The 2016 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Dabo Swinney in his eighth full year and ninth overall since taking over midway through the 2008 season. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium, also known as "Death Valley", and competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers entered the 2016 season as the defending national runners-up after a 14–1 season that ended with a loss to Alabama in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship.
After finishing the regular season with a record of 11–1, and then beating Coastal Division champion Virginia Tech in the 2016 ACC Championship game, the second-ranked Tigers advanced to the 2016 College Football Playoff semifinal played at the Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated third-ranked Ohio State 31–0. Clemson and Alabama met in the 2017 CFP National Championship in college football's first ever national championship game rematch. Clemson won by a score of 35 to 31, winning their first consensus national championship since 1981. Clemson subsequently finished first of the rankings in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
The Clemson offense was led by junior quarterback Deshaun Watson, who led the ACC with 4,593 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns. Watson finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy behind Louisville's Lamar Jackson and was awarded the Davey O'Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and Manning Award. Wide receiver Mike Williams, tight end Jordan Leggett, and offensive linemen Mitch Hyatt, Tyrone Crowder, and Jay Guillermo were named first-team All-ACC on offense. Defensive first-team all-conference selections were defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, linebacker Ben Boulware, and defensive backs Cordrea Tankersley and Jadar Johnson.
Offseason
Players lost CB Mackensie Alexander - Declared for NFL Draft RB Zach Brooks DT Kevin Dodd S T. J. Green - Declared for NFL Draft LB B. J. Goodson S Jayron Kearse DE Shaq Lawson - Declared for NFL Draft WR Charone Peake DT D. J. Reader
Schedule Clemson announced their schedule for the 2016 season on January 26, 2016. The Tigers' schedule consisted of 7 home games and 5 away games. Clemson hosted conference opponents Louisville, NC State, Syracuse, and Pitt and travel to Florida State, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech. The Tigers hosted out-of-conference opponents Troy, South Carolina State and South Carolina and travelled to out-of-conference opponent Auburn. Clemson's out-of-conference opponents represented the Sun Belt, MEAC, and SEC conferences, respectively.
Rankings
Personnel
Coaching staff Head coach Dabo Swinney added two new additions to the Tigers' coaching staff in late March 2016 with Mickey Conn and Kyle Richardson. Swinney hired former Grayson (GA) head coach Mickey Conn as a defensive analyst for the Tigers along with former Northwestern (SC) head coach Kyle Richardson, who will serve as the team's offensive analyst. Both coaches were extremely successful at their former high schools with a combined win–loss record of 195–61 and numerous championship titles.
Name Position CU Years Alma mater Dabo Swinney Head Coach 14th Alabama (1993) Dan Brooks Associate head coach / Defensive tackles Coach 8th Western Carolina (1976) Danny Pearman Assistant Head Coach / special teams coordinator / tight ends coach 9th Clemson (1987) Brent Venables Defensive Coordinator / linebackers coach 5th Kansas State (1992) Marion Hobby Co-defensive Coordinator / Defensive Ends Coach 7th Tennessee (1995) Jeff Scott Co-offensive Coordinator / wide receivers coach 9th Clemson (2003) Tony Elliott Co-offensive Coordinator / running backs Coach 6th Clemson (2002) Robbie Caldwell Offensive Linemen Coach 6th Furman (1977) Mike Reed Defensive backs coach 4th Boston College (1994) Brandon Streeter Recruiting coordinator / quarterbacks Coach 3rd Clemson (1999) Joey Batson Director of strength and conditioning 20th Newberry College (1981) Mickey Conn Defensive Analyst 1st Alabama (1995) Kyle Richardson Offensive Analyst 1st Appalachian State (2001) Zac Alley Graduate assistant 6th Clemson University (2014)
Roster 2016 Clemson Tigers FootballQuarterback 2 Kelly Bryant – sophomore (6'3, 215) 4 Deshaun Watson – junior (6'2, 210) 6 Zerrick Cooper – freshman (6'4, 205) 10 Tucker Israel – freshman (5'11, 195) 12 Nick Schuessler – senior (6'3, 200) 18 James Barnes – freshman (6'1, 175)
Running back 9 Wayne Gallman – junior (6'1, 215) 21 Darien Rencher – freshman (5'8, 190) 22 Tyshon Dye – junior (6'0, 215) 26 Adam Choice – sophomore (5'9, 215) 27 C.J. Fuller – sophomore (5'10, 210) 28 Tavien Feaster – freshman (6'0, 205)
Wide receiver 1 Trevion Thompson – sophomore (6'2, 200) 3 Artavis Scott – junior (5'11, 190) 7 Mike Williams – junior (6'4, 220) 8 Deon Cain – sophomore (6'2, 200) 11 Shadell Bell – freshman (6'2, 200) 13 Hunter Renfrow – sophomore (5'10, 175) (+P) 14 Diondre Overton – freshman (6'5, 195) 17 Cornell Powell – freshman (6'1, 200) 18 T. J. Chase – freshman (6'2, 185) 34 Ray-Ray McCloud – sophomore (5'10, 180) 81 Kanyon Tuttle – freshman (5'11, 170) 82 Adrien Dunn – junior (5'7, 175) 83 Carter Groomes – freshman (5'9, 180) 85 Seth Ryan – junior (6'0, 175) 86 Ty Thomason – freshman (5'10, 210) 88 Sean Mac Lain – senior (6'4, 210)
Tight end 16 Jordan Leggett – senior (6'5, 255) 25 J.C. Chalk – freshman (6'4, 230) 44 Garrett Williams – sophomore (6'2, 235) 80 Milan Richard – sophomore (6'2, 250) 83 Jesse Fisher – freshman (6'4, 215) 84 Cannon Smith – sophomore (6'5, 260) 87 D.J. Greenlee – junior (6'2, 245)
Placekicker 39 Christian Groomes – sophomore (5'10, 185) (+P) 47 Alex Spence – sophomore (6'1, 190) 92 Greg Huegel – sophomore (5'11, 185) Offensive lineman 50 Justin Falcinelli - OL – sophomore (6'3, 305) 51 Taylor Hearn - OL – sophomore (6'5, 330) 55 Tyrone Crowder - OG – junior (6'2, 330) 57 Jay Guillermo - OL – senior (6'3, 325) 59 Gage Cervenka - OL – freshman (6'3, 305) 60 Kelby Bevelle - OL – junior (6'4, 260) 62 Cade Stewart - OL – freshman (6'4, 310) 63 Jake Fruhmorgen - OT – sophomore (6'6, 280) 64 Pat Godfrey - OL – freshman (6'3, 260) 69 Maverick Morris - OG – junior (6'5, 300) 70 Seth Penner - OG – freshman (6'3, 320) 71 Noah Green - OL – freshman (6'5, 285) 72 Logan Tisch - OL – freshman (6'2, 290) 73 Tremayne Anchrum - OL – freshman (6'3, 290) 74 John Simpson - OL – freshman (6'4, 290) 75 Mitch Hyatt - OT – sophomore (6'5, 295) 76 Sean Pollard - OL – freshman (6'5, 295) 77 Zach Giella - C – freshman (6'5, 295) 78 Chandler Reeves - OL – freshman (6'6, 270) 79 Matthew Ryan - C – freshman (6'2, 320)
Defensive lineman 7 Lasamuel Davis – freshman (6'4, 215) 22 Xavier Kelly - DE – freshman (6'5, 255) 40 Jaquarius Brice - DE – junior (6'1, 215) 42 Christian Wilkins - DT – sophomore (6'4, 315) 45 Chris Register - DE – sophomore (6'2, 245) 49 Richard Yeargin - DE – sophomore (6'3, 255) 50 Jabril Robinson - DT – sophomore (6'2, 280) 56 Scott Pagano - DT – junior (6'3, 295) 61 Kaleb Bevelle - DE – junior (6'4, 255) 67 Albert Huggins - DT – sophomore (6'4, 295) 90 Dexter Lawrence - DT – freshman (6'5, 340) 91 Austin Bryant - DE – sophomore (6'4, 265) 92 Nyles Pinckney - DT – freshman (6'3, 300) 93 Sterling Johnson - DE – freshman (6'4, 295) 94 Carlos Watkins - DT – senior (6'3, 300) 99 Clelin Ferrell - DE – freshman (6'5, 255)
Punter 32 Andy Teasdall – senior (5'11, 190) 48 Will Spiers – freshman (6'5, 220) 96 Michael Batson – freshman (5'10, 200) 97 Carson King – freshman (6'0, 215) Linebacker 5 Shaq Smith – freshman (6'3, 240) 6 Dorian O'Daniel – junior (6'1, 215) 10 Ben Boulware – senior (5'11, 240) 30 Jalen Williams – sophomore (5'9, 225) 33 J.D. Davis – sophomore (6'1, 225) 34 Kendall Joseph – sophomore (6'0, 230) 36 Judah Davis – sophomore (6'1, 225) 43 Chad Smith – freshman (6'4, 235) 46 Jarvis Magwood – sophomore (6'0, 215) 47 James Skalski – freshman (6'2, 225) 52 Connor Prevost – junior (6'0, 220) 53 Regan Upshaw – freshman (6'2, 220) 57 Tre Lamar – freshman (6'4, 240) 59 Connor Sekas – sophomore (6'2, 220)
Defensive back 1 Trayvon Mullen - DB – freshman (6'3, 175) 2 Mark Fields - CB – sophomore (5'10, 195) 9 Brian Dawkins Jr. - DB – freshman (5'9, 175) 11 Isaiah Simmons - DB – freshman (6'4, 215) 12 K'Von Wallace - DB – freshman (6'1, 190) 14 Denzel Johnson - CB – freshman (6'0, 200) 15 Korrin Wiggins - S – junior (6'0, 200) 18 Jadar Johnson - S – senior (6'1, 205) 19 Tanner Muse - S – freshman (6'2, 230) 21 Adrian Baker - CB – junior (6'0, 180) 23 Van Smith - S – sophomore (6'0, 190) 24 Nolan Turner - DB – freshman (6'2, 190) 25 Cordrea Tankersley - CB – senior (6'1, 195) 29 Marcus Edmond - CB – junior (6'0, 170) 31 Ryan Carter - CB – junior (5'9, 175) 32 Kyle Cote - S – freshman (5'10, 170) 37 Austin Jackson - S – sophomore (6'2, 200) 37 Cameron Scott - S – sophomore (5'10, 205) 38 Amir Trapp - CB – freshman (5'8, 155) 40 Hall Morton - S – freshman (5'8, 160)
Long snappers 52 Austin Spence – freshman (6'2, 195) 58 Patrick Phibbs – freshman (6'3, 200) 59 Bradley Tatko – junior (6'0, 225) 62 David Estes – senior (6'1, 200)
Recruiting class
Game summaries
Auburn
Clemson began the year ranked second in the AP Poll and traveled to unranked historic rival Auburn to begin the season. Clemson survived an early scare and won the game 19–13.
Clemson received the opening kickoff and got as far as the Auburn 32 yard line but failed to convert on 4th and 5. Both teams struggled to move the ball for the first quarter. Auburn opened the scoring early in the second quarter with a 53-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson. Clemson responded with a 13-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Wayne Gallman. Clemson got the ball back with 3:00 left in the half and extended their lead with a 30-yard field goal by Greg Huegel. The score was 10–3 at halftime.
After forcing an Auburn three-and-out to open the second half, Clemson again kicked a field goal, this one from 40-yards out to bring the score to 13–3 Clemson. After the teams traded interceptions and another set of unsuccessful downs, Auburn kicked a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Clemson responded with a 75-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow, but Greg Heugel's extra point attempt missed off the upright, after which the score was 19–6 with 9:59 left in the game. Auburn's Kerryon Johnson scored a nine-yard touchdown run with 3:22 left to pull within 6 points. Clemson drove to the Auburn 17 yard line, but elected to go for it on 4th and 4 with 40 seconds left in the game rather than kick a field goal to potentially go up by 9 points. The fourth down attempt failed, and Auburn had a chance to win the game with their final drive. Head coach Dabo Swinney explained the decision: "We just didn't want to take a shot at the field goal right there. We felt like as good as we had played defensively, with them having no timeouts, it was going to be very difficult for them to go score." Auburn advanced to the Clemson 40 yard line, but a series of Hail Mary passes came up incomplete, and the game was over. Deshaun Watson finished with 248 yards in the game, and wide receiver Mike Williams finished with 174 yards.
Troy
Clemson returned home for their home opener against Troy of the Sun Belt Conference. The Tigers had another surprisingly close game against an unranked opponent, pulling away late for a 30–24 win.