Note: The following appears in the Troy football gameday program.
In 47 years of covering Clemson athletics, I have witnessed many examples of leadership by Tiger student-athletes. But one example always stands out.
It took place on New Year’s Eve, 2010 in Charlotte, N.C. at the Meineke Car Care Bowl. With all the great wins Head Coach Dabo Swinney has had at Clemson, this demonstration of leadership took place after a loss by a Tiger who had just played his last contest of a 53-game career.
South Florida had just defeated Clemson 31-26 to finish a 6-7 season, the Tigers’ only losing season since 1998.
Instead of sulking with his head in hands by his locker room, I noticed All-America safety DeAndre McDaniel moving around the locker room speaking to young players, who would be important to the future of the program. He did this before Swinney entered the locker room to speak with the team.
McDaniel’s words of encouragement, with emphasis about never letting this happen again, came from the heart.
Not only has Clemson not had another losing season since 2010, it has flourished, averaging 11.5 wins per year. The program has finished in the top 25 in the AP poll all 14 years, including eight in the top 10 and 12 top 15s. Two of the seasons ended with Clemson winning the national championship, and it has reached the College Football Playoff seven times.
In ACC play, Clemson has a 9-0 record in ACC Championship Games since that difficult day in Charlotte. Eight of the nine ACC titles have been achieved in that same Bank of America Stadium.
“I always tried to be a vocal leader, and it hit me that it was my last game for Clemson,” remembered McDaniel. “I thought it was important to encourage the younger guys who would be the future of the program.
“It had been a tough season with a lot of close losses (five by a touchdown or less), but I believed in these guys and Coach Swinney. I knew this would be my last chance to talk to the guys who would be the future of the program.”
If ever a player cared about the Clemson program, it was McDaniel. Now he continues to care about it as the nickelbacks coach of his alma mater. The 2025 season is his 11th on staff. He has worked his way through the ranks, serving as a graduate assistant and defensive assistant before reaching status as a full-time assistant coach last year.
McDaniel was a two-time All-American between 2007-10. His 2009 season is one of the great years by a defensive back in Clemson history. He had 102 tackles and eight interceptions in earning first-team All-America honors by the Football Writers Association, CBS Sports and Rivals.
McDaniel was third in the nation in interceptions and was the only player in the country with 100+ tackles and eight interceptions. He is also the only Tiger to do it in a season.
McDaniel came to Clemson from Tallahassee, Fla., and he seemed to play his best games against schools from the Sunshine State. Clemson beat Florida State and Miami (Fla.) during that 2009 season, and McDaniel had three combined interceptions in those two games, including two in the memorable 40-37 overtime victory over the No. 8 Hurricanes when McDaniel was named national defensive player-of-the-week.
Fittingly, we did this interview on Frank Howard Field on a bench just 10 yards from perhaps his most memorable play. Late in the 2009 game against Florida State, he intercepted a Christian Ponder pass and returned it down the Seminole sideline. The only player between McDaniel and the goal line was Ponder. To the quarterback’s credit, he took on McDaniel, who pointed at Ponder before the collision, seemingly warning him what was about to happen.
Ponder was able to knock McDaniel out of bounds, but the hit ended Ponder’s season due to a shoulder injury.
Clemson won the game 40-24, a huge victory on the way to winning the program’s first ACC Atlantic Division championship.
“Being from Florida, I always was ready to play teams from my home state, and they were always important games.”
It was not long after his playing career was over that McDaniel believed coaching would be his life’s work.
“When you are playing, you think about a long NFL career. But when that didn’t happen, I knew I wanted to be a coach. I dreamed of having a successful high school program and having a positive impact on young people.
“I have really achieved my dreams by being a full-time coach at my alma mater.”
McDaniel is quick to credit Swinney for giving him the opportunity.
“Coach Swinney recruited me out of high school, giving me the opportunity as a player and now as a coach. I believed in him from the time I was in high school. I learned from him as a player, and now I am teaching my players the way he taught me.”
