Clemson Football: The 10 greatest ‘what-ifs’ in Tiger History

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 29: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers greets fans during the Tiger Walk prior to the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Memorial Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /

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CLEMSON, SC – NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst /

9. Charlie Whitehurst hadn’t chosen Clemson

Obviously, you can do a lot of ‘what-if’ scenarios with players not choosing to attend elsewhere, but Charlie Whitehurst is particularly interesting.

Why?

In many ways, he allowed Tommy Bowden to stay longer than what the coach would have otherwise. Bowden stayed in favor of the administration for so long because he basically always beat in-state rival South Carolina.

Whitehurst was undefeated against the Gamecocks. Had Whitehurst not come to Clemson, some of those wins may not have happened and Bowden may have been out much earlier than 2008. That, of course, would also mean that Swinney likely wouldn’t have been on staff very long and probably wouldn’t have been selected as the interim.

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