The Clemson Dubcast

Josh Needelman

Josh Needelman joins the podcast to discuss why he chose to leave his job as Clemson beat reporter for The Post and Courier after a two-year stint in the Upstate.

Josh is from New York, and a year of being away from his family because of the pandemic reinforced to him the importance of being close to loved ones -- particularly his twin brother Scott, who is autistic and nonverbal.

Having joined the Clemson beat after covering UVA, Josh saw in full color the immensity of big-time college football -- and the always entertaining, sometimes controversial Dabo Swinney.

Josh gives his thoughts on how Swinney is portrayed in the national media and also shares his philosophy on how much or how little time is necessary to spend on social media when you're trying to cover a team and establish a brand.

 

 

Teresa Padgett, mother of Justin Foster

The story of Justin Foster's past year has been well chronicled: a year ago he tested positive for COVID and then dealt with complications that left him not remotely fit to play football for Clemson during the 2020 season.

Foster announced he was giving up football after the season, but then a vaccine shot markedly improved his COVID long-hauler symptoms. And then visits to doctors at Duke University gave him renewed confidence that he could safely return to playing football. In May he announced his return, and now he's in Clemson preparing for the 2021 season.

Justin's mother, Teresa Padgett, joins the podcast to reflect on what this has all been like for her.

 

 

 

William Qualkinbush

Clemson radio personality William Qualkinbush joins the show to talk the swirl of change in college athletics, most notably the move to Name, Image and Likeness.

Qualkinbush's views on NIL have evolved as he learns more about what the new landscape might look like, but he's firmly against a pay-for-play model that some say is a virtual certainty after the Supreme Court's scathing rebuke of the NCAA earlier this week.

Qualkinbush also talks about his career, which often brings a logjam of responsibilities including radio play-by-play for Clemson sports in addition to 15 hours a week on his WCCP-FM radio show that runs from noon to 3.

 

 

Joe Person

Joe Person has spent a long time covering the Carolina Panthers, and before that he spent a long time covering South Carolina football.

Person has vast experience dealing with powerful personalities including Cam Newton, Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz.

Person shares what it was like to break out of his comfort zone by moving from college football to the NFL, how he goes about doing his job amid a changing media landscape that includes competition with the team he covers, and what he learned from the late Rick Bonnell who recently passed away unexpectedly.

Person had some unforgettable experiences covering Spurrier, including regular 7 AM phone calls from the Gamecocks coach when he didn't like something Person wrote for The State newspaper.

Person was present at Death Valley for the infamous 2004 brawl between the Gamecocks and Tigers in Holtz's final college game.

 

Bob Thomas

It's been quite a ride for Bob Thomas over the last 15 years.

A longtime newspaper guy and distinguished chronicler of Florida State football during the Bobby Bowden dynasty, Thomas was laid off by the Florida Times-Union in 2008.

He then took a job with Florida State as the head sports information director for football and found himself navigating the tumult of 2009 when FSU's administration told Bowden it was time to go.

When Jimbo Fisher arrived, the coach had other ideas about the football team's communications and Thomas was pushed to a different department.

Just a year ago, Thomas found himself a victim of pandemic-related job cuts within FSU's athletics department. He's now adjusting to his new job as media specialist for FSU's College of Medicine.

Thomas is a trove of knowledge and stories about FSU's incredible run under Bowden, and he explores the similarities of that era with the current Clemson-dominated ACC world.

Thomas also gives his thoughts on how long it'll be before the Seminoles can contend with the Clemson monster.

 

 

Brett Jensen

Brett Jensen, formerly a Clemson beat reporter and currently a news reporter for Charlotte radio station WBT, gives his perspective on his tense exchange with North Carolina governor Roy Cooper this week.

Jensen, who said his station has not been called on to ask a question over the last 14 months at routine press briefings from the governor and his staffers, said other outlets are also being frozen out.

Jensen reflects on the need for accountability from all public officials regardless of political affiliation, and then draws parallels to his former profession as a scrutinizer of highly-paid football and basketball coaches.

Another topic covered is how media access has changed overall over the years, both in sports and in general news.

 

 

 

Drew Butler

Former Georgia and NFL punter Drew Butler joins the podcast to talk Clemson-Georgia, and also his role in helping college athletes navigate the coming age of Name, Image and Likeness. Butler works for Icon Source, which connects both pro and college athletes to businesses that are interested in sponsoring them.

Butler is also the creator and host of Punt And Pass podcast, which he co-hosts with former Bulldog quarterback Aaron Murray.

When he was with the Arizona Cardinals, Butler became good friends with former Tiger Chandler Catanzaro and said Catanzaro helped give him a deep appreciation for what Dabo Swinney has built at Clemson.

 

Brian Boone and Clay Lowder

On the weekend of Dabo Swinney's All-In Ball, Brian Boone and Clay Lowder join the podcast to talk philanthropy and helping others.

In late December, Lowder decided he was going to fully fund a trip to the Sugar Bowl for a Clemson family that had gone through struggle. He sent the family of Ken Kelly, who spent the previous year battling liver cancer and COVID.

Months later, Boone was similarly inspired when he decided to give up his six-seat table at the All-In Ball to a Clemson family who would be positively impacted from the experience.

Saturday night, Joey Millwood and his family will attend the All-In Ball, listen to guest speaker Jon Gruden, and receive a full tour of the Reeves Center. Joey and his wife Erin lost their 10-year-old daughter Eliza Cait to leukemia in 2018. They began a ministry in her honor, Bright Light Dance Ministry, to send dancers across the world to spread the gospel because Eliza Cait loved Jesus and loved to dance.

Boone lost his wife, Kathy Boone, in May of 2018. Five months earlier, Clemson's football staff opened its doors and its hearts to the Boone family in a story documented by Tigerillustrated.com.

Boone and Lowder reflect on how much giving to others can help not only the recipient but the person giving.

 

 

 

 

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.