Clemson Football Awards Presented

Jan. 13, 2001

Clemson, S.C. — Head Coach Tommy Bowden presented numerous awards at the Clemson team football banquet Saturday night. Most of the awards were chosen by the Clemson coaching staff for performances during the 2000 Tiger season. Clemson finished the year with a 9-3 record and top 20 ranking, the school’s high win total since 1993 and high national final ranking since 1990.

Woodrow Dantzler and Rod Gardner were named co-MVPs of the Clemson offense, while Nick Eason was named MVP of the defense. Dantzler set a Clemson record for total offense and rushing yards by a quarterback during the 2000 season. He established 16 school records overall and scored 13 touchdowns to tie for the ACC lead. He had four consecutive games of at least 100 yards rushing and 300 yards total offense at one juncture, a first in college football history.

Gardner caught 58 passes and became Clemson’s career receiving leader in the process. He set a Clemson record with 182 receiving yards at North Carolina and tied a school single game mark with three touchdown catches. His 50-yard catch that set up the winning field goal against South Carolina was one of the highlight plays of the season for the Tigers. Gardner finished his career with 166 career receptions for 2498 yards.

Eason tied for the Clemson team lead in sacks with seven. He led all Clemson defensive linemen in tackles with 36. His 11 tackles for loss ranked second on the Tiger team. Eason, only a sophomore in 2000, missed the Gator Bowl with a torn achilles tendon injury.

It has been a Clemson tradition to name game captains as the season progresses, but permanent captains are named at the conclusion of the season. The permanent captains are voted on by the Clemson players. Gardner was named the offensive captain, while Chad Carson was named defensive captain. Chad Speck was named the permanent captain of the special teams.

Carson led the Clemson team in tackles with 156, including double figures in 10 of the 12 games. He had 10 tackles for loss and finished fourth in the nation in tackles per game. Speck had 18 special teams tackles and finished his career with 47, an all-time Clemson record.

Other awards were presented for solid, consistent and dependable effort (solid rock award), 12th man award (excellence when coming off the bench), and other areas. Graduate student Terry Witherspoon (offense) and first-team All-American Keith Adams (defense) received the Team Player Awards.

Awards were also presented for academic excellence. Those recipients were led by first-team Academic All-Americans Chad Carson and Kyle Young. Clemson was the only Division I school in the nation with two first-team Academic All-Americans.

Category Offense, Defense

Solid Rock Award Morgan Woodward, Woodrow Dantzler

Hustle Award Nick Eason

12th Man Award Willie Simmons, Freddie James Iron Man Award Chad Carson

Rookie of the Year Kevin Youngblood, Khaleed Vaughan

Special Teams Award Joe Don Reames, Rodney Thomas, Brian Mance

Scout Team Award Tyrone Dickerson, Micah Lewis

Team Player Award Terry Witherspoon, Keith Adams

Most Valuable, Playmaker Woodrow Dantzler

Captains Rod Gardner, WR Chad Carson, LB

Special Teams Captain Chad Speck

Strength Training