By Will Vandervort.
Clemson may not have won the ACC this year or played in the College Football Playoff, but it was a very productive year for the Tigers. They won nine regular season games for head coach Dabo Swinney, the fifth-time that has happened in his six years as head coach. They also ended a five-game losing streak to archrival South Carolina.
Below, the Clemson Insider takes a look at the best of the best from the 2014 Regular Season.
Play of the year: It’s hard to imagine that Clemson could have lost to Syracuse this year, but that might have happened had it not been for middle linebacker Stephone Anthony. Trailing 6-3 with 11:20 to play in the third quarter, the Orange’s Darius Kelly picked off a Cole Stoudt pass and returned it 20 yards to the Clemson 42. But on the very next play Syracuse quarterback A.J. Long rolled to his right and threw a pass towards the far sideline where Anthony leaped with one-hand and brought the ball into his chest and returned it to midfield. That set the Tigers up for a 49-yard drive that ended at the Orange’s 1-yard line where kicker Ammon Lakip kicked an 18-yard field goal to tie the game. The Tigers went onto to get another Lakip field goal from 41 yards on their next offensive possession and then at the start of the fourth quarter, Stoudt found tight end Stanton Seckinger for a 19-yard touchdown to seal the 16-6 victory.
Offensive Player of the Year: From the moment he stepped on the field in Athens, Ga., it was obvious Deshaun Watson was the best player on the Clemson team. First he found Mike Williams with a 29-yard pass over the shoulder that had the perfect touch and then he threw a missile over the shoulder of a Georgia linebacker and out of the reach of a covering safety where only Charone Peake could grab it for a 30-yard touchdown. That was the first drive of his career. He went on to show great poise in almost leading the Tigers to an upset win at Florida State and in his first career start, he threw a school-record six touchdown passes for 435 yards in a win over North Carolina. The next week against NC State he totaled four more touchdowns in a 41-0 victory. Though injuries to his finger and his knee slowed his season down, Watson still threw for 1,466 yards and 14 touchdowns, while completing 67.9 percent of his passes. He averaged 10.7 yards per attempt and 15.8 per completion. He threw just two interceptions in 137 attempts. He ended the year with a 14-of-19 performance for 265 yards and two scores in the Tigers’ 35-17 victory over South Carolina. He did it all, while playing with a torn ACL.
Defensive Player of the Year: Defensive end Vic Beasley has followed last year’s All-American season with another stellar one this year as he recorded 32 tackles, 11 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss to lead the No. 1 ranked defense in the country. His sacks and tackles for loss lead the ACC in both categories and ranks 10th nationally. He was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches and the media.
Special Teams Player of the Year: Clemson’s defense got a lot of help from punter Bradley Pinion. The junior averaged 42.5 yards per punt this year with a net average of 40 yards. He had 16 punts over 50 yards and nailed 26 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Just two punts landed in the end zone for touchbacks.
Rookie of the Year: In his last four games against Big 5 Conference opponent’s running back Wayne Gallman has rushed for 486 yards, including 191 in the Tigers’ win over rival South Carolina. Gallman rushed for 516 yards since he became the primary back against Syracuse in the eighth game of the season. The redshirt freshman led the team with 714 yards and four touchdowns.
Most Valuable Player: Though Vic Beasley gets all the headlines, and deservedly so, if there was a vote for the MVP by the players, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett would win the honor. He is the most popular player on his team and he is the most vocal and emotional leader in the locker room. Jarrett also leads with his actions. Despite being a defensive tackle on a defense that is full with future NFL players, he ranks third on the team in tackles for a second straight year with 69 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had 11 quarterback pressures.