2009 Clemson Tigers football team

The 2009 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Dabo Swinney, 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 in the Palmetto Bowl 34–17,[1] before losing for the second time in the season to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.[2] Clemson closed the season with a win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.

2009 Clemson Tigers football
ACC Atlantic Division champion
Music City Bowl champion
Music City Bowl, W 21–13 vs. Kentucky
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionAtlantic Division
Ranking
APNo. 24
2009 record9–5 (6–2 ACC)
Head coachDabo Swinney (1st full, 2nd overall season)
Offensive coordinatorBilly Napier
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorKevin Steele
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Capacity: 81,500, grass)
2009 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Atlantic Division
No. 24 Clemson x  6 –2     9 –5  
Boston College  5 –3     8 –5  
Florida State  4 –4     7 –6  
Wake Forest  3 –5     5 –7  
NC State  2 –6     5 –7  
Maryland  1 –7     2 –10  
Coastal Division
No. 13 Georgia Tech * x$  7 –1     11 –3  
No. 10 Virginia Tech  6 –2     10 –3  
No. 19 Miami  5 –3     9 –4  
North Carolina *  0 –4     0 –5  
Duke  3 –5     5 –7  
Virginia  2 –6     3 –9  
Championship: Georgia Tech 39, Clemson 34
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins.
Rankings from AP Poll

Notable
The Clemson Tigers take the field during the 2009 Music City Bowl.

In the Tiger's 40–24 victory over the Florida State Seminoles on November 7, 2009, running back C. J. Spiller and wide receiver Jacoby Ford became the leading all-purpose yardage duo in NCAA history (a record previously held by Marshall Faulk and Darnay Scott of San Diego State).

C. J. Spiller was named as one of the three finalists for the 2009 Doak Walker Award. Spiller, along with Mark Ingram of Alabama and Toby Gerhart 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.[3]

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 (OL; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Dorman HS)
  • Bryce McNeal (WR; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Breck HS)
  • Roderick McDowell (RB; Sumter, South Carolina; Sumter HS)
  • Tajh Boyd (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; Gadsen, Alabama; Gadsen City HS)
  • Taylor Ogle (QB; Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Gatlinburg-Pittman HS)
  • Octavius Lewis(SS;Orlando, FL Maynard Evans HS)

Rankings
See also: 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP NR NR NR RV NR NR NR NR RV RV 24 18 15 25 RV 24 
Coaches RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV 19 16 RV RV RV 
Harris Not released NR NR NR RV RV RV 25 19 17 RV RV Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR 23 18 NR NR Not released

#17 jersey

On July 25, it was announced that sophomore linebacker Stanley Hunter was forced to quit playing football due to medical reasons. Hunter, who led the 2008 team in fewest plays per tackle, was suffering from an increase in seizures due to epilepsy.[4] On August 18, Coach Swinney announced that several players would alternate wearing #17 during the season as a way to honor Stanley Hunter.[5]

List of Players wearing #17 during the season:

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 Jacoby Ford, 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 and was murdered in the early morning of October 18 following UConn's game against Louisville.[6]

#28 jersey

At the end of the season, Head Coach Dabo Swinney announced that they would retire the #28 jersey worn by C. J. Spiller at a ceremony when the Tigers play Maryland at home on Oct. 16, 2010.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 56:00 p.m.Middle Tennessee*
ESPN360W 37–1478,371[7]
September 107:30 p.m.at No. 13 Georgia Tech
ESPNL 27–3052,029[7]
September 19NoonBoston College
RaycomW 25–777,362[7]
September 263:30 p.m.No. 14 TCU*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC (Football Reunion Weekend)
ESPN360L 10–1471,869[7]
October 3Noonat Maryland
ESPNUL 21–2446,243[7]
October 17NoonWake Forest
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC (IPTAY Day)
RaycomW 38–374,298[7]
October 243:30 p.m.at No. 10 Miami (FL)
ABC/ESPNW 40–37 OT43,778[7]
October 311:30 p.m.Coastal Carolina*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
ESPN360W 49–374,429[7]
November 77:45 p.m.Florida State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC (rivalry/Solid Orange Day)
ESPNW 40–2476,656[7]
November 14Noonat NC State
RaycomW 43–2357,583[7]
November 213:30 p.m.VirginiaNo. 19
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC (Military Appreciation Day)
ABC/ESPNW 34–2177,568[7]
November 28Noonat South Carolina*No. 16
ESPNL 17–3480,574[7]
December 58:00 p.m.vs. No. 12 Georgia TechNo. 25
ESPNL 34–3957,227[7]
December 277:30 p.m.vs. Kentucky
ESPNW 21–1357,280[7]

Depth chart

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

Coaching staff
  • Dabo Swinney – Head Coach
  • Billy Napier – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
  • Kevin Steele – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
  • Charlie Harbison – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
  • Danny Pearman – Assistant Head Coach/Tackles & Tight Ends
  • Brad Scott – Associate Head Coach/Offensive Guards and Centers
  • Dan Brooks – Defensive Tackles
  • Andre Powell – Running Backs/Special Teams
  • Chris Rumph – Defensive Ends
  • Jeff Scott – Recruiting Coordinator/Wide Receivers

2010 NFL draft

Clemson had five players selected in the 2010 NFL draft. C. J. Spiller went in the first round as the ninth overall pick.

PlayerTeamRoundPick #Position
C. J. SpillerBuffalo Bills1st9thRB
Jacoby FordOakland Raiders4th108thWR
Ricky SappPhiladelphia Eagles5th143thDE
Crezdon ButlerPittsburgh Steelers5th164thDB
Kavell ConnerIndianapolis Colts7th240thLB

Sources
  1. South Carolina Dominates Clemson, 34–17
  2. Yellow Jackets' late touchdown sinks Tigers for ACC crown
  3. "C. J. Spiller Named 2009 ACC Player of the Year". Atlantic Coast Conference. December 2, 2009. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  4. Melton, Kevin (July 25, 2009). "Clemson's Stanley Hunter forced to quit football". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  5. "Clemson Football Practice Report: Day 13". Clemson Athletics. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  6. "Chancellor to wear No. 6 as tribute". ESPN. Associated Press. October 20, 2009. Archived from the original on October 23, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  7. "2010 Clemson Football Media Guide" (PDF). Clemson University. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  8. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/clem/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/depth-chart.pdf
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