Hyatt and Benish also share another special connection…a national championship. Benish was a member of Clemson’s 1981 national championship team, and Hyatt was a member of the Tigers’ 2016 championship squad.
“It was surreal,” said Hyatt of the experience of winning the national championship. “Being there in 2015 and getting back there in 2016 and finishing through and actually being able to win it all, it was a surreal experience, because seeing how all your hard work paid off was awesome.”
Benish shared similar sentiments about his own championship experience about 35 years prior.
“At that time, it was something that was never done before, and we were cutting new ground. It was unexpected. We knew we were a good team, but starting the season out, we weren’t ranked. The expectations weren’t there. The hard work and the hope and all that stuff was there, but the expectations were to go out and take one game at a time and see what happens. And one game at a time led to 12 victories and a win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. It was a special time for me and my teammates.”
It was also special for Benish to see Hyatt be a part of his own national championship team. For Benish, seeing Hyatt’s love of the game grow into completed dreams with a scholarship and starting as a first-year freshman was also special, but it all culminated into the championship.
“It was truly a special moment when he won that national championship. You can’t explain it to anyone what it feels like to do something like that, but when you do it, you’re going to know exactly what I was talking about. He told me that he had that moment at the end of the game when they were lining up to kill the clock, and on that last play, he said, ‘That’s what my uncle was talking about.’ It was really something special, especially him telling me that.”
