Clemson's McDaniel Returns for Degree, Chance at ACC Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It was a Kodak moment. Actually, in this day and age, it may have also been better suited for Twitter or Facebook.

Best yet, it was ol' fashioned face time, and Clemson's DeAndre McDaniel and Florida State's Christian Ponder enjoyed the opportunity to shake hands, laugh and chat here at the ACC Football Kickoff last month.

Of course, everyone in the ACC remembered what happened the last time the pair got together. Or, more precisely, collided.

McDaniel, a Tallahassee native who once had high hopes of playing for the Seminoles, ended Ponder's 2009 season with a vicious hit after Ponder attempted to tackle him along the sidelines following an interception in Clemson's 40-24 home victory on Nov. 7.

"I already had it in my mind that there was about to be a collision," McDaniel recalled.



"I was just telling myself, 'Man on man. We're one-on-one. May the best man win.' So once we made a collision, I mean, obviously I won. So I was happy with the situation."

As well as concerned.

Not long after, McDaniel reached out to Ponder, who underwent successful shoulder surgery, through a message on Facebook. McDaniel said he wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings.

There weren't.

"I was surprised when I saw the message, but I appreciated it and that tells you what kind of guy he is," Ponder said.

Ponder and his fellow ACC quarterbacks will look to avoid McDaniel again this season.

A returning All-American who had 102 tackles and eight interceptions in 2009, the senior safety is expected to anchor a Tigers defense that has not ranked lower than 13th in the nation in pass defense the past three seasons.

Though he's a preseason candidate for numerous awards, McDaniel says he hasn't set any personal goals.

"I am focused on team goals," McDaniel said.

"I want to get back to the ACC championship. That's what I want to do, get to the ACC championship."

McDaniel's return to Clemson for his senior season probably caught Clemson fans off guard. Many assumed he was headed early to the NFL. Even Tigers coach Dabo Swinney expected a hard sell when he telephoned McDaniel last January.

It was a quick conversation.

"He said he wasn't going anywhere and he wanted to come back because he wanted to graduate," Swinney said.

Following Clemson's Music City Bowl win over Kentucky, McDaniel admitted he thought about his decision for a few days. A heart-to-heart sit down with his grandmother, Dorothy Richardson, in Havana, Fla., located just north of Tallahassee, made the decision an easy one.

"Honestly, it wasn't a long debate," said McDaniel, who was given a second-round grade by the NFL Advisory Board ."She talked me into staying. She wanted me to come back and get my degree."

McDaniel is only three hours from graduating with a sociology degree. Swinney said McDaniel's decision to return was a reflection of his continued maturity.

In 2009, McDaniel won a Vickery Hall award for academic improvement, earning a 3.25 GPA in the first semester and 3.0 in the second. He was named to the 2009-10 ACC Academic Honor Roll.

It's a marked turnaround from his 2008 arrest for aggravated battery and assault on a former girlfriend; he accepted pre-trial intervention to clear the charge from his record with community service.

"We don't have enough time to talk about how far this guy has come -- the situation he came from in Tallahassee and a lot of things he's dealt with in his life, he's a winner," Swinney said.

"We don't have enough time to talk about how far this guy has come -- the situation he came from in Tallahassee and a lot of things he's dealt with in his life, he's a winner."
-- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on DeAndre McDaniel McDaniel has had only minimal contact with his mother, who has been arrested numerous times for various crimes, and similar contact with his father. He was raised by Richardson and his Godmother.

McDaniel was a three-sport star at Godby High School, flourishing in football, basketball and track. His dream was to play football at nearby FSU, but the Seminoles were slow to offer and concerned about McDaniel's academic standing.

"I was disappointed at the time, but Clemson has been the best place for me," McDaniel said. "No looking back."

Naturally, McDaniel wants to make the most of his final season. He's noted for his anticipation, closing speed and aggressiveness -- just ask Ponder. The pair had a great time connecting at the ACC Football Kickoff.

The teams will tangle in Tallahassee on Nov. 13.

"He's got that want-to," McDaniel said of Ponder.

"He wants to win every time he steps right on the field. And that's why I got so much respect for him as a quarterback. And I had so much respect for him even before I played him. I mean, he's a winner."

The same could be said of McDaniel as well.