More than 1,500 fans showed up to hear Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney speak this past Thursday in Florence, S.C.

The Florence-Myrtle Beach Clemson Club is the biggest Prowl & Growl event of the year as part of IPTAY’s spring meetings. It’s also the area that produced former wide receiver and Clemson legend Hunter Renfrow as well as former defensive end Malliciah Goodman.

Current defensive end Xavier Thomas is also from the Florence area.

“We have had a lot of great players from the Pee Dee in general and certainly here in Florence and Myrtle Beach and so forth. This is a big area for us,” Swinney said.

Goodman lettered at Clemson from 2009-’12. As a member of Swinney’s “Dandy Dozen” recruiting class, the West Florence High School graduate helped lay the foundation for today’s success in the Clemson program. During his time at Clemson the Tigers made it the program’s first ACC Championship Game and then won it in 2011, ending a 20-year drought between league titles.

Goodman also played a big role in Clemson’s 25-24 win over LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl. After his Clemson career, he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft and played in the league through the 2017 season.

“Malliciah Goodman is one of the best I had, and I am still close to him to this day,” Swinney said. “He has come and gone. He played his pro career and now he is into his working career.”

Renfrow is the most popular former walk-on in the history of college football. The Socastee High School graduate came to Clemson in 2014 as a walk-on. After redshirting, he earned his scholarship prior to the 2015 season, a year in which he first became a fan favorite at Clemson.

A year later, and the 5-foot-10, 170-pound receiver became a legend at Clemson when he caught the game-winning pass from Deshaun Watson in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Renfrow’s winning catch against Alabama was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week. He also played a big role in the Tigers’ 2018 National Championship this past season.

He finished career with 186 receptions for 2,133 yards and 15 touchdowns. Renfrow owns Clemson records for starts by a receiver (47) and consecutive games with a reception (43).

Renfrow exited Clemson ranked fifth in career receptions (186) and 11th in career receiving yards (2,133). He also posted College Football Playoff records with 37 receptions and four touchdowns in seven career CFP games.

In 2018, the wide receiver won the Burlsworth Trophy as college football’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. He won the Bobby Bowden Award winner as the Division I player who epitomizes dedication to faith, family, friends and football. He was also a third-team All-ACC selection and was voted as a permanent team captain for the Tigers prior to the 2018 Cotton Bowl.

“It is just neat to come down here and kind of have memories of all the guys who come through here and the ones that are still on the team,” Swinney said. “It is definitely a great area.”

Thomas just finished up his first year at Clemson. The Florence native earned Freshman All-American honors while playing behind All-Americans Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant. He played in all 15 games in 2018, while recording 35 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss. Of those 10 tackles behind the line, 3.5 were sacks. He also had one forced fumble.