CLEMSON – The 21st-ranked Clemson Tigers open ACC conference play against NC State Saturday (noon, ABC) at Memorial Stadium. The Wolfpack are coming off a hard-fought victory against Louisiana Tech last week, where they lost starting quarterback Grayson McCall to injury.
Following the bye week, the media got to speak with starting center Ryan Linthicum on the upcoming matchup, as well as the offensive explosion against Appalachian State.
–Linthicum spent his first three years at Clemson on the bench, as he had to wait for his time behind veteran Will Putnam. With the transfer portal being such an emergent factor in college football, Linthicum decided to stick it out with the Tigers instead of going somewhere else. “I mean it was a blessing. Waiting those three years, it was good to get under him because I was not ready my freshman year mentally. You know a lot of people like to leave, but I knew this was the place for me.”
–Linthicum had to fight for the starting job during summer camp, “I thought we all came in every day with the right mindset. We love each other, we play for each other, and just every day you got to compete.”
–Following in the footsteps of greatness is tough, but Linthicum knows what it takes and embraces the challenge. “I mean you are at Clemson. It is expected if you want to be the center at Clemson. You got to be confident, you got to bring confidence to other guys, so I knew I had to do it, that was my mentality.”
—Photo by Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY Sports