Throwback Thursday: Trevor Pryce

In this edition of Throwback Thursday John Chancey looks at Clemson football great Trevor Pryce.

Trevor Pryce – Defensive Tackle, 1996

• RTR 200 Ranking: 196
• 20 tackles for a loss
• 7.5 sacks
• 19 quarterback pressures

Pryce might be amongst the most talented men to ever line up at defensive tackle for the Tigers. The caveat is that he only played one season, and not even all of that.

Pryce played his first two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines. He was a coveted Parade All-American out of Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Florida. He quickly realized that Michigan is a bit different than Florida:

"“At times when I was at Michigan, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to play football. I saw so many other things other than football when I started college. It was cold outside, and I was a long way from home. Basically, I just wasn’t happy.”"

He played long before free transfers, so he transferred to Clemson in 1995 and sat out the season, with the intention of playing for Clemson in 1996. He found his love of football again when he joined the Tigers, but he admitted the change in location was another adjustment:

"“I was very close to coming here out of high school, but for some reason I didn’t. I already knew I was going to be comfortable here, but it did take some adjustment. Clemson’s not as big as Michigan. Michigan was like a city inside of a city. This is a college town. That took some getting used to.”"

Pryce was required to sit out the first two games of the 1996 season after being suspended by the NCAA for improper use of a university long-distance calling code. This means he accumulated the above stats in just 10 games. He averaged two tackles for a loss per game. He was a dominant force on the defensive line for Head Coach Tommy West and Coordinator Ellis Johnson.

Pryce’s final game for the Tigers was the 1996 Peach Bowl. He helped Clemson take the early lead by forcing a fumble by LSU’s quarterback, which was recovered by Clemson’s Harold Means and returned to LSU’s 10-yard line. Nealon Greene ran the ball in for the touchdown on the subsequent drive.

To those that saw him roam Frank Howard Field, Trevor Pryce is one of the most talented defensive tackles in Clemson football history

We can only imagine what two or three seasons of Pryce in orange would have looked like but based on the opinions of those who saw him play, he may have been one of the most talented defensive tackles to ever wear Tiger orange, and his subsequent NFL career backs that up. Pryce was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 1997 draft. He played for nine seasons in Denver. He named to the All-Pro team three times and won two Super Bowl championships during his time with the Broncos. The Broncos named Pryce to their 50th Anniversary team in 2009. He finished his career with the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets. He played a total of 14 NFL seasons.

Post-football, Pryce has kept busy with writing. He wrote a series of young adult fiction books called Kulipari, which was adapted into a Netflix series. He followed that by writing a comic book sequel for the series.

This is a funny video of Pryce when he appeared on The Dan LeBatard Show a few years ago.