My Time Playing In Death Valley

Front Porch Football asked our dear friend, Hunter Windham, to give us a few words on his experience playing at Clemson. Hunter was a great football player for the Terriers, but he was an even better citizen of the campus. He was elected to the student government, he was a friendly face to all that walked by, and he participated in the Pre-Law Society. Hunter is now a third-year law student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Before the Tide took a shot at Clemson, the Wofford Terriers played the Tigers to start the 2015 season. Here’s what he had to say:

In the fall of 2015, I made the short bus trip from Spartanburg to Clemson as a running back for the Wofford Terriers.

I had grown up attending games in Death Valley. My mama is a faithful alumnus, and I vividly remember tumbling down the smaller hills on the western side of the stadium and running onto the field post-game in search of autographs. This time, the tumbling would come not from gaining too much speed on my homemade sled—a large cardboard box our neighbors donated to us after receiving a new washing machine. But it would come from being tackled by multiple two-hundred-and-fifty-pound linebackers. Running on the field was also different: instead of running to Clemson players, I ran away from them.

Describing playing in Death Valley in so few words is a tough task. It was a hot, muggy, early-fall day; we were beat handedly; and just over 81,000 fans attended the game. But these facts fail to tell the whole story. Running out of the tunnel, we encountered a deafening noise, a noise so loud that individual voices merged into a single, monotonous roar. (We used the silent count all afternoon.) We faced a team devoid of any weakness, bested only by Alabama in the final game of the season. And we witnessed the beauty of big-time college football in the South on a Saturday afternoon in the fall.

It was an honor to play in Death Valley, even as the “cupcake.” It is an experience that I will never forget and one that I have failed to fully describe. I will be watching the game this Saturday. When all eyes turn to The Hill for “the most exciting twenty-five seconds in college football,” mine will turn to the opposing tunnel. An entire team will have its first experience playing in Death Valley. I encourage them to relish the moment and wish them the best of luck.

-Hunter Windham ‘17