CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Lannden Zanders on Troy Polamalu, Locks of Love, and his grandma's mac and cheese
Zanders is easy to spot out on the football field (Photo courtesy of ACC)

Lannden Zanders on Troy Polamalu, Locks of Love, and his grandma's mac and cheese


by - Senior Writer -

Lannden Zanders crossed the field against Miami and delivered a punishing blow to a Hurricane ballcarrier, hair flowing freely from underneath his helmet, drawing comparisons to former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. Zanders probably wasn’t thinking about his idol at that moment, however. He was thinking about his grandmother and her famous mac and cheese.

Zanders is Clemson’s starting safety who has racked up 13 tackles, three pass breakups and one quarterback pressure in 145 snaps so far this season, a daring playmaker who is just as happy tipping the ball away from a receiver as he is delivering a punishing blow to a running back who dares fill the lane.

He is easy to spot because of his flowing locks, but his hair doesn’t get the same attention as another long-maned player on the roster named Trevor Lawrence.

“I am always getting compared to Trevor and his hair,” Zanders told TigerNet with a laugh Monday. “I guess with him being a quarterback he always gets the limelight, so I am not going to say anything about that.”

The reason why Zanders began to grow out his hair is a story of love. A love between a young man and his grandma, Wanda Robertson.

“The first reason I grew my hair is because my grandma had cancer. So, I would donate it two or three times to Locks of Love),” Zanders said. “The plan is to keep it long as long as I play football. This is my third time growing it out. It is maybe not the longest it has ever been, but it is close to it.”

Zanders grew up a grandma’s boy, and isn’t ashamed to admit it.

“Coming home from school. she always had something cooked for you. Always babying you. And whatever you wanted you would get it,” Zanders said. “It was great growing up and being a grandma's boy so I will never complain. Still, to this day, I love her mac and cheese. On home games, she would bake me a pan and bring it down before the games, so I would have it waiting for me at home. So mac and cheese is something I have always loved and still love.”

The mac and cheese is still a favorite.

“Before the game we have too many butterflies and we are thinking about the game plan and things like that. But after the game, I definitely think about what she has at home,” he said.

Donating his hair to Locks of Love was a way he felt like he could show support for one of the most important figures in his life.

“It feels good, especially with it being my grandma. And with it being October, it's very important to her and I will always try and do something to pay tribute to her,” Zanders said. “But in college, you can only wear pink in certain games, and I feel like me having my hair and keeping it long for her is something I can do. Even though she grew her hair back, I feel like it is something I've always done for her.

“At the time, she was very appreciative. I guess I was a grandma's boy growing up. Having me do that, and also my brother, she was very appreciative and she enjoyed the gesture. I wouldn't take it back for anything.”

The comparisons to Polamalu are a plus.

“But Troy Polamulu was one of my favorite players growing up and played for my team,” Zanders said before listing why Polamalu was his favorite player. “I would say how he played it. He was very confident. Just the way he flies around, that is what I tried to mimic in high school. He also plays the ball well, even though he is a shorter guy. But it's the way he plays the game, just very excited and flying around and making plays and always around the ball and that is what I tried to do.”

After his hit on the Miami ballcarrier, Zanders showed Polamalu-like emotion and his love for the game.

“That's the whole point. We want to have fun and win. That's what we do,” he said. “Preparing well, with great preparation, you can trust yourself and that is what we do.”

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