In this series we will pick the best players from Clemson’s Modern Era (1990-present). This is the era following the Tigers’ great teams of the Danny Ford and Charlie Pell era. Some of the players on this list might be considered among Clemson’s all-time greats and you are sure to recognize a few if not all of the names on our list.

Today we begin with the quarterback position in Clemson’s All-Modern Era Team.

After reviewing our picks each day, please feel free to tell us if you agree with them or not by going to The Rock on our forums page. All of our forum pages are free to view and register, just like all of our content.

First Team

Tajh Boyd (2010-’13): This was a no brainer in my opinion. This could change obviously in the next two years depending on what Deshaun Watson does, but Boyd obliterated just about every Clemson passing record during his time with the Tigers. His 32-8 record as a starter is the best in Clemson history, while his 32 wins tied former great Rodney Williams for the most wins in school history. Overall, Boyd owns 23 records, including total yards and passing yards. He threw for a record 11,904 yards in his four-year career, including an ACC best 107 touchdown passes. He completed 64.3 percent of his passes in his career. He also ran for 26 touchdowns in his career. Boyd’s best year came in 2012 when he earned All-American and ACC Player of the Year honors after recording 46 total touchdowns, while throwing for 3,896 yards. Against NC State that year, he totaled a school-record 529 yards and had an ACC record eight total touchdowns in a 62-48 victory. In 2011, he led the Tigers to their first ACC Championship in 20 years and was named the Most Valuable Player of the ACC Championship Game. He was voted First-Team All-ACC in 2011 and 2012 and was a second-team selection in 2013. He also led the Tigers to two of the greatest wins in school history. He led a last-minute game-winning drive, which included a fourth-and-16 conversion to keep the drive alive, to beat LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl and then rallied the Tigers the next year to beat Ohio State in the 2014 Orange Bowl. Clemson finished both seasons 11-2 and ranked inside the top 10, a first for the program.

Second Team

Woodrow Dantzler (1998-2001): A lot of you might be surprised we have Dantzler on our second team over Charlie Whitehurst. Yes, Whitehurst broke most of Dantzler’s records in his four years as the starting quarterback, but Dantzler was the most dynamic player Clemson ever had at quarterback until Watson came along. Dantzler became the first quarterback in NCAA Division I history to throw for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 more in 2001. He also rushed for 1,000 yards in 2000, but he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in the bowl game and the NCAA did not count bowl statistics at the time. Dantlzer led the Tigers in rushing in both 2000 (1,028) and 2001 (1,061) which both rank in the top 15 all-time in single-season rushing performances. Dantzler was voted First-Team All-ACC in 2001 and spent most of the season in the Heisman Trophy conversation. His best games game at Maryland in 1999 when he started for an injured Brandon Streeter and totaled a then record 435 yards in a Clemson victory. He rushed for 183 yards at the time, a record for a Clemson quarterback at the time. He broke that record the next year at Virginia when he rushed for 220 yards in a Clemson victory. He also had 166 yards against Wake Forest that year. In 2001, he rushed for 164 yards and threw for another 254 at Georgia Tech as he rallied the Tigers to a 47-44 overtime victory. In that game, he did what is now remembered as the Hail-Mary run for a touchdown at the end of the first half from 39 yards out. Dantlzer scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. The following week at NC State, Dantzler broke his own mark for total offense when he rushed for 184 yards and threw for 333 more in a come-from-behind victory at NC State. He finished the game with 517 yards while totaling a then school-record six touchdowns (4 passing, two rushing). Dantzler finished his career as the Tigers’ all-time leader in passing and total offense. He threw 6,037 yards and rushed for 2,761 more. He also threw for 41 touchdowns and ran for 27 more.

Third Team

Charlie Whitehurst (2002-2005:) Whitehurst earned All-ACC second team honors in 2005 and he is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks and winners in Clemson history. He led the Tigers to three bowl games in his career, going 2-1 in those three games. He is best known for his unblemished mark against the hated South Carolina Gamecocks. Whitehurst is the only quarterback on either side to finish his career 4-0 in the all-time series, including a 63-17 bashing of the Gamecocks in 2003. In his time at Clemson, he led the Tigers to two victories over Florida State as well as a win over No. 6 Tennessee in the 2004 Peach Bowl. He helped the Tigers earlier that year defeat No. 3 Florida State in Death Valley, still the highest ranked team a Clemson squad as ever beaten. Whitehurst threw for 9,665 yards in his career and left Clemson as the Tigers’ all-time leader in passing yards, total offense, touchdowns thrown, completions and attempts. In his first start, he threw for a then school-record 420 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory at Duke. Overall, he had eight 300-yard passing games in his career, which is second all-time to Boyd’s 18.