The legend of Chester McGlockton: Levon Kirkland tells Gator Bowl story

Chester McGlockton was celebrated as part of the SC Football Hall of Fame last week.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed May 04 14:00:08 GMT-04:00 2022

GREENVILLE – A faraway look enters the eyes of Clemson legend Levon Kirkland when he talks about his friend and former teammate, Chester McGlockton. But then a smile crosses his face as he remembers the life and times of one of his favorite people.

McGlockton was a star when he stepped on the field at Clemson, and Kirkland saw something special in the big kid from Whiteville, NC.

“I can go on. He was just really God gifted. I remember him coming in, the first time I met him too, and he came in the gym and he's about 285 pounds, about 6'5", and I'm like, 'He's going to take somebody's position.' I mean, I was there the year before and I was impressed with some of the guys we had, but for him it was even more so,” Kirkland said last week. “And to see him on the field and what he could do, when he wanted to do it, it was just an amazing sight. And to be able to play with someone of that caliber man, it was just a blessing. And that's why we were so good on defense.”

McGlockton, who was inducted into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame last week, was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1st round (16th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played six seasons with the Raiders, earning all four of his Pro Bowl appearances with them. McGlockton also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos, and ended his career by playing one season with the New York Jets. McGlockton finished his NFL career with 51 sacks including a career season high of 9.5 in 1994.

He passed away in 2011 but the stories live on. One that Kirkland loves to tell centers on the 1989 Gator Bowl against West Virginia, a 27-7 Clemson victory.

“We were playing West Virginia and I'm having a pretty good game, and I had already sacked Major Harris,” Kirkland said at last week’s induction ceremony. “And so I come to the sideline and I kind of give Chester a little smirk, because we kind of had a competition between each other about who could make the most sacks. And so I gave him the Levon Kirkland smirk, and he looks at me like, ‘Oh, okay.’

“And so we have West Virginia pinned down by their end zone, and we are both on the left side, and we are both rushing the passer. Right? So we are both thinking, ‘I'm going to get this sack. I'm going to get this sack.’ So, I'm rushing off the edge and with Major, you didn't want to get up too much up the field. So I kind of stopped and bull rushed. The next thing you know, I see Chester McGlockton swing Major Harris around, make him fumble, recover the fumble, and score a touchdown.”

That touchdown was the first of McGlockton’s storied career.

“We go back on the sideline and I'm sitting there and he comes over and he points at me. And man, I just laugh,” Kirkland said. “We both just laugh because it always seemed like if I made a sack, he was going to make a sack. So, that was the one thing. And then just when we're at the combines and Chester was a big guy and to run the 40 as fast as he did was incredible. But he was the kind of guy that could do whatever he wanted to on the field. He can call his shot and I remember him telling me, ‘Watch this Kirk, I'm going to make this sack.’ Especially against North Carolina, he hated North Carolina.

“And so every time he'd be like, ‘Watch this,’ and the next thing you know, he makes the sack. It was the most incredible thing in the whole wide world. And it was an honor and a privilege to play with him.”