Buckner to Vote in Harris Poll

Aug. 23, 2005

Former Clemson All-ACC defensive tackle and current Carolina Panther Brentson Buckner has been selected as one of 114 panelists voting in the new Harris interactive College Football Poll.

The Harris Poll is composed of former college players, coaches and administrators, plus some members of the media, and it will replace the Associated Press poll in the formula used by the BCS in selecting teams for the four major bowls at the end of the season.

Buckner will launch his own website (brentsonbuckner.com) on August 30 and will post his Harris poll vote each week on the site. Buckner will post a preseason poll next week and a new poll each week even though the official Harris poll voting won’t begin until September 25.

He is the only voter with a connection to Clemson on the panel.

Now in his 12th season in the NFL, Buckner is the only current NFL player among the 114 voters. He was nominated for the position on the panel by Clemson and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Each conference in the BCS submitted nominations for the poll this past summer.

A native of Columbus, GA, Buckner played for the Tigers from 1990-93 (red-shirted 1989) and was a first-team All-ACC defensive tackle in 1993. He concluded his career with a 13-tackle performance in the Peach Bowl against Kentucky and was named the Defensive Player of the Game.

He was a starter on Clemson’s 1991 ACC Championship team that led the nation in rushing defense and finished his career with 46 career tackles for loss, including 22 sacks. He is still seventh in Clemson history in tackles for loss and fifth in sacks.

Buckner was the 50th selection of the April 1994 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played three seasons with the Steelers, including 1995 when he started in the Super Bowl against Dallas. He then played one season in Cincinnati, and three seasons in San Francisco, before signing with the Panthers prior to the 2001 season.

Buckner has been a starter each of the last four years with the Panthers, including the 2003 season when he started in the Super Bowl against New England. He is a veteran of 158 NFL games, including 109 as a starter.