The Clemson Dubcast

Nick Eason, C.J. Spiller, Tyler Grisham

The full audio of recent press conferences featuring Clemson defensive tackles coach Nick Eason, running backs coach C.J. Spiller and receivers coach Tyler Grisham.

Eason discusses the motivations behind his substantial weight loss since last September, plus the sensation created by freshman tackle Peter Woods.

Spiller and Grisham discuss the adjustment to Garrett Riley, who became Clemson's third offensive coordinator in as many years when Dabo Swinney made the decision to fire Brandon Streeter.

Eason is entering his second season as a Clemson assistant. Spiller is preparing for Year 3 as running backs coach, and Grisham Year 4 as the receivers coach.

Roy Philpott

Roy Philpott has been an ESPN play-by-play announcer for a decade, and occasionally his job will bring him back to the place he went to school and worked.

He was back at his alma mater for the recent Clemson spring game, standing on the field and following a mic'd-up Dabo Swinney.

Philpott was a publisher at Scout.com and covered Clemson on a daily basis back when Swinney arrived as Tommy Bowden's newest hire in 2003. He has vivid memories of the day in October of 2008 when Swinney was elevated to interim head coach, and then the day in December when Swinney got the job for good.

Swinney's press conference that day inspired Philpott to pursue his broadcasting dream. And several years later, Swinney helped Philpott land a job at ESPN. He's been there ever since, calling college football, basketball, baseball and softball.

Also in the podcast, we talk memorable run-ins with Vic Koenning and Brad Scott -- and the day in 2003 when Philpott's site caused a firestorm by speculating that Bowden would be fired, leading to a question by another media member that almost caused Bowden to break down crying.

 

Richard Yeargin

Former Clemson football player Richard Yeargin has found his calling after years of soul-searching and trying to reconcile life without football.

Yeargin was involved in a horrible car accident in Greenville in 2017, just a few months after he and the Tigers were atop the mountain in Tampa celebrating Clemson's first national title since 1981.

He played for Boston College in 2019 and was planning for the NFL in March of 2020 when the pandemic hit.

He now lives in the Clemson area with his wife and two children. Last summer he began as a lecturer at the university, and he recently authored a book about his life entitled: The Man is Greater than the Brand: Shedding Past Brokenness to Live as Kings and Queens.

He said Dabo Swinney connected him with famous author Jon Gordon for advice on the book, and he said Gordon coined the title for the book.

 

 

Kyle Richardson and Lemanski Hall

Kyle Richardson is a "pig in mud" as he transitions to the offense of Garrett Riley, as both have roots in the Air Raid offensive system.

Richardson acknowledges that the 2022 season, his first as an on-the-field coach at Clemson, was difficult because it was his first time coaching tight ends.

Richardson believes his top player, Jake Briningstool, is "a totally different player" and headed for big things.

Lemanski Hall, who has coached defensive ends at Clemson for five seasons, assesses the depth on the edge with Justin Mascoll and Xavier Thomas on the shelf for most of spring practice.

Hall says freshman defensive tackle Peter Woods can play any and all positions on the defensive front.

Hall also reflects on the message Dabo Swinney has sent to his assistants this offseason: Be better, or you'll be held accountable.

 

 

Patrick Sapp

Patrick Sapp joins the podcast to talk a multitude of topics including the mental health of athletes and how it's much different nowadays than when he played at Clemson in the 1990s.

Sapp shares that he almost joined Dabo Swinney's staff when Swinney took over as head coach in 2008. At the time, Swinney wanted Sapp to be an offensive analyst and Levon Kirkland an analyst on the defensive side, but the higher-ups at the school didn't allow it to happen.

Sapp, whose son Josh is a tight end at Clemson, has learned a lot about Garrett Riley over the past three months. He says it's almost the exact same offense run by Greenville High School, where the Josh played and where Patrick still serves as a coach.

Sapp says he was not surprised by Swinney's decision to fire Brandon Streeter. 

"I knew when he fired Billy Napier in 2010 that Dabo was going to be a great coach," he said. "I love Brandon Streeter to death, but it was the right move."

Sapp also gives his take on why offensive lineman Blake Franks, who grew up a Clemson fan and plays at Greenville High, ended up committing to rival South Carolina.

 

Dan Scott

In January of 2012, Dan Scott finished up his daily radio show on WCCP-FM and was called into his boss' office.

He was abruptly fired, immediately severing the high profile Scott enjoyed on the radio airwaves for more than a decade as he also become a prominent radio voice of Clemson's baseball team.

As Scott reveals, his life was already close to rock bottom even before the firing as he had moved out of his home and was living in a hotel room while dealing with problems that included excessive drinking and extramarital relationships -- and, as he later realized, an ego that was inflated to excessive levels as a result of his radio profile.

Not long thereafter, Scott devoted his life to Christ and says the firing was the best thing to ever happen to him.

Scott, who serves as the play-by-play man for Furman, reflects on that journey and also shares what it was like to experience the Paladins' dramatic upset of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

To learn more about Scott's story and his mission, visit danscottshow.org.

 

Tony Ciuffo

After a life in Charleston that included 20 years working with John Kresse and Bobby Cremins at College of Charleston, Tony Ciuffo and his wife were looking to retire somewhere.

They chose Clemson, where Ciuffo is now working in a broadcasting role with various Tigers sports.

Ciuffo's son Nick was once an elite high school baseball player who went in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft and is now in the Yankees organization.

Nick received his first college offer (from South Carolina) before he even played a high school game.

Tony is also close with Monte Lee, who coached at Charleston before taking the Clemson job.

Ciuffo serves on the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, whose president is former Clemson administrator Bill D'Andrea.

 

Graham Neff, Myles Murphy, Joseph Ngata

Three days ago, Graham Neff sat down with reporters and put his full support behind Brad Brownell while declaring Brownell will be back for a 14th season.

That stance is now the target of criticism after Clemson's embarrassing loss to Morehead State in the first round of the NIT.

With many wondering whether Neff might walk back some of his comments, or even reconsider his stance on Brownell's return, we provide the full audio of his conversation with a small group of media including Tigerillustrated.com.

Also, Myles Murphy and Joseph Ngata were full of nostalgia when they returned to Clemson earlier this week for Pro Day.

Both are now reminded of the wisdom Dabo Swinney often dispenses to his players, that the college years will always be the most cherished time of their lives.

Ngata stopped short of saying he made the wrong decision in declaring for the NFL, but he did seem to be experiencing some misgivings about the feeling of coming back and no longer being a part of the program.

We present the full interviews from Murphy and Ngata after Pro Day.

Tod and Cade Klubnik

In late December, we had a lengthy interview with the father of Cade Klubnik for more background on Cade's upbringing, his extraordinary competitiveness, and his love of Clemson.

Tod Klubnik and his wife Kim are frequent visitors to Clemson as they travel from Austin across the country in the RV purchased after Tod's retirement.

Tod shares what it was like for Cade last season looking on as the offense struggled late in the season with DJ Uiagalelei at the controls.

We also present the entirety of Cade's recent press conference as he and Clemson's offense begin learning the system of first-year offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.

Cade is genuinely excited about the new direction, which will bring much more simplicity as the playbook is pared down significantly from the previous eras under Brandon Streeter, Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott.

 

Jack Leggett

Jack Leggett will be back in Doug Kingsmore Stadium tonight, back facing bitter rival South Carolina in a three-game weekend series.

Leggett is asked what he'd say to Gamecocks athletics director Ray Tanner and South Carolina assistant Monte Lee if their paths cross this weekend.

"Probably not going to be a lot of conversation," he said.

Leggett says he has nothing against Lee, who replaced him as head coach in 2015, or Tanner. 

Yet he said he had a good relationship with Tanner for years until Dan Radakovich consulted with Tanner when evaluating whether to retain or fire Leggett.

Leggett said he received hundreds of text messages from people in the coaching and athletics industry after his firing from Clemson, but he didn't receive any correspondence from Tanner and still hasn't heard from him.

Leggett goes into detail on his return to Clemson as the Director of Program Development under first-year coach Erik Bakich, a part-time role.

NCAA compliance prevents him from coaching, and he admits that makes him uncomfortable because coaching is in his blood and is what he wants to do.

He says he's not sure whether this stint will last beyond this season, but he says he's thoroughly enjoying being back in the dugout and within the program he guided for so long, and to so much success.