Nick Eason is losing weight and setting an example for his players

Eason has lost nearly 60 pounds recently. (file photo).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Feb 24 07:00:13 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Dabo Swinney made a splash hire with the addition of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley in early January, but one hire that doesn’t get enough credit outside the Clemson program is when he added Nick Eason a little over a year ago.

Eason, a former Clemson player, stepped in and his defensive tackles group didn’t miss a beat this past season. He’s also been a force on the recruiting trail, adding three top-tier recruits in the 2023 recruiting class. Eason was the primary recruiter for five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods, top-100 prospect Vic Burley and four-star recruit Stephiylan Green. He also helped recruit other members of Clemson’s 2023 defensive line class.

But the 42-year-old Eason isn’t stopping. He knows that to get the most out of his players, he needs to lead by example. He recently took part in mat drills, and said, “This whole mat drill process is all about mindset. I’m not going to ask what drills they are. I don’t ask how many reps we’ve got. I don’t ask about time. Never have. I just go.”

Eason has also lost nearly 60 pounds, and he said that he can’t preach excellence across the board if he isn’t taking care of himself.

“We always talk about that everything we do matters. Once you develop them as men, they will become better football players. And how we do anything is how we do everything,” Eason said. “We talk about excellence on the field - we have to be excellent in how we treat people, how we approach the classroom, how we approach the weightroom, how we approach our daily lives. And even for me, I am always trying to develop myself as a coach and to be better in everything. To try and learn more. To challenge myself more so I can be a better version of myself for my players. It's all about being an example for my players.”

There is no doubt that his players love him, and the Tigers were on the receiving end of good news when veterans Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro decided to return for a final season.

“I am excited about getting Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro back. Those are two guys that could have gone to the NFL Draft this year,” Eason said. “But they decided to stay and give me another opportunity to develop them as players. Then you have young guys like Tré Williams and Payton Page and DeMonte Capehart in the mix, as well as Caden Story, who we signed last year. Those guys are working hard and doing great things.”

When it comes to recruiting, Eason isn’t backing down on what Clemson has to offer.

“I want them (recruits) to understand what our culture is about. In the days of NIL, man, I don’t get caught up in that,” Eason said. “I want you to choose Clemson because you love our culture, you love our PAW Journey, our program that helps our young men develop their lives to be better men when they leave here, and I want you to love the gameday atmosphere, our facilities – the same reasons why I chose Clemson – and these guys chose Clemson because of those reasons.”