Twenty-Five Student-Athletes Receive Degrees on Thursday

Dec. 18, 2008

Clemson, SC-Twenty-five current and former student-athletes earned undergraduate academic degrees from Clemson University on Thursday. The ceremonies took place at Littlejohn Coliseum. The list included nine current and former Tiger football players and five former or current members of the men’s soccer program.

The nine members of the football team include Aaron Kelly, the ACC’s career reception leader with 226 catches. He will play his final game in a Clemson uniform when the Tigers meet Nebraska in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on January 1. Kelly earned his degree in management.

Also receiving a degree on Thursday was veteran defensive tackle Rashaad Jackson. Jackson has been injured much of the year, but the Tigers are 4-1 since he returned to the lineup on November 1. Jackson received his degree in community recreation management.

Other Clemson football players past and present who received degrees include Curtis Baham, LaDonte Harris, Kyle Davisson, Brandon Oliver, Charles Roediger nad Brandon Speweik. Sixteen players on the current Clemson team will have an undergraduate degree when they meet Nebraska in the Gator Bowl.

Five current and former Clemson men’s soccer players also received degrees on Thursday. The list includes David Newton, a third-team All-South defender who will return next season for Trevor Adair’s program as a graduate student. Newton earned his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Other members of Adair’s team who received degrees on Thursday were David Bell, Ricky Lewis, David Poe and Havird Usry.

Two Tiger baseball players also received the degrees. Stan Widmann, Clemson’s starting shortstop this coming spring, received his degree in sport management, as did former All-American home run champion Michael Johnson.

Among the female student-athletes who earned degrees on Thursday were rower Suzanne VanFleet, women’s soccer all-conference players Molly Johnson and Ashley Phillips and women’s basketball players Tasha Taylor and De’Lesha Lloyd. Taylor is a still a point guard on the Lady Tigers team and has helped Cristy McKinney’s team to an 8-2 start.

Clemson Student-Athletes Who Graduated on December 18, 2008

Student-Athlete	Sport	Major
Curtis Baham	Football	Sport Management
David Bell	M. Soccer	Electrical Engineering
Kyle Davisson	Football	Management
Adam Farnham	M. Swimming	Chemistry
Mitch Greeley	M. Track	Community Recreation Management
Polly Hardy	W. Track	Community Recreation Management
LaDonte Harris	Football	Sport Management
Rashaad Jackson	Football	Community Recreation Management
Stan Widmann	Baseball	Sport Management
Michael Johnson	Baseball	Career and Technology Education
Molly Johnson	W. Soccer	Marketing
Aaron Kelly	Football	Management
Matthew Knowles	Football	Civil Engineering
Ricky Lewis	M. Soccer	Marketing
D’Lesha Lloyd	W. Basketball	Sport Management
David Newton	M. Soccer	Civil Engineering
Brandon Oliver	Football	Management
Ashley Phillips	W. Soccer	Sociology
Danny Poe	M. Soccer	Management
Charles Roediger	Football	Sport Management
Stephen Russell	M. Swimming	Management
Brandon Speweik	Football	Marketing
Tasha Taylor	W. Basketball	Sport Management
Havird Usry	M. Soccer	Language & International Trade
Suzanne Vanfleet	Rowing	Early Childhood Education