Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney called Todd Ellis’ comments about Clemson’s Walk of Champions “ridiculous” when a caller asked him about it on Tiger Calls Monday night, Swinney’s weekly call-in radio show.

On Will Muschamp’s call-in show last week, South Carolina’s play-by-play announcer suggested Clemson’s “Walk of Champions,” provokes the South Carolina student section to throw things on the field at the Tigers during the game.

Ellis, a former South Carolina quarterback, suggested Clemson should stop doing it, and though he said it does not excuse the students from throwing things on the field, it gets them amped up and causes some of the things that happened two years ago when the Tigers last visited Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

“They need to cut out shooting them birds at us too. I mean it goes both ways,” Swinney said in response to what he was told. “That is probably the funniest thing I have heard is somebody said we are taunting people. Taunting people!? The thing is we have been doing that for 17 years.”

Actually, Clemson has been doing the “Walk of Champions” for 20 years, which they do during warmups prior to kickoff every Saturday. Former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden started the tradition when he became head coach in 1999, an idea he actually got from his father, Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden, when he was the head coach at Florida State.

The “Walk of Champions” is when the Tigers lock arms at the 20-yard line and walk back towards the end zone as a sign of unity.

“It has zero to do with the opponent. It is about us being unified before we go to our individual (drills).  That is all it is. Lord have mercy,” Swinney said. “What was the quote? It puts them in a bad spot taunting them and they just can’t refrain from throwing stuff. I am like, ‘That is the craziest thing!’ Who are the adults in the room here?

“We are talking about a warmup. It is just crazy. It makes no sense. So, when guys are shooting us the bird, are we supposed to throw things in the stands? It is just ridiculous! It has nothing to do with anybody and they didn’t care when they beat us five in a row. That didn’t bother anybody.”

The Tigers, ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, play at South Carolina Saturday with kickoff set for noon at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. Clemson is looking for its sixth straight win in the series.

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