By Will Vandervort.

It was no surprise that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was in the mood to brag about his senior class once again and there was good reason too. Thirteen of his current seniors walked the across the stage at Littlejohn Coliseum on Thursday to receive their undergraduates degrees, including All-ACC linebacker Stephone Anthony and All-ACC defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.

As usual, Swinney gave the seniors the day off from bowl practice so they can celebrate their accomplishments with family and friends.

“I brought all those seniors up front yesterday, and it was a bunch of guys, that graduated whether it was last December, last May, last August or this December and I put them in front of the team – you know there is just something about finishing. There is something about being a finisher. There is something about checking all the boxes and feeling complete,” Swinney said. “The message I was talking about yesterday was that this is the winningest senior class in school history and when you look at all of them in front of you and you just go down the line as far as who they are and the fact they all have their degrees, it really is not a coincidence because it is a representation of their commitment off the field.

“When you have that type of commitment and you’re talented, you are usually going to get good results on the field.”

On the field, Clemson’s current seniors established the school-record for victories with 41. They won a school-record 26 ACC regular season games, 27 overall counting the 2011 ACC Championship Game. They tied for consecutive weeks ranked in the top 25 at 50. They played in two Orange Bowls – just the second senior class to do that and went 26-2 at home – the most wins at home by a senior class.

“Talent has not been a problem for us because we have good players, but having good players that are committed to the process that it takes and the consistency, that is a different deal,” Swinney said. “Those guys are the epitome of that. Handing success, handling failure, fighting through the dog days (of summer) and hitting the wall and pushing through, everyone goes through it.

“They are really great examples to the rest of the team, and again, what they have done off the field is just as impressive as what they have done on the field.”

President’s List: Swinney just did not praise his seniors when it came to academics. He also announced that quarterback Deshaun Watson, who will not play in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Oklahoma after having surgery last Friday to repair his torn ACL in his left knee, finished the semester with a 4.0 GPA and was named to the President’s List.

“That is just the way he is wired,” Swinney said.

Swinney, who said he has not seen all the grades just yet, also reported that wide receiver Artavis Scott tallied a 3.6 GPA and running back Wayne Gallman had a 3.0. Running back Tyshon Dye finished with a 3.2.

“It is really good to see these young guys competing off the field the way they are competing on the field, taking pride in their performance and everything that they do. That is what we want our program to be about,” Swinney said.

Showing out. With senior defensive tackles Jarrett and DeShawn Williams in Littlejohn Coliseum receiving their diplomas, redshirt freshman Scott Pagano took the opportunity to show the coaching staff what he could do. The defensive tackle showed out and made Swinney feel pretty good about the future of the interior defensive line.

“It will make me sleep a little better,” the Clemson head coach said. “Knowing what is leaving here and then seeing a young guy like Pagano embracing his opportunity, and he has really worked, he is going to be a good player.”

The Tigers will have a short practice on Friday which will conclude their preparations for the Russell Athletic Bowl in Clemson. They will reconvene in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 23 and will begin workouts at the bowl site on Christmas Eve.