Monday 06/21/1999
April 17, 1998
Raymond Priester…TB…6-1…235…Allendale, SC
In 1997: First-team All-ACC as a senior, he was second team all-conference as a sophomore and junior…honorable mention All-American by the Football News.. nominee for the Doak Walker Award…holds 18 Clemson records altogether…only active player in 1997 who held his school’s rushing record on a game, season and career basis…he still holds all three of those records…seventh leading rusher in ACC history with 3966 rushing yards…Clemson’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards with over 4282, Clemson’s only 4000-yard all-purpose runner…first running back in Clemson history to be named first or second-team All-ACC for three years…just missed becoming first Clemson player in history to have three 1000-yard rushing seasons in a career…just 34 yards short of 4000 for his career…tied Clemson record record for receptions by a running back…had his top game of the season at Maryland when he had 36 carries for 204 yards and two touchdowns…carried the ball 12 times on one drive for 83 yards and the score…he had 12 straight carries at one juncture of that game, a Clemson record for consecutive rushing plays…his eight-yard run with 7:30 left iced Clemson’s key 20-9 victory on the road…concluded the regular season with 112 yards in 24 attempts at South Carolina…only back in Clemson history to rank in top 40 in the nation in rushing for three straight years…had an injury plagued last month of the season, he was finally healthy at South Carolina…was injured (sprained ankle) in the first quarter at Wake Forest after picking up 30 yards in the first period…did not play against Duke the following week and then had just 12 rushes against North Carolina…regarded as the leader of the Clemson team…started the year with 23-138 against Appalachian State, his sixth straight 100-yard rushing game over two years to tie a Clemson record…held to 89 yards the next week by NC State to stop the streak…had 77 in 25 carries against Florida State’s number-one ranked rushing defense, then had 99 yards against Georgia Tech…had his only two touchdown day of the year against Maryland…finished with 14 career 100-yard rushing games, most in Clemson history…this includes a Clemson bowl record 150 yards against LSU in 1996..ranked 40th in the nation in rushing yards per game with 89.4…. started more games at running back than anyone in Clemson history (42) and his streak of 31 straight starts was also a Clemson record..
In 1996: Second in the ACC in rushing in 1996…broke the Clemson career rushing record with a 151 yard performance in the Peach Bowl against LSU….broke his own mark of 1,322 yards which he set in 1995 with 1,345 yards in ’96…21st in the nation in rushing in 1996…second team All-ACC pick for two consecutive seasons…had seven 100-yard games ..had streak of four straight 100-yard games heading into 1997, Clemson record was five in a row…led Clemson in rushing 11 out of 12 games..first on the team in terms of points with 44 and all purpose yardage with 1,460, the all-purpose rushing yardage total was a Clemson record….second on the team in total offense with 1,345 yards….longest run of his career was 65 yard TD run versus South Carolina…ran for a season high 187 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns against Wake Forest…also made four catches for 22 yards in that game…averaged 7.6 yards per carry versus South Carolina with 18 carries for 137 yards…also picked up 39 yards with four receptions and a touchdown….had exactly 176 all-purpose yards in each of his last two regular season games…ran the ball for 175 yards in Clemson’s win over #22 Georgia Tech on 25 carries…earned ACC Back-of-the-Week honors for that performance…was ABC/Chevrolet Player-of-the-Game versus both Georgia Tech and Maryland…rushed for 122 yards in the win over Virginia, but Kelton Dunnican led Clemson in rushing that day with 123 yards…..
In 1995: Second-team All-ACC running back…his 1,322 rushing yards ranks second in Clemson history behind his own count of 1,345 set in 1996…set Clemson single game record with 263 on 32 rushes against Duke on November 11…that total broke the record of 260 against Duke by Cliff Austin in 1982…the ACC’s leading rusher with his 116-yard average (regular season), first Tiger since 1987 and just the second Clemson back since 1967 to lead the ACC in rushing…18th in the nation in rushing yards per game, highest ranking by a Clemson running back since 1988 when Terry Allen ranked 15th with an average of 103.6 yards per game….especially effective on sloppy turf, he averaged 174 yards in regular season games played in the rain or on turf that had become sloppy due to rain earlier in the day…first half of the Clemson-Duke game was played in driving rain…his 263-yard effort was high mark for an ACC back that season and first 200-yard game for a Clemson running back since 1986…ACC Player-of-the Week for his performance against Duke…ACC Player-of-the-Week by the Jefferson-Pilot TV Network for his performance against Duke…only two-time winner of the Clemson Take No Prisoners Award in 1995, he won the honor for his efforts against Wake Forest and Duke…award is given for the “greatest warrior” effort in a Clemson victory….had five 100-yard rushing games, three of them in a row…had 22-111 against Florida State in the second game of ’95, he had 12 broken tackles in that game…followed that with 27-154 against Wake Forest in Winston Salem, he broke 13 tackles in that game…had another 111-yard game in 27 attempts against Virginia, he broke 12 more tackles in that contest…had 86 broken tackles for the season, including 11 against Duke in the game in which he set Clemson single game rushing record …had at least 80 yards in each of the last five regular season games when the Tigers had a perfect 5-0 record …second on the team in touchdowns with six, he was the setup man for Emory Smith when it comes to that category… had 85 yards in 17 attempts against South Carolina, but his leadership had more to do with the Tiger victory …suffered a pulled hamstring in the first half and had just seven yards in four attempts at halftime …came back in the third period after treatment with the Tigers trailing 17-10 and led the Tigers to 28 straight points and a three- touchdown victory… averaged at least four yards a carry in every regular season game with a high of 8.22 against Duke…started every game but the Florida State contest…well known in his hometown, he was Grand Marshall of Allendale’s Spring Festival Parade and commencement speaker at his high school’s graduation…
In 1994: Ranked as the top sophomore fullback in the nation by the 1995 Sporting News preseason magazine…ranked as 9th best fullback in the nation overall…he was moved to tailback in the first couple of weeks of fall practice…started eight of his 11 appearances in 1994…named Honorable Mention All-ACC by ACSWA…named the Exxon Player-of-the-Game against Maryland…carried the ball 19 times against Maryland for 88 yards and a touchdown…the touchdown was his top run of the season as he bounced off several tacklers and came out of a pile to score…showed his conditioning in that game when he carried five straight times for 42 yards as the clock expired…had 87 carries for 343 yards on the season, second best figure on the team…the most consistent of the 11 first-year freshmen who lettered…responsible for three touchdowns, tied for team honors…totalled 62 yards on 13 carries and had one reception for nine yards in Duke game…ranked second on the squad in rushing behind fellow-true-freshman Lamont Pegues….had a successful game against the North Carolina Tar Heels, rushing 20 times for 63 yards…had his third touchdown of the season in the last game of his freshman year when he ran in a 15-yard play to tie the score against South Carolina late in the second period…
In High School: Rated the sixth best linebacker in the Atlantic region by Bluechip Illustrated…honorable mention Dixie Dozen player in South Carolina…rushed for 1,973 yards and scored 24 TDs in 1993, and rushed for 5,673 yards in his career…had 304 yards rushing in one playoff game… played for South Carolina in the Shrine Bowl…scored 71 TDs during his career…as a linebacker recorded 62 first hits and 39 assists with four interceptions, one was returned for a touchdown…1994 SuperPrep All-Midatlantic team member and rated sixth-best player in South Carolina by SuperPrep… named a potential All-American by The National Recruiting Advisor… member of the All-Mid-Atlantic Coast team by Prep Football Report… selected AA all-state team…AA Back-of-the-Year by The State…Co-Offensive-Back-of-the-Year in Region VI…team co-captain…four-time winner of offensive MVP at Allendale-Fairfax High… selected to the Region VI all-region team and to CSRA all-area team four years in a row… honorable mention all-state team member as a sophomore and a junior…1992-93 Athlete-of-the-Year at Allendale-Fairfax High …gained 1023 yards as a freshman and was named his team’s offensive MVP… played his high school football for Mike Doolittle, a Clemson graduate …oldest of 10 children in his family… Priester’s father, Raymond Sr., played high school football at Allendale-Fairfax…majoring in industrial education…born 2/3/75 in Allendale, SC.
18 Records held By Raymond Priester *Most yards rushing in a career (3966) *Most yards rushing in a season (1345, in 1996) *Most yards rushing/game in a season (112.1, 1996) *Most yards rushing in a game (263 vs. Duke, 1995) *Most yards rushing in four-game series (599, 1995) *Most all-purpose running yards in a career (4282) *#Most carries in a game (36 vs. Maryland, 1997) *Most carries in a season (257, 1996) *Most carries in a career (805) *Most consecutive carries in a game (12 vs. Maryland,1997) *Most 100-yard games in a season (7 in 1996) *Most 100-yard rushing games, career (15, 1994-97 *#Most consecutive 100 yd rushing games (5, 1996-97 *Most yards rushing in a bowl game (151 vs. LSU, 1996 Peach) *#Most 200-yard rushing games in a career (2) *#Most receptions by a running back in a career (45) *Most starts at running back in a career (42) *Most consecutive starts at running back in a career (31) #Indicates tied record
1994 PRIESTER GAME-BY-GAME STATS Date Opponent Att. Yds Avg TD LG Rc-Yds 9/3 Furman 1 2 2.0 0 2 0-0 9/10 N.C. State 0 0 0.0 0 0 0-0 9/17 at Virginia 0 0 0.0 0 0 0-0 10/1 *Maryland 19 88 4.6 1 18 1-2 10/8 *at Georgia 9 29 3.2 0 7 0-0 10/15 *at Duke 13 62 4.8 1 23 1-9 10/22 *at Florida St. 5 26 5.2 0 26 0-0 10/29 *Wake Forest 8 28 3.5 0 4 1-5 11/5 *at N. Carolina 20 63 3.2 0 9 0-0 11/12 *Georgia Tech 10 30 3.0 0 7 1-(-2) 11/19 *S. Carolina 2 15 7.5 1 15 0-0 Totals 87 343 3.9 3 26 4-14
1995 PRIESTER GAME-BY-GAME STATS Date Opponent PL Att Yds Avg TD LG Rec Yds 9/2 *W. Carolina 28 8 61 7.6 0 13 2 19 9/9 Florida State 42 22 111 5.0 1 25 2 9 9/16 *at W Forest 66 27 154 5.7 0 14 0 0 9/23 *Virginia 72 27 111 4.1 0 25 4 22 9/30 *at N.C. State 34 12 93 7.8 2 31 0 0 10/7 *Georgia 45 16 72 4.5 0 11 1 2 10/21 *at Maryland 63 22 163 7.4 1 25 0 0 10/28 *at GA Tech 65 20 78 3.9 0 14 1 6 11/4 *N. Carolina 49 20 95 4.8 0 12 0 0 11/11 *Duke 54 32 263 8.2 1 44 0 0 11/18 *at S. Carolina 36 17 85 5.0 1 17 0 0 1/1 *^vs. Syracuse 40 15 36 2.4 0 15 2 16 Totals 594 238 1322 5.6 6 59 12 74
1996 PRIESTER GAME-BY-GAME STATS Date Opponent PL Att Yds Avg TD LG Rec Yds 8/31 *N. Carolina 46 15 34 2.3 0 8 0 0 9/7 *Furman 44 17 118 6.9 0 19 0 0 9/21 *Missouri 64 22 81 3.7 1 9 2 10 9/28 *Wake Forest 54 30 187 6.2 2 24 4 22 10/5 *Florida State 64 18 27 1.5 0 8 1 5 10/12 *Duke 66 18 82 4.6 0 13 0 0 10/19 *Georgia Tech 67 25 175 7.0 1 27 1 9 11/2 *Maryland 53 19 85 4.5 0 11 0 0 11/9 *Virginia 61 20 122 6.1 1 23 0 0 11/16 *N.C. State 77 30 146 4.9 1 35 3 30 11/23 *S. Carolina 73 18 137 7.6 0 65 4 39 12/28 *LSU (Peach) 60 25 151 6.0 0 34 0 0 Totals 729 257 1345 5.2 6 65 15 115
RAYMOND PRIESTER Game by Game 1997 Date Opponent Pl Att Yds Avg TD LG Rec Yds 9/6 App. St. 48 23 138 6.0 1 38 0 0 9/13 at NC State 78 24 89 3.7 0 12 3 30 9/20 Florida St. 83 25 77 3.1 0 9 2 16 9/27 at GA Tech 71 25 99 4.0 1 14 2 13 10/4 UTEP 49 20 82 4.1 1 14 0 0 10/11 Virginia 61 8 25 3.1 0 5 4 28 10/25 at Maryland 53 36 204 5.7 2 16 0 0 11/1 at W. Forest 31 7 30 4.3 1 9 2 8 11/8 Duke DNP-Sprained ankle 11/15 UNC 27 12 38 3.2 0 7 0 0 11/22 at USC 45 24 112 4.7 0 24 1 18 1/2 vs Auburn 50 19 62 3.3 0 25 0 0 Totals 596 223 956 4.9 6 38 14 113
PRIESTER CAREER STATS Year GP-GS PL Att Yds Avg. TD LG Rec Yds 1994 11-8 410 87 343 3.9 3 26 4 14 1995 12-11 594 238 1322 5.8 6 44 12 74 1996 12-12 729 257 1345 5.2 6 65 15 115 1997 11-11 596 223 956 4.3 6 38 14 113 Totals 46-42 2329 805 3966 4.9 21 65 45 316
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