Kinard Will Join Ring Of Honor

July 18, 2001

Clemson, SC – Former Clemson All-America free safety Terry Kinard will be inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor during ceremonies at the Clemson vs. Florida State game on November 3, 2001. The induction will be held in conjunction with ceremonies honoring the 20th anniversary of Clemson’s 1981 National Championship team.

It will be the second major honor for Kinard in 2001. He will be honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame at the September 22nd Virginia game at Death Valley.

Kinard will be the sixth player and seventh person to be inducted into the Ring of Honor at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The others players already enshrined are Banks McFadden, Steve Fuller, Jeff Davis, Fred Cone and Jerry Butler. Frank Howard is also in the Clemson Ring of Honor.

Kinard will have his jersey retired and a likeness of his helmet and uniform number (43) will be displayed in the Ring of Honor at Memorial Stadium. “This is a great honor, one I am very excited about. This is the highest award given by Clemson, so it means a great deal. This is going to be an exciting Fall.”

Kinard, who played for the Tigers from 1978-82 and was named National Defensive Player of the Year by CBS Sports as a senior, will be just the second Clemson player in history to be honored by the College Football Hall of Fame, the first since Banks McFadden in 1959.

A native of Sumter, SC, Kinard was a first-team Associated Press All-American in 1981 and 1982, the only two-time first-team AP All-American in school history. He was in fact a unanimous selection in 1982, the only unanimous first-team All-American in Clemson history.

Kinard recorded 17 interceptions during his Clemson career, still the high mark in school history and second in ACC history. He ranked in the top 15 in the nation in interceptions in 1981 and 1982 and was a major reason Clemson had a combined record of 21-1-1 over those two years. Clemson’s defense ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring defense each year. He was Clemson’s second leading tackler on the 1981 National Championship team and led the 1982 squad that finished eighth in the final Associated Press poll.

At the conclusion of his Clemson career, Kinard was chosen in the first round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants, the 10th overall pick of the draft. He played seven years for the Giants, including the team’s 1986 Super Bowl Championship season. Kinard was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 1983 and the Pro Bowl in 1988.

Since his retirement from the game, Kinard was named to Sports Illustrated’s All-1980s team that was released in conjunction with the magazine’s All-20th Century team of college football. In 2000 he was named Clemson’s top player of the 20th Century by CNNsi.com. He was also chosen to the USA Today All-Decade team for the 1980s. In 1996 he was named to Clemson’s Centennial Team and received more votes than any other defensive player.