Walker Parks hopes past lessons turn into Playoff push

Walker Parks remembers well the failures of the '23 campaign that he hopes he and his teammates wil not have to relive.

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Tue Oct 29 14:30:08 GMT-05:00 2024

CLEMSON - November is upon us, and the Tigers are in a position to make the playoffs. Walker Parks has been here before, but the results took a different turn than he had hoped for back then.

In 2022, Clemson entered November 8-0 and in the race to make the College Football Playoff. Four unranked opponents, including Notre Dame and South Carolina, stood in their way of a berth.

First, the Fighting Irish eliminated some hope of that in a 35-14 blowout victory over the fourth-ranked Tigers. Still, Clemson found a way to bounce back and clinch a spot in the ACC Championship.

Ironically enough, the Gamecocks gave them postseason life by blowing out Tennessee a week before the Palmetto Bowl. Once again, a win over your rival and an ACC crown seemed enough for a strong playoff resume. That shot took its final blow, however, with South Carolina taking down Clemson for the first time since 2013, 31-30.

For Parks, these memories are etched into his mind, being reminded of the shot the Tigers had for the postseason, only to fall painfully short. Two years later, the Tigers find themselves a successful November away from a shot to reach the playoffs. Parks believes those painful memories can be turned into powerful lessons.

“Obviously, we're not undefeated this time, but in that season, I think we all kind of expected to win and maybe didn't take opponents as seriously as we needed to, or maybe some guys here and there we didn't prepare as well,” Parks said. “So coming in this season, being back in a similar position like that, it's not going to take anything different. It's just having that experience is good and knowing what it takes to finish and having that pain of regret and seeing what it feels like to be 8-0 and to go up to South Bend and get your butt kicked in front of everybody and then lose at home to your rival. It's a pretty bad feeling, but it's definitely something that the taste of that never wears off.”

This version of Clemson has plenty of veterans who remember how that season played out and hope they can relay the do’s and don’ts for this late-season stretch.

They hope, if anything, they can encourage the younger players on this roster to work hard enough to prevent the harsh punch of coming up short.

“It leaves a bad taste in the mouth,” Parks said. “The good thing is that we have that experience now, and there's a lot of guys that were on that team that are back on this team now, and they know what it felt like, and we can share that with the younger guys and help them so they don't have to experience that.”

Seven games into the season, the wear and tear of that postseason chase has begun to accumulate.

Parks sees that as a good thing and believes it is his calling to ensure the team's morale continues to trend upward.

“I think this is the time where it's easy to grow weary, and that's the responsibility of the leaders on this team and the people who've been playing football for multiple years on this team, the seniors, to help the younger guys and get them on the right track,” Parks said. “And that's really the goal is better every single day, although your body hurts, it is Tuesday today, and we're going to go put full pads on a practice day. It has to be done; the work has to be done. So looking at the team, I'm proud of the team, and we keep progressing weekly. So that's the goal, to stay on that track.”

Much like the wear and tear of a long season, those painful memories from 2022 had torn a powerful motivation into Parks’ headspace. He knows more work is needed, and he’s ready to stay the course.