Clemson’s Adams and Gardner Named First-team All-American by College & Pro Football

Dec. 14, 2000

Clemson, SC – Linebacker Rod Gardner have both been named first-team All-Americans by College & Pro Football Weekly. This is the ninth service to name Adams to the first-team, the second service to name Gardner.

Adams was named first-team All-American by Associated Press on Wednesday. He has also been named to the first team by Gannett News Service, Football News, Walter Camp, Sporting News, collegefootballnews.com, rivals.com and bcs.com. Gardner was also chosen first-team by the Gannett News Service.

Adams had 138 tackles this year, including 18 behind the line of scrimmage. He had six sacks and now has 22 for his career. His 53 tackles for loss rank third in school history. The junior from College Park, GA was a finalist for the Butkus Award, the Bednarik Award and for the Football News National Defensive Player of the Year.

Gardner, a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, has 51 catches for 956 yards in 2000. He needs just four catches in the Gator Bowl against Virginia Tech to become Clemson’s all-time leader. His 956 yards rank second highest for a single season in Clemson history, second only to the 1084 he accumulated in 1999. Gardner set a Clemson record with 182 reception yards at North Carolina this year. His 50-yard reception from Woodrow Dantzler with just 10 seconds left set up Aaron Hunt’s game winning field goal against South Carolina on November 18.

Clemson concluded the season with four players who made first or second or third-team All-America squads this year. Free Safety Robert Carswell was a third-team selection by Sporting News and Associated Press. Center Kyle Young, a first-team academic All-American, was named second-team on the field All-American by Football News, third-team by The Sporting News.