72 - Tommy Bowden Earned 72 Wins as Head Coach for Clemson - Clemson Football Forum

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72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Jun 20, 2024, 12:03 AM

In his playing days, Clemson DB James Trapp spent a lot of time finding trouble. Later in life, he found the Savior.

While at Clemson:

James Trapp could flat out fly. His elite speed helped him to become a true two-sport star. In addition to football, he was also a star in track. According to ClemsonTigers.com:

James Trapp has done it all during his athletic career. Trapp was a two-sport athlete at Clemson in 1989-1993. During his track and field career, he was a 14-time ACC Champion and a 10-time All-American as a sprinter.

https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-vault-james-trapp-a-true-clemson-champion/

Another ClemsonTigers.com article added the following:

JAMES TRAPP, Track & Field, Football, 1990-93
* A 10-time All-American * Won 12 ACC titles, six in individual events and six as a part of a relay team * ACC Outdoor Meet MVP in 1990 and 1992 * 1992 200m Indoor National Champion * 1993 U.S. and World Champion in the 200m indoor * Competed on the U.S. 4x100m relay team at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona * Holds Clemson record in the 200m indoors * A member of the mile relay team that holds the Clemson indoor record

https://clemsontigers.com/james-trapp/

Apparently, through running track, Trapp also gained experience in how to be efficient with resources. According to ClemsonTigers.com article:

“In 1992, he was the 200 meter indoor NCAA National Champion. He also played football and eventually played in the NFL for 11 years. He was also an Olympian and a Super Bowl Champion.Trapp remembers his career at Clemson… “I remember at the ACC Meet my freshman year we had run the 4×100 meters and won that. After the race I noticed my spikes were worn out and coming apart. Teammates and myself told Coach Pollock that I needed new shoes. We need to go to a local sporting goods store and get me some new shoes. Coach Pollock was very frugal and conservative. Coach Pollock simply said ‘we’ll put some tape on the shoe and they will be all right.’ So what I did I borrowed my roommate Larry Ryan’s shoes and luckily his events were opposite of mine so we shared the same shoes and made it through the meet.”

https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-vault-james-trapp-a-true-clemson-champion/

Now, that is resourcefulness!

Trapp was a great football player at Clemson as well. His speed and athleticism allowed him to excel at Clemson – until he displayed attitudes and behaviors that went too far. According to GoUpstate.com (from November 1992):

“Senior cornerback James Trapp was dismissed from the Clemson football team Tuesday, three days after he got into a verbal confrontation with head coach Ken Hatfield. According to several Clemson players, Trapp and Hatfield argued last Saturday on the plane trip back from Maryland, where the Tigers lost 53-23. "James and I disagreed on several matters and it is in the team's best interest, and also in James' best interest, that he not participate on the football team," Hatfield said in a written statement. "I wish James well in his future endeavors." Trapp, who will miss the final game of Clemson's season Saturday against South Carolina, was unavailable for comment.”

https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/1992/11/18/senior-cornerback-james-trapp-was-dismissed-from-the-clemso/29551502007/

After Clemson:

The Los Angeles Raiders selected James Trapp with the 72nd Pick (3rd Round) of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played for the Raiders for six seasons (1993-1998), two with the LA and then four with the team in Oakland. He also played four seasons (1999-2002) with the Baltimore Ravens and one season (2003) with the Jacksonville Jaguars. According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Trapp registered the following statistics at Clemson:

James Trapp (1993-2003):
- 349 Tackles (271 Solo and 57 Assisted)
- 9 Interceptions Returned for 99 Yards
- 3 Fumble Recoveries

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TrapJa20.htm

Trapp earned a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.

Like his time at Clemson, James Trapp found trouble in the NFL. The LA Times described Trapp as follows:

“This is the same James Trapp who, as a Los Angeles Raiders defensive back, came off the sidelines at Denver and joined in an on-field brawl -- while in street clothes. The world-class sprinter who in college got into a fistfight on the medal stand, a melee in which the second-place finisher broke his plaque over Trapp’s head. The one who was nabbed kicking a prone Ed McCaffrey in the ribs after the Broncos receiver had caught a conversion pass.
…
Trapp has known his share of hot water. He was Mr. Personal Foul during his 11 NFL seasons, drawing 15-yard penalties at every turn. That defined him even more than his blistering speed, which once earned him the title of NFL’s fastest man.
…
Trapp was no run-of-the-mill hothead. The Raiders sent him to an anger-management counselor, but that didn’t seem to work. He was among the league’s nastiest players, one who wore a self-described criminal scowl. In fact, he majored in criminology at Clemson and said he and his friends would have been great case studies for those classes. He figures he would have wound up in jail had he not been a pro football player.”

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-13-sp-nflcol13-story.html

But, that same LA Times article also recognizes Trapps’s transformation into a New Creation through Jesus Christ:

“James Trapp used to prey on people.

Now he prays for them.

The thug has turned thankful, touched by the Holy Spirit, he says, and is ready to start his new life as a Christian advisor for an NFL team. He has been serving an internship with the Atlanta Falcons and could eventually be promoted to team chaplain.”

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-oct-13-sp-nflcol13-story.html

In 2020, however, James Trapp was diagnosed with leukemia. No doubt his faith has helped him fight this terrible disease.

After Trapp found salvation through faith in Christ, Dabo later brought James Trapp as team chaplain. According to Sports Illustrated:

“Swinney brought on James Trapp, another former Clemson player, as the team chaplain, too. Trapp played 11 years in the NFL and, after years of abusing alcohol and marijuana, found religion. Like Davis, Trapp had a way with words. At one point, Swinney put him on the payroll, so he’d be authorized to speak to recruits.”

https://www.si.com/college/2019/09/04/clemson-dabo-swinney-religion-culture

Great to see a changed life – seeking to change lives!

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Clemson: Academic Excellence! Athletic Excellence!

Tommy Bowden did a lot of positive things for the Clemson football program. But his legacy is certainly shaped significantly by a certain assistant coach hire along the way.

Before Clemson:

According to Wikipedia: Tommy Bowden played WR for his father, Bobby Bowden, at West Virgina University from 1973-1976. After playing, he stayed on as a Graduate Assistant with the WV program in 1977. He then coached as an assistant with his father (now at FSU) between 1978-1979. Over close to a 20 year span, he served additional stints at Auburn, FSU (again), Duke, Alabama, Kentucky, and Auburn (again).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Bowden

He was named head coach for the first time at Tulane University in 1997. He went 7-4 at Tulane in 1997. He then followed that winning record with an undefeated 11-0 season in 1998. Going undefeated drew the attention of higher profile schools fairly quickly.

At Clemson:

In December 1998, Tommy Bowden was named the 24th head coach of the Clemson football program. When Tommy Bowden took the Clemson head coaching job in December 1998, he admitted it was the job he had really wanted for some time. According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Clemson got the football coach it wanted Thursday and Tommy Bowden got the traditional orange jacket and the $700,000-a-year job he said he has always wanted.

“Fifteen years ago, I kind of designated eight schools that were south of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi where I would like to retire,” said the 44-year-old Bowden. “At the top of that list was Clemson University.”

“I plan on being here the rest of my coaching career.”

https://clemsontigers.com/tommy-bowden-now-at-clemson-the-job-he-always-wanted/

Tommy Bowden served as head coach from 1999 to the midpoint of 2008. During that time, Tommy Bowden’s teams went 72-45 (43-32 in the ACC).

Being a head coach in the same conference as his dad created the annual “Bowden Bowl.” The first Bowden Bowl was played in 1999. It was a close hard fought FSU victory. Bobby Bowden beat his son each season until 2003 when Tommy got the upper hand in beating #3 ranked FSU and knocking the Noles out of the national title hunt. Tommy Bowden beat his dad again in 2005, 2006, and 2007 – the final three Bowden Bowls.

Bowden led each of his Clemson teams to bowl eligibility. Despite a 6-5 record, the 2004 team declined a bowl bid after players fought on the field with Gamechicken players in the team’s final regular season game.

The Clemson program showed several other positives during the Bowden era. According to ClemsonWiki.com:

“Twice Bowden has been named ACC Coach-of-the-Year (1999,03), joining Howard, Charley Pell, and Ford as the only two-time recipients of that award in Tiger history. In January 2006, he was given the Grant Teaff National Coach-of-the-Year Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Off the field, Clemson has graduated nearly 80 percent of its seniors in his nine years. Clemson's graduation success rate of 94 percent in 2005 was fourth-best among the 119 Division I-A programs. In 2003, Clemson was #11 in the nation, including second among public institutions, in the NCAA graduation-rate study for scholarship football signees who entered Clemson in 1996. Clemson was #1 in the nation in graduation rate among African-Americans (100 percent). Each of the top-eight semester team GPAs have been recorded under Bowden as well.”

https://clemsonwiki.com/wiki/Tommy_Bowden

Of note: It was Tommy Bowden who reached out to real estate developer and former coach Dabo Swinney about returning to coaching. Prior to the 2003 season, Bowden hired Dabo to be Clemson’s WR coach. Of all of Bowden’s decisions, this one turned out to be the most significant ramifications for Clemson’s future.

Ultimately, however, Bowden never won a championship. No conference championship. Not even a division title. All of the off-the-field success ultimately still requires championship-level on-the-field success as well. Bowden resigned during the 2008 season after a disappointing 3-3- start.

The day Bowden resigned, Clemson AD walked into a Monday morning staff meeting and announced Bowden’s decision. He also announced Dabo as the interim head coach and gave Dabo only a few minutes to report to his office.

The rest is history!

Hill Watch...72 days!!!

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72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Re: 72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Re: 72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Re: 72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Re: 72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Re: 72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft

Re: 72 - The LA Raiders Selected James Trapp with Pick 72 of the 1993 NFL Draft