Two Clemson Tiger Legends are Coming Home
CLEMSON, S.C. — Two Clemson legends will return home to Death Valley this Saturday when Clemson hosts its annual Orange and White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium.
Head coach Dabo Swinney announced Tuesday, on Out of Bounds with Qualk & Kelly on 105.5 The Roar, that Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant will be the honorary coaches in the game.
“Christian is fired up because he never won a spring game, and Austin is fired up because he has never lost a spring game,” Swinney said. “It should be a lot of fun and a little juice on the line there with those guys.
“We are going to have a bunch of former players coming back and just a great day in the Valley.”
Cornerbacks coach Mike Reed and tight ends coach Kyle Richardson will be the two head coaches for the game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. It will be televised on the ACC Network, as well.
Wilkins and Bryant were a part of two national championship teams during their time at Clemson. Of course, both are famously remembered as part of a front four that helped the Tigers lead the nation in scoring defense in 2018, while going on to win the program’s third national championship. The two were joined by Clelin Ferrell and Dexter Lawrence and were affectionately known as the Power Rangers.
Before being selected No. 13 overall by the Miami Dolphins in the 2019 NFL Draft, Wilkins finished his college career as one of Clemson’s most decorated and most beloved figures. He had 250 tackles in his career, including 41 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 56 quarterback pressures, 16 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in over 59 games. He started 45 of them.
A three-time All-American, he became the fifth unanimous All-American in school history in 2018.
Wilkins, who played defensive tackle and defensive end in his Clemson career, also won the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is considered to be the Academic Heisman of College Football. He also ran the ball four times for 13 yards with two rushing touchdowns and caught two passes for 31 yards with a touchdown during his time at Clemson.
Bryant, a fourth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2019, finished his career with 153 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 20.0 sacks, 32 quarterback pressures, four pass breakups, two caused fumbles and an interception in over 51 games. He started 29 games and earned Outstanding Defensive Player of the game honors in the College Football Playoff Semifinal win over Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
The former Clemson defensive end also earned First-Team All-American honors by the Football Writers Association following the 2017 season.
