Note: The following appears in the Furman football gameday program.
The history of Clemson and Furman dates to Oct. 31, 1896, when Clemson played its first football game against the Paladins in Greenville. The schools have been intertwined in many athletic endeavors ever since.
We have another example today. Twenty-eight years ago, Furman’s director of strength & conditioning, Joey Batson, was faced with a life-altering decision. Should he leave his position at Furman and come to Clemson, or remain at the institution that had named him the school’s first full-time director the previous year?
Today, Batson serves as Clemson’s director of strength & conditioning for the final time in Death Valley against Furman. He announced his retirement from the position before the season began. His assistant, Dennis Love, will replace him in January.
“It is strange how things work out over time,” said Batson. “I grew up in Travelers Rest, and when I took the Furman position in 1996, I thought I would be a lifer at Furman. It was home and the people were great.”
Another strange aspect of the story involved his decision to come to Tigertown.
“I got the call from Coach Tommy West, who I had worked with when I was a graduate assistant under Gary Wade in the 1980s. Coach Wade was moving into administration supervising facilities, but I felt a little strange about replacing him.”
When it came time to make the decision, he met with Furman Head Coach Bobby Johnson, a former Tiger defensive back who had the Paladin program in good shape after a 9-4 season that included a second-round appearance in the playoffs.
“He told me he certainly wanted me to stay, but he saw it as a great opportunity to work for a major program. He said that someone was going to take the position, and it might as well be you.”
Batson then had a conversation with Wade.
“He really wanted one of his former assistants to take over. He was so supportive in the entire process and has continued to be the entire time I have been here.
“I have learned so much from Coach Wade in regards to the importance of relationships with the student-athletes and the importance of keeping the facility up to date. Coach Wade was outstanding in that area when I worked with him as a graduate assistant. He was always looking for a way to make the strength training facility better.”
No one understands the importance of what Batson has done for the program more than Head Coach Dabo Swinney. They worked closely since Swinney came to Clemson as an assistant coach in 2003.
“When I came to Clemson, I had young kids and he had young kids, so we had a lot in common from a family situation,” said Swinney. “So we spent a lot of time together. I really got to know Joey, his wife, Susan, and children, Ben and Michael (both are former Clemson football players).
“It was apparent from the start that he had the respect of the players. They really loved him. He has had such a huge impact on our program. He is one of the unsung heroes of this program during my tenure.
“The strength coach is around the student-athletes more than anyone, especially in the offseason, and that is such an important time of the year when it comes to the development of the football program.
“The strength coach is the engine in the offseason, and I thank the Good Lord he has been with us here every step of the way.”
Swinney continued by citing some program numbers that demonstrate how important Batson has been over the years.
“All you have to do is see our record when it comes to winning games going into the fourth quarter. That record (165-10) is a reflection on what Joey has done to have our players conditioned to go 60 minutes or more. You can say the same thing about our ability to win one-score games.”
The Tigers are also 41-15 in one-score games since 2011, the best record in the country. Batson has had a direct impact on those records through his involvement in the motivational video played in Death Valley prior to the start of the final quarter.
Batson, who is the main motivational speaker in the video, recalled with a smile the story of the making of it.
“Jordan Sorrells asked me if I would be a part of this video they were doing to play before the fourth quarter. I said ‘OK,’ but didn’t really know what I was going to do when I got to the studio.
“Jordan and some other people were in the studio. I sat down in front of the camera, closed my eyes and thought about what I should say. They didn’t give me specific lines. I just imagined I was speaking directly to the team.
“Looking back, it was almost a spiritual experience. While I was concentrating, I recalled something Scott Bennett, a former graduate assistant, had said to me that he had said to a volleyball team that he was trying to motivate.
“They don’t put championship rings on smooth hands.
“I recalled him telling me that line, and it seemed like the right thing to say for this video.
“When I finished, I looked up and everyone seemed really pleased with what I did. That was it. One take and everyone seemed happy with it.”
One of the reasons for Batson’s success is his credibility with Tiger athletes. He was an all-state football player at Travelers Rest High School as a defensive end, then played the 1979 season as a tight end at The Citadel. He then played three years as a tackle at Newberry and was a team co-captain in 1982.
“I was always into weightlifting and being as strong as I could be. I was involved in some national competitions and finished in the top five.”
That experience made him look at a career in strength training, which was a growing field across the country.
His long career also brings credibility to the athletes, because they know he has seen it all over a 40-year career. After four years as a Clemson graduate assistant under Wade, a time when the Tigers won three ACC championships and finished in the top 20 three times, he became the head strength coach at Bowling Green. His time there included an 11-1 season in 1991, when it won the MAC championship.
After a year as a strength & conditioning assistant at South Carolina, Batson went to Furman for four years (1993-96) before returning to Clemson for the 1997 season.
During his career, he has kept the Tiger program among the elite in the nation through innovative programs. One is the Clemson “Power Hour,” whereby redshirts and walk-ons who are not on the travel roster take part in a one-hour session in the facility while the regulars are in position meetings. They do this four times a week.
Seventy-seven graduates of “Power Hour” have gone on to play in the NFL. It is a big part of the developmental aspect of Swinney’s program.
Batson has also seen his strength training facility expand and improve countless times during his 29 seasons. The current facility in the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex is among the best in the nation.
Batson’s credibility with the administration, especially Athletic Directors Bobby Robinson, Terry Don Phillips, Dan Radakovich and now Graham Neff, is a big reason the improvements have been approved over the years.
