Eye of the Tiger: Elliott sees toughness, heart of a champion as players overcome pain

Will Shipley has battled his share of injuries this season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Nov 08 19:50:19 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Two weeks ago, offensive lineman Will Putnam was hobbling around on a swollen ankle and still managing to block Florida State defenders. Last week at Louisville, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was trying to play with a bulky knee brace, running back Kobe Pace was battling a head injury, wide receiver Joseph Ngata tried to play with a hurt foot, and running back Will Shipley went into the locker room after getting his bell rung and injuring his foot but still returned to play. Why? For the love of the team.

Offensive coordinator spoke at length about the toughness of the team when he met with the media Monday at the Poe Indoor Facility.

Elliott mentioned Uiagalelei scoring the go-ahead touchdown while hurting, and then talked about the starting five along the offensive line playing every one of the snaps against the Cardinals. He called it the heart of a champion.

“They played just about every play. They have the heart of a champion. We talk about the eye of the tiger and the heart of a champion,” Elliott said. “Coach (Dabo Swinney) says it all the time that you know it when you see it and you know when you don't. So what you're seeing out of those guys is the heart of a champion, that they are going to do whatever it takes because they love each other and love the team and love the program and they are willing to put that all on the line. You got (Will) Putnam, he was obviously out the last game but the game before that he was out there battling on a swollen ankle.

“So, I think it's just a mindset, that whatever it takes to play 60 minutes of Clemson football, no explanations or excuses, just go do your job. Joe (Ngata is out there playing on a (injured) foot. Shipley goes in the locker room and he comes back and he's playing on a (injured) foot. DJ puts a knee brace on and says, let's go. And when we needed it, that was a big call right there on the quarterback run right there and there was no flinch. That is the essence of what this program is all about and I think that gets missed because the focus is on stats and points and all the pretty things. But as coaches, you know what you have when you see things like that.”

Elliott noted the toughness he saw Saturday against Louisville.

“I am proud of the guys. You think about it, Kobe goes down. Shipley is out for a while,” he said. “Ngata is banged up. You have a new lineup up front. Marcus is a freshman, and you've got Trotter coming back that hasn't played all season and now he's coming back and he's playing guard and you're playing a three-man front with all the stuff that goes into that. I am proud that the guys found a way to win and they believed they were going to win as opposed to playing not to lose.”

The adversity faced this season, the injuries overcome, and the mindset that the program is built to last will lead to wins in future seasons.

“Everything happens for a reason. I truly believe that. This is a program that is intended to help people and help bring change,” Elliott said. “And when we were having a tremendous amount of success there was change that was happening there. But I also believe that through adversity, change will be made, and I think that everyone is seeing the heart of this program. The toughness. The core values. That the program is built to last, that it is built to withstand adversity. But you also have some opportunities within to grow and develop some guys. It's been awesome to watch them be resilient and watch them fight and believe.

“We stand on effort, toughness, belief in the team and a no-quit attitude.”