Clemson Football: Tigers sign off of social media until next year

It’s time for football and for the Clemson football players to disappear from the social media scene, again. 

Since 2011, the Clemson football players layoff all social media activities right before their first practice and practice begins on Friday.

The ban means that your favorite player won’t be posting to Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or Twitter until the end of the season, but they will continue to monitor their pages.

Fans of every team have various ways of notating the arrival of the college football season like official countdowns and the preseason media days but at Clemson the social media ban is also an indicator that football season is upon us. Camillia Stewart, known as TEEHIGGINSMOM on Twitter, is well aware of what’s ahead when her son, Tee Higgins, signs off Twitter until January. Early this morning, she said, “It’s that time again #FootBallTime Go Ti🐯ERS.”

In past years, especially, 2015, the ban got some negative attention from fans of other teams and some members of the college football media. ESPN sports business reporter, Darren Rovell, is one who has been critical of the ban and this is what he said on Twitter in 2015.

“Clemson football players banned from social media. Another institution teaching kids about the future by putting duct tape over their mouths.”

Head coach Dabo Swinney addressed the criticism and explained where the idea of ‘no social media during the season’ came from when he appeared on the Jim Rome Show on Aug. 27, 2015.

“Back in 2011, my seniors came to me and said coach this is what we would like to do. During the season, we would like to have a rule where there’s no participation in social media. And they said what do you think, and I said sounds great to me.”

Swinney also told Rome he was surprised by the attention the ban was receiving considering its prior history. “This is the first time that anyone has asked me about that. I guess it’s because we have had success, and we are one of the teams that people like,” he continued. “But we have been doing this for four years in a row and nobody has said anything about it.”

"Teams feed into those things, where a program doesn’t."

Roderick McDowell, a running back from 2010-2013, is one of those players who was there for the inception of the ban. The former 1,000-yard rusher(2013) briefly talked with me about the ban.

Q: The ban is looked at negatively by some people in the media, etc, and suggested by some as even an infringement on players’ rights, so how did you initially feel about the ban?

Rod McDowell: People’s opinions about this ban are funny, which is sad. We live in a world today where social media has taken over and caused a lot of issues, even when the situation isn’t bad. I feel that it’s football focus time and to call it a “ban” maybe shouldn’t be a word that is used. Let’s call it “The Clemson way aka football focus.” Since this rule has been placed, Clemson football has gone to new heights by doing the little things and buying into the program, not a team.

Those in the media or anyone that feel that being off social media is infringement on players’ rights are mad, because they cant keep tabs on the players now or what we call “being nosey.” I’m sorry, no high reviews, likes, or etc, anymore from the players. Get your story on Tuesdays or after the games, this year.

Q: The players are still on social media and won’t post or respond to any activity, so they still see the fans’ reactions to games. Was it hard to resist responding to a negative comment about you or your teammates?

McDowell: Now, that’s hilarious!! “When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world – George Washington Carver.” They talked about Jesus for doing the right thing but he kept on pushing on, because he saw the bigger picture. The same thing here, Clemson has tasted and seen the bigger picture, so why feed into negative things. Teams feed into those things, where a program doesn’t.

Q: From a player perspective, what was a positive aspect of the ban?

McDowell: Like I said earlier, calling it a ban gets bad vibes so I’m calling it “the Clemson way aka football focus.” Being football focus has gotten Clemson where we are at now and its only going to get richer.

McDowell and Swinney both agree the program has been successful since the social media abstinence, not “ban.” In fact, Clemson football is 82-15 during that stretch with four conference titles(2011, 2015, 2016, 2017), three College Football Playoff appearances, two national championship appearances(2015, 2016) and the 2016 national title.

Of course, the players will miss social media, but they have enough things inside the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex to keep them busy, and I’ll let Rovell list some of their options. He tweeted about the Complex in Aug. 2016 ahead of its Feb. 1 2017 National Signing Day completion.

“Clemson’s new football facility will have mini golf, a grill area, sand volleyball court, nap room, arcade, bowling alley & a barbershop.”

Despite any distractions or negative comments, the haitus from social media is working and the players from year-to-year seem to embrace it. Swinney talked about that with Rome, “Our players, I think get it, and I think they understand. There’s enough distractions already, so let’s try to minimize those things and that’s one way, they said let’s do it.”

Clemson linebacker Judah Davis signed off of Twitter, explaining why he was happy to do so.

Based on linebacker Judah Davis’s tweet above, I think Swinney is right. His players do get it, and they do understand.