Clemson football Sports Information Director Ross Taylor dropped some Tim Bourret like knowledge on twitter Wednesday afternoon.
If you have followed Clemson football for any length of time, you know what a walking encyclopedia of knowledge Tim Bourret is and not just about Clemson athletics. His replacement, Ross Taylor seems to be following in his shoes quite well.
Rarely discussed sports facts are fun and sometimes will help you win a bucket of free beer at your local trivia spot, but even what Ross brought to our attention Wednesday seems abnormal and is something that not many Clemson football fans have ever thought about.
Clemson football has had three different championship-winning quarterbacks in program history – Homer Jordan in 1981, Deshaun Watson in 2016, and Trevor Lawrence in 2018. Only Homer Jordan was the first-team All-ACC pick at quarterback that same year.
Only one of Clemson's three national championship-winning starting quarterbacks earned first-team All-ACC status in the same year they helped lead the Tigers to the national title.
— Ross Taylor (@ClemsonFBRoss) July 1, 2020
That quarterback was Homer Jordan in 1981. https://t.co/SWgbPcrLZl
Mind is blown.
Clemson football can’t win every award, but should elite players should be recognized
In 2016, despite going 14-1, winning the ACC as well as the national title, Deshaun was beaten out by Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson as the first-team All-ACC quarterback. Deshaun had more total yards, fewer turnovers, more wins, and just one less touchdown than Jackson did and yet it was Jackson who was given the nod as the ACC first-team quarterback from ACC media.
In 2018, it was Ryan Finley who was awarded as the ACC first-team quarterback. While Finley did have 400 more total yards than Trevor in 2018, Lawrence had six more touchdowns and seven fewer turnovers, not to mention more wins in conference, an ACC title, and ended up becoming just the second true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a national title.
We know Clemson football player’s state all the time that they care nothing about personal awards and that team achievements do matter most to them, but it’s human nature to want to be recognized for the outstanding job that you do no matter what your job is.
If ACC media members can’t put their biases aside and actually reward the players who are best at their positions each year, they should no longer have the right to vote on awards.