The Clemson Dubcast

Matt Hayes

Jacksonville radio personality and longtime college football writer Matt Hayes joins the podcast to give a sense of what it's like in Jaguars Land in response to Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne joining the franchise.

Hayes said the locals are giddy over not just what Lawrence can do on the field, but the leader he promises to be in the community.

Hayes recently recently interviewed Stanford coach David Shaw, who said Lawrence is going to be one of the NFL greats.

Also, Hayes reflects on a media climate that creates hysteria over someone such as Lawrence merely mentioning that there's more to his life than football.

Hayes also shares his take on the college football hierarchy.

Despite Georgia's presence, and despite Ohio State's romp over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, Hayes says: "I think it's still an Alabama and Clemson world."

 

 

 

 

Kyle Young

Kyle Young, associate AD for administration at Clemson, joins The Dubcast to reflect on the remarkable coaching job by men's soccer coach Mike Noonan over the past year. Noonan and the Tigers withstood major attrition from last year's team and are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Young also explores the Academic Common Market and provides insight on how it affects Clemson's baseball and soccer teams.

In February of 2008, Young was working for Terry Don Phillips when receivers coach Dabo Swinney asked for Phillips advice on pursing the head-coaching job at South Alabama. Swinney was a finalist for the job.

"I remember talking to Terry Don at that time," Young recalled. "Terry Don said to me: 'I just told him he didn't need to take that job.' That was Terry Don telling me he saw bigger and better things for Dabo."

Less than a year later, Swinney was Clemson's head coach. 

 

 

Cole Cubelic and Pete Yanity

Cole Cubelic of ESPN joins the podcast to give his reflections of Georgia after spending last weekend in Athens covering the Bulldogs' spring game. Cubelic says Kirby Smart's team is among the more physically imposing he can recall in recent college football history, and he raves about JT Daniels' progress and presence as Georgia's quarterback.

Pete Yanity, who covered the Danny Ford era as a young TV reporter in Florence, gives his memories of those days after reading some of the Tigerillustrated.com series on Ford's Clemson tenure, and compares those glory days to the current run of brilliance under Dabo Swinney.

Billy Davis

Former Clemson Tiger Billy Davis rejoins the podcast to reflect on the ongoing Tigerillustated.com series on the Danny Ford era at Clemson.

Even for someone who was present for much of that era, Davis finds his own eyes opened by all the tumult that occurred during the 1980s -- from probation, to the revelations of steroid use, to regular clashes between Ford and his administration.

Davis, whose long punt return in the 1981 Orange Bowl helped set up a score that gave Clemson breathing room in a championship victory over Nebraska, looks back on those days and views all the baggage as yet another affirmation of Dabo Swinney's greatness.

One of Davis' daughters is a freshman swimmer at Kentucky, and he goes into deep reflections on parenting a child in athletics through elementary school, middle school and beyond.

Last fall, as Kentucky's swimming team was preparing for a crucial meet against Tennessee, Dabo Swinney spent 45 minutes on a Zoom call with the Wildcats' team. This was the week of Clemson's game against Boston College, and the week the Tigers lost Trevor Lawrence to a positive COVID test.

Davis is an avid reader of Tigerillustrated.com and a regular poster on the WEZ message board.

 

 

 

John Newman

Former Clemson basketball player John Newman discusses the reasoning behind his transfer from the Tigers' program, and his decision to join UNC Greensboro.

Newman also gives his perspective on the growing anguish and alarm over the proliferation of transfers in college athletics.

 

 

George Sluppick

George Sluppick, professional drummer, has played with such acts as Albert King, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, JJ Grey and Mofro, Luther Dickinson, Robert Walter, Charlie Hunter, Melvin Sparks and numerous other music luminaries.

Sluppick joins the podcast to talk life on the road, including several visits to Clemson when Mofro played a popular music venue called The Joint.

He shares details on the tumultuous, volatile nature of life on the road with Chris Robinson and what he learned from that experience.

He also recalls as a 19-year-old playing for Albert King and regularly being cussed out on stage by the legendary bluesman.

Musicians everywhere have had their worlds rocked by the pandemic over the past year, and Sluppick shares how he's adapted to continue making a living doing what he loves.

Sluppick is a widely respected soul/funk drummer known for honoring the song and providing a thick, groovy backbone.

Noted music critic Ben Ratliff once wrote: “George Sluppick puts a lot of funk into a medium tempo, and recalls the kings of heavy foot: musicians like John Bonham and Gregg Errico from Sly and the Family Stone, who drove their bass-drum beats into your spine.” 

George and his Memphis-based organ trio, The City Champs, recently released their third album: "Luna 68."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Gantt

Jonathan Gantt, Clemson's associate AD for creative solutions, joins the podcast to reflect on what the last year has been like for Clemson's social-media presence as well as for the athletics department as a whole.

"There was a time over the summer when it looked like football wasn't going to happen, and we were looking at each other and saying: 'Are we going to have jobs next week?'" Gantt said.

Gantt was a major part of Clemson's burgeoning, pioneering social-media presence in 2014 and beyond as the Tigers' exquisite, unique branding dovetailed with their rise to sustained prominence on the football field.

Gantt gives insight into how much trends have changed in digital branding, and how Clemson has pivoted in reaction to those changes.

When you have set the standard for social-media presentation, how do you remain cutting-edge and innovative when everyone else is mimicking your innovations so much that they are commonplace?

Also: What is the era of Name, Image and Likeness going to look like with athletes -- not just the ones from the high-profile sports, but also ones from non-revenue sports -- allowed to monetize their brands?

Gantt is playing a key role in Clemson's preparations for NIL, and he says the athletics department is well positioned to be at the forefront of whatever the landscape looks like.

 

 

 

Chip Towers, longtime Georgia beat writer

Chip Towers has covered the Georgia Bulldogs for the better part of 25 years for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Chip joins the podcast to talk his relationship with Kirby Smart (or lack thereof), Smart's strict controls on media access (early in his tenure Smart blocked Chip's attempts to interview Bulldog signees when they were still in high school), and why the Bulldogs haven't yet risen to the level of perennial championship contender under Smart.

Chip also gives his thoughts on the recent allegations by Valdosta high school coach Rush Propst.

And finally, he recounts the bizarre story of Cade Mays' father losing his pinky finger while accompanying his son on a recruiting visit to Athens -- and then using that episode as the reason for Mays' abrupt transfer to Tennessee.

 

Justin Foster

Former Clemson defensive end Justin Foster goes in-depth on his decision to give up football, and what it was like trying to battle back amid the effects of COVID-19.

Foster had dealt with asthma and allergies his whole life, and COVID exacerbated those conditions while leaving him with a long list of complications including shortness of breath, vocal-cord disfunction, and difficulty swallowing.

Foster, who graduated in December with a degree in Construction Science and Management, is looking forward to starting a career in small business and using his mechanical mind. From an early age, Foster loved learning how things worked by taking apart lawnmowers and car engines and putting them back together.

He tells stories of fixing the cars of assorted Clemson teammates, including Jackson Carman when Carman was stranded near Atlanta after his engine seized up.

 

Xavier Brewer

Former Clemson player and staffer Xavier Brewer joins the podcast to talk his new role as cornerbacks coach at Louisiana-Monroe under Terry Bowden.

Bowden hired several former Clemson staffers including Zac Alley, Maverick Morris, Roderick McDowell, and a blast from the past in defensive line coach Ron "Big Daddy" West. In addition, former Clemson offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez is running the offense for Bowden.

Brewer reflects on his recruitment to Clemson, and a revelation Dabo Swinney shared with him only a couple years ago: When Brewer called to commit to Clemson, there was strong disagreement between Swinney (who offered Brewer) and the defensive staff led by Vic Koenning. The defensive staff wanted to rescind the offer for another player. Tommy Bowden ended up ruling in Swinney's favor, and Clemson accepted the commitment. Brewer ended up starting 34 career game and playing in 53.

Brewer shares the life lessons he learned after going through a tumultuous and unforgettable summer of 2020 with Clemson's football program, and how hard it was for a team to go through a season filled with COVID protocols and disruptions to the normal way of life.

Brewer's job on Clemson's staff was advance scouting of opponents, and he shares his thoughts on Ohio State's 49-point barrage in the Sugar Bowl and how it happened.

Brewer also reflects on what it's like to coach defense in the days of supersonic offenses flush with elite talent and rules that favor moving the ball and scoring points.