The Clemson Culture: Check Your Ego At The Door
Anyone familiar with the Clemson football program has heard that one of the things that makes it so appealing to players is the culture of the program. Culture is a word you hear college coaches use frequently, but at Clemson, it actually has merit.
That's not to say it doesn't at other places, because obviously it does. However, at Clemson, the culture of the program is something that's taken seriously. It's something that the coaches have put a lot of time and effort into building. Not only the coaches, but the players as well.
One of the biggest things ingrained into the Clemson culture is that there is no room for ego's. As a player, you need to check your ego at the door, and put the team first. That doesn't just apply to the players, sometimes it applies to coaches too.
Over the past four seasons, Clemson has employed as system in which they have two offensive coordinators. Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott have shared the responsibilities for running the Tigers offense, and it's worked seamlessly.
"I think five years ago people on the outside looked at it like, okay, we're going to see how this is going to work," Elliott said. "Can two guys make it work? We decided to take our egos out of it from day one, and we both understood each other's aspirations and we both understood that in order for each one of us to accomplish that, we needed to do it together."
Two guys, working together, for the greater good. When you have coaches putting their ego's aside for the betterment of the team, that resonates. The players see it, feed off of it, and it effects the entire locker room.
On the field, Travis Etienne has been the epitome of the Clemson culture. Here is one of the more dynamic running backs in the country, yet he rarely gets more that 12-15 carries a game.
"One of the most beautiful things about Travis, is I've now coached him for three seasons, and he's had unbelievable success," Elliott said. "He's never once asked me for extra touches. Never once came in and said, coach I need this many touches. That's unprecedented in this day and age."
In today's world, it's refreshing to see players with that kind of attitude. We see so many examples of those me-first guys, who are more worried about themselves than the success of the team.
"That tells me that he doesn't care about his touches," Elliott said. "He just wants to play well so his teammates can enjoy success with him."
When you hear the coaches at Clemson start talking about the culture they've created, this is part of what they are referring too. It isn't just lip service, or meant to be a soundbite.
When they talk about the culture at Clemson, they are talking about something that actually has meaning. They are talking about a big part of what has transformed the program from "Lil Ole Clemson," into the "Evil Empire" it seems to be becoming today.
