent of people who are always negative no matter what happens. And then on the other side you have this contingent of people who get offended by the slightest bit of negativity. And they're always fighting with each other. No fan base is really less reasonable or rational than anybody else's."

The profile picture for Pete's feed says #FireEverybody. He's in front of his television on most fall Saturdays, and he knows a meltdown on the field is going to quickly be followed by one on that team's message boards.

"I get a kick out of it," he said. "It's funny. I hope people understand it's all in good fun to see some of the crazy stuff that's out there, and appreciate it and laugh at it. I do quite a bit."

 

Patrick Sapp

Patrick Sapp, former Clemson Tiger and father of Tigers tight end commitment Josh Sapp, joins the podcast to reflect on what it's been like to go through the recruiting process with his son.

Sapp also gives his detailed thoughts on the rapid spiral of Clemson's offense and the various factors behind it. The former Clemson quarterback was as caught off guard by anyone by DJ Uiagalelei's pronounced struggles, and he wonders how much Uiagalelei's endorsement deals with Dr. Pepper and Bojangles have contributed to the pressures on his shoulders as the sophomore tries to walk in the footsteps of Trevor Lawrence.

Sapp gives his perspective on how much more difficult Dabo Swinney's job is now in an age of the transfer portal and players capitalizing on endorsement deals.

Sapp is the quarterbacks coach for his son's Greenville High School team that faces Irmo on Friday night in the 4A state playoffs.

 

 

 

 

 

Lindell Zanders

Lindell Zanders, father of Clemson safety Lannden Zanders, joins the podcast to share the deeply personal story of the family's home burning down last month in Shelby, N.C.

Lannden was home alone at the time, and an ember from a back-yard fire pit ended up catching the back porch on fire and then leading to the house. Lindell said he spent $200,000 to build the house 20 years ago, and now to build the same house it would cost $450,000 because of various factors including the cost of lumber.

Lannden slept through the fire, and his life was saved when the fire department turned the power off to the home. Lannden was thus awakened when his fan turned off; the fire department personnel had no idea anyone was inside the home as it burned down.

The family was angered and hurt by various headlines that mischaracterized Lannden's role in starting the fire. The worst was from aggregation-based site FanSided, whose headline was: "Clemson football player obsessed with fire accidentally burns family home down."

Lindell has remarkable perspective and peace of mind from the life-changing event. He said he's yet to even shed a tear over losing his home, as he said he is grateful that he still has his two sons.

The family has recently benefited from various GoFundMe efforts, and now Lindell is seeing a reciprocation of the giving spirit he has instilled in his boys throughout their lives.

Lindell grew up homeless at times in Florida as his father succumbed to heroin addiction and his mother struggled to get by. He remembers being happy to land in homeless shelters as a child because they had running water and electricity.

As he raised his boys, Lindell regularly took them to homeless shelters and visited children's hospitals to bring gifts and help those in need.

Lannden is currently sitting out the 2021 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. His brother Quenten is a junior running back at Western Carolina.

 

David Hale

Writing about college football every Saturday seems like a fun and even easy job.

But being asked to intelligently summarize the invariable unfolding of 12-plus hours worth of craziness, while not missing anything important, while trying to prioritize events amid the sensory overload of games and social media, and while spicing humor into every other paragraph, is not an easy thing to do.

David Hale of ESPN.com has mastered the art of the college football recap column. Late every Saturday night, perhaps with the aid of a few adult beverages, he files a riotous, wildly entertaining and absolute must read about the day's events.

Hale, who has followed Clemson closely for all the high points of the Dabo Swinney era, is like the rest of us in trying to process how the Tigers have fallen so far on offense.

Hale gives his take on Swinney's circle-the-wagons sermon to fans that punctuated Wednesday's appearance on WCCP-FM as part of the Tigers for Tatas fundraising effort.

Also, having covered Florida State closely, Hale is an expert on what the collapse of a great football program looks like. He gives his response to the folks who say Clemson's current malaise is less a brief dip and more indicative of a program in long-term decline.

 

Harold ”Dutch” Coleman

Harold Coleman, a former Clemson football player and radio host for WCCP-FM, joins the podcast to catch everyone up on what he and his family are up to now.

After a year as an assistant at Marquette, Harold's wife Itoro Umoh-Coleman took a job at North Carolina and the family of six is now in Chapel Hill.

Harold reflects on what it's like for his children to have moved so much, and also what it's like for his wife to coach for a team she hated when she was a star player at Clemson.

Harold would also like a word with those who think the problem with Clemson's offense is play-calling. And he has some pointed words for those who think the advent of NIL is a bad thing for college athletics.

 

 

Terrence Oglesby

Former Clemson star Terrence Oglesby rejoins the podcast to share the latest on his climb up the media ladder.

Oglesby is a basketball analyst for The Field of 68, a college basketball podcast network that has already gained significant profile.

Oglesby also gives his take on what to expect this season of Brad Brownell and Clemson as the Tigers try to overcome the loss of Aamir Simms.

He also discusses why he decided to go away from the coaching route, and the importance of being there for his family as his children grow up.

 

 

 

 

Billy Davis

Former Tiger Billy Davis makes a return visit to the podcast to reflect on what it was like to reconnect with his 1981 teammates as Clemson celebrated the 40th anniversary of its national title under Danny Ford.

Davis shares what it's like for that accomplishment to be relegated to an "oh by the way" category in the shadow of the recent titles under Dabo Swinney in 2016 and 2018.

He also gives his take on the jolting struggles of the 2021 team, which has produced a 3-2 record and a plummet from the Top 5 to unranked.

What criticisms are justified in Davis' eyes? Which ones are excessive? Davis, a longtime subscriber and message-board poster on Tigerillustrated.com, gives his thoughts on social-media fan culture and the treatment of 18- to 22-year-old athletes who aren't performing as well as expected.