Clemson football: SEC teams (and fans) love Tiger retreads

The almighty SEC continues to take Clemson football castaways as former Tigers defensive back Derion Kendrick announced he was heading to UGA.

Kendrick spent the entire 2020 season in the dog house with Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney, who finally released the All-ACC cornerback in February. At the time, Swinney talked about what a good young man he was and wished him nothing but the best.

"“But also I want to say that I love DK. He is a young man that I have always loved as a football player. He has a good heart. He has a really good heart. He has never been a disrespectful young man or anything like that, just sometimes there just needs to be a change.”"

It was announced this week that Derion Kendrick is transferring to UGA and will face off against the Tigers when the two teams meet in Charlotte on September 4th.

SEC fans claim Clemson football is terrible until they sign a former Tiger

We see it nearly every day on social media – fans from SEC school love to talk about how overrated and terrible both Clemson football and Dabo Swinney are. That rhetoric suddenly changes when their program signs a former Tiger.

In the last six months, three former Clemson football players have transferred to SEC schools. Mike Jones is now at LSU, Kendrick is at UGA, and former five-star running back Demarkcus Bowman is now at Florida.

Xavier Kelly transferred to Arkansas at the end of the 2019 season and in 2018 Kelly Bryant transferred to Missouri and Tavien Feaster took his services to Columbia for his final season.

So far, those that have left the confines of Death Valley have not been able to play to the same level they did while in a Clemson football uniform under Dabo Swinney, Tony Elliott, and Brent Venables.

When you are the king of the mountain, everyone wants to knock you off and when you have played for four of the last six national titles and won two of them, you are the king of the mountain. There is also jealous envy that comes with that from others who cheer for programs that underachieve every season, like UGA.

SEC programs and fans love to knock Clemson football and the talent that the Tigers have accumulated but then celebrate anytime their programs are able to sign those same players.

Go ahead and stop saying Clemson football isn’t worthy of making the college football playoff every year as the ACC Champion while also lining up to grab players that are no longer able to find success in a Tiger uniform.

You don’t get to have it both ways.