Putnam proud to carry the flag down the hill in honor of his father

Will Putnam led the Tigers down The Hill last Saturday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Nov 18 07:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson took the time to recognize its true heroes last Saturday, and when center Will Putnam stepped off the bus and grabbed the American flag, his thoughts were about his dad.

Putnam, the Tigers’ senior center, was chosen by head coach Dabo Swinney to carry the flag down the hill as Clemson celebrated Military Appreciation Day. Putnam stood at the top of the hill, took in the sight of all the purple inside the stadium, and waved the flag proudly.

“It meant a lot to me because even though I was carrying down the flag, it wasn’t necessarily about me and spotlight on me, but it was more so for my dad,” he said. “And then past that my mom, and my brother, and my grandparents were in town. It was just really a special moment for our family.”

The reason that Putnam was chosen for the honor? Swinney usually chooses someone with a military background or with family in the military, and in the past we’ve seen Daniel Rodriguez (served in the Army) and Sean Mac Lain (Sean is now in the military, his dad is still active military) and Justyn Ross (mother was in the Army) earn that honor.

Saturday it was Putnam, whose father, Colonel Neil Putnam, served 30 years in the United States Army, including 24 years as a member of the Special Forces regiment known commonly as Green Berets.

Growing up in a military family, Putnam moved around more than the average kid. He was born in Michigan and continued on to move to Northern Virginia, Oahu and Illinois, finally finishing in Tampa.

“I know I enjoyed it. It made me a better person,” Putnam said. “It can be tough. Packing up and having to go and meet new people and friends in high school and stuff like that. It was difficult at times but at the end of the day, I am grateful for it.”

Putman said he loved his time in Hawaii.

“I really enjoyed my time there. It was definitely different than anywhere else I've lived,” he said. “It was a great place with great people and I enjoyed it. And then football was really great, too, because it is serious over there as well. It was always good for me because a lot of places have weight limits (for youth football) and in Hawaii, there were no weight limits and you had two seasons in football. We had a fall season and a spring season and it was great.”

The Tigers play host to Miami this week, and the Tigers will once again look to run the football, something they accomplished in the win over Louisville last week. That production was much-needed after the loss to Notre Dame the week before. It also helped the Tigers clinch the ACC Atlantic Division outright.

“I think we did pretty well. We were efficient in the run game,” Putnam said. “When the coaches needed us to run the ball, we ran the ball and it was great. Win or lose, that has never really changed my preparation, and I can speak for the offensive line, our preparation. We prepare just the same for anybody. It means a lot (to clinch). Our goals are win the home opener, win the division, win the state and win the closer.”

Putnam and the Tigers are now looking ahead to Miami.

“They play physical football. It’ll be a good matchup for us up front, especially getting that run game going,” he said.

Clemson plays host to Miami Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Death Valley.