It's all about TEAM!

Aug 3, 2008, 3:13 PM

Did anyone else notice this from Friday's practice? I've never seem the team talk about this before. Is it a first?

These are the things, as 'simple' as it may seem, that bring teams together.

Clemson climbing to get to the top
By Will Vandervort (Contact / Staff Bio)
August 2, 2008 - 12:17 a.m. EST

CLEMSON — It’s a sharp drop off that falls close to 100 feet. In Clemson it’s known as the Clemson Dyke, located on Highway 93 across from the McFadden Building, which houses the football program.

Seldom is the ###, which supports the Seneca River Portion of Lake Harwell, climbed. But on Friday afternoon, a few hours before the start of summer practice, every member of the 2008 Clemson Tigers climbed it.

“That was tough for us, and a lot of guys probably couldn’t make it, but they crawled or did whatever they could to get to the top of that hill,” running back James Davis said after Friday night’s practice. “They did everything it took, and once everybody got to the top we just broke it down, 110 percent. That’s kind of our motto this year. Whatever we do, we just have to give 110 percent and things will happen for us.”

And that’s the difference Davis says separates this year’s squad from the previous three he has been on in Tigertown.

“You have guys pushing other guys,” he said. “They will not let anyone quit. You have guys throwing up, but they don’t quit. We have everybody trying to do whatever it takes to get to another level.”

That next level is winning an ACC Championship and then who knows what. Davis says there is a hunger in this year’s team that he has never seen before.

“Guys see that we are ranked and that we are ranked high,” the senior said. “They have that motivation to come out here and try to work hard. Even in the off-season, they knew.

“We came out here on the practice field and knew that we have to do something different this year. We are going to play with an edge. We are going to play with a chip on our shoulder.”

They have that chip because many around the country do not believe Clemson is as good as advertised. The Tigers, who debuted Friday at No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, have been given the status of “most likely to flop” by some national analysts.

The last three years, Clemson has missed playing for the ACC Championship by just a few points. Three years ago it was a one-point loss at Georgia Tech. Two years ago it was a one-point loss at home to a less talented Maryland team, and last year, Boston College’s Matt Ryan broke their hearts with a late touchdown pass in November.

“We have to finish,” Davis said. “Those people said it because that’s what has been happening. We just have to have a year where we finish at the end, and we finish strong and get some kind of championship because that’s why we have been working hard.

“Those people said that for a reason because that’s been our past, so we just have to do something for them not to say it.”

Clemson will get that chance on Aug. 30 in the Georgia Dome when it opens the season against Alabama. Davis said he is excited about the prospects of the new season and can already taste the ACC Championship.

“I really can,” he said. “I have been close since I have been here. I’m going to fight for it. I know Cullen (Harper) has said the same, Michael Hamlin and all of those guys that have been here for five years. Everybody wants it.”

And they have already climbed their first hurdle. That’s a start.

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It's all about TEAM!

Re: It's all about TEAM!

hamlet, that's one way to look at it, but here's mine.......

My Dearest Hamlet --- Do I care what a member

Re: My Dearest Hamlet --- Do I care what a member

'Et tu Brute?'...***

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