The 2009 Clemson Tigers football team represented

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

in the

2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2009, and ended o ...

. The Tigers were led by head coach

Dabo Swinney William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (; born November 20, 1969) is an American college football coach, currently serving as the head football coach at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach of the Clemson Tiger ...

, who was in his first full season as head coach. The Tigers played their home games in Memorial Stadium. The Tigers won the ACC Atlantic Division, but after securing the title lost to in–state rival

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in the Palmetto Bowl 34–17, before losing for the second time in the season to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson closed the season with a win over

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

. In the Tigers' 40–24 victory over the Florida State Seminoles on November 7, 2009,

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

C. J. Spiller and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Jacoby Ford Jacoby Ford (born July 27, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft. He was also an accomplished tra ...

became the leading all-purpose yardage duo in NCAA history (a record previously held by

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons and is the current running backs coach at the Colorado ...

and Darnay Scott of San Diego State). C. J. Spiller was named as one of the three finalists for the 2009

Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...

. Spiller, along with

Mark Ingram II Mark Valentino Ingram II (born December 21, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football running back and current on-air personality for Fox Sports. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played ...

of Alabama and

Toby Gerhart Tobin Bo Gunnar Gerhart (born March 28, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, earning unanimous All-American ...

of Stanford, was selected by a vote of the 130–member Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee. On December 2, 2009, Spiller was voted the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. The all-purpose threat was named as the league's top player following a vote of 40 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Spiller received 29 votes to outdistance Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt, who had eight. Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams, the league's rookie of the year, had two votes and Yellow Jackets defensive end Derrick Morgan had one. Spiller was the nation's only player this season to account for touchdowns five different ways – rushing, passing, receiving, and on kick and punt returns – and had passing, rushing and receiving TDs in one game, a victory against North Carolina State. He returned four kickoffs and a punt for scores this year and has eight total returns for TDs during his career. He scored at least once in every game this season while leading Clemson to the Atlantic Division title and a spot in the league title game against Georgia Tech. Spiller led the ACC with an average of nearly 184 all-purpose yards and was the league's fourth-leading rusher, averaging 76 yards. Spiller is the seventh Tiger to be named player of the year and the first since Michael Dean Perry in 1987.

Schedule

Rankings

Jersey numbers

#17 jersey

On July 25, it was announced that sophomore linebacker Stanley Hunter was forced to quit playing football for medical reasons. Hunter, who led the 2008 team in fewest plays per tackle, was suffering from an increase in seizures due to epilepsy. On August 18, Coach Swinney announced that several players would alternate wearing #17 during the season as a way to honor Stanley Hunter. List of Players wearing #17 during the season: *LB Brandon Maye *QB

Willy Korn Willy Korn (born January 21, 1989) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Liberty University. Playing career Ranked as one of the top quarterback prospects in the clas ...

*FB Chad Diehl *WR Xavier Dye *WR Marquan Jones *S DeAndre McDaniel *RB

Jamie Harper Jamie Harper (born September 11, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He played ...

*S Sadat Chambers *S Rashard Hall *CB Crezdon Butler *LB Kavell Conner *WR

Three of the players who wore #17 (Korn, Diehl, and Dye) were also teammates with Hunter at James F. Byrnes High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Stanley Hunter remains a member of the Clemson team, serving as a student-coach this season for the Tigers.

#6 jersey

Cornerback Chris Chancellor, whose normal number is #38, wore #6, the normal number of wide receiver

, for the Miami game. (Under college football rules, two or more players on a team can wear the same number as long as only one is on the field at a time.) Chancellor, a native of Miami, made the change with the blessing of both Ford and Swinney in memory of his former high school teammate Jasper Howard, a cornerback who wore #6 for

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and was murdered in the early morning of October 18 following UConn's game against

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

#28 jersey

At the end of the season, Head Coach

announced that they would retire the #28 jersey worn by C. J. Spiller at a ceremony when the Tigers play

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

at home on Oct. 16, 2010.

Game summaries

at South Carolina (
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
)

Personnel

Incoming recruiting class

* Malliciah Goodman (DE; Florence, South Carolina; West Florence HS) *J.K. Jay (OL; Greenville, South Carolina; Christ Church Episcopal School) * Jonathan Meeks (S; Rock Hill, South Carolina; Rock Hill HS) * Tyler Shatley (FB; Valdese, North Carolina; East Burke HS) *

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' * Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football) ...

(OL; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Dorman HS) *Bryce McNeal (WR; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Breck HS) *Roderick McDowell (RB; Sumter, South Carolina; Sumter HS) *

Tajh Boyd Tajh Khiry Boyd (born September 25, 1990) is an American college football coach and former professional quarterback who currently is an offensive assistant for the Clemson Tigers. He played college football at Clemson, where he was the starting ...

(QB; Hampton, Virginia; Phoebus HS) *Spencer Shuey (LB/DE; Charlotte, North Carolina; South Mecklenburg HS) *Quandon Christian (LB; Lake View, South Carolina; Lake View HS) *Corico Hawkins (LB; Milledgeville, Georgia; Baldwin HS) *Darell Smith (TE/BAN; Gadsden, Alabama; Gadsden City HS) *Taylor Ogle (QB; Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Gatlinburg-Pittman HS) *Octavius Lewis(SS;Orlando, FL Maynard Evans HS)

Depth chart

These are the starters, primary backups, and key reserves as of September 2009.

Coaching staff

– Head coach *

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he was head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four season ...

– Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks * Kevin Steele – Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers * Charlie Harbison – Co-defensive Coordinator/defensive backs *

Danny Pearman Danny Pearman (born February 7, 1965) is an American college football assistant coach at Clemson University, serving as the director of scouting under head coach Dabo Swinney. Playing career Pearman played college football at Clemson University ...

– Assistant head coach/Tackles & Tight Ends * Brad Scott – Associate head coach/Offensive Guards and Centers *

Dan Brooks Dan Brooks (born June 25, 1951) is a former American football coach and player. Playing career Brooks played as a defensive lineman for Appalachian State University from 1969 to 1972, before transferring to Western Carolina University in 1973. ...

– Defensive tackles *Andre Powell – Running backs/special teams *

Chris Rumph Chris Rumph (born December 21, 1971) is an American football coach who is currently the defensive ends coach at Clemson University. He previously served as the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). ...

– Defensive ends * Jeff Scott – Recruiting doordinator/wide receivers

2010 NFL Draft

Clemson had five players selected in the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. C. J. Spiller went in the first round as the ninth overall pick.

References

{{Clemson Tigers football navbox Clemson Clemson Tigers football seasons Music City Bowl champion seasons

Clemson Tigers football The Clemson Tigers football program are the American football team at Clemson University. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of the Atlantic Coast Con ...