By Will Vandervort.

ORLANDO, Fla. — He was not exactly sure how old he was, but DeShawn Williams remembers he was around five or six when he found a bunch of VHS tapes at his grandparents’ house from his father’s playing days at Clemson.

“I was wondering what they were so I put them in and I saw my dad playing against Georgia, Georgia Tech and Virginia, and I was like, ‘Wow! This is crazy.’ Just to watch him and see what he did, it was great,” Williams said. “I have never told him that, but he was a great running back.”

Williams’ father, Ronald, was the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 1990 when he led the Tigers and the ACC in rushing yards – at the time setting rushing records for yards in a season by a freshman running back with 941 yards.

“The things that he did as a freshman, to come in and make the plays that he did—those other running backs were great players, too—and to do what he did, that was crazy,” DeShawn recalls. “I used to sit down and watch him play. I was a fan of his. It was crazy what he did his freshman year.”

These days it’s Ronald that’s amazed. He has watched his son become a regular starter on a defense that resembles a lot of the defense he played with back in the 1990s. DeShawn Williams and the Clemson defense lead the country in total defense and rank in the top 10 nationally in nine other defensive categories heading into Monday’s Russell Athletic Bowl against Oklahoma.

DeShawn is in the midst of his best year at Clemson. The defensive tackle has recorded 52 tackles, eight for loss, including three sacks. Ronald speaks with his son once a week to give him pointers and to get him focused.

“He keeps it real with me, like a father should,” DeShawn said. “He is one of my worst critics. He never lets me get too high or too low. He always keeps it real with me.”

Having this kind of relationship with his father has not always been the case for DeShawn. When Ronald played in NFL Europe and the Canadian Football League, he hardly saw his son, who grew up in Clemson.

“We have come a long way. The times I did get to see him, it was great,” DeShawn said. “My mom was a phenomenal woman. She had to play the role of father and mother, but my dad is doing a great job now. I love him to death.

“He is my right hand and she is my left. I love them both to death.”

It was actually DeShawn’s mother, Melissa Hamilton, that got him into football.

“My mom wanted me to do something to get me out of the house,” he joked. “My first year I was not too good, but I continued to grow and I got better. I will say by my middle school years is when I knew I had a knack for this.”

Because of his father’s success at Clemson, DeShawn was pretty much born with “Clemson Orange” in his veins. He loved everything about the Tigers and his dream was to one day follow in his father’s footsteps and run down the Hill in Death Valley.

“It helped me that my father played here and I had an advantage over some,” the senior said. “I got into the games and things like that. I always knew I wanted to play for Clemson and I played backyard football with my friends and I acted like I was Leroy Hill, Justin Miller or guys like that.

“I always knew I wanted to be a part of Clemson football. Where I grew up, the stadium was there. That’s where I always wanted to be.”

It became a reality in 2009 when Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney offered him a scholarship to play for the only school he has ever wanted to play for.

“I knew then that this was real and that my dream was coming true,” he said. “I’m still chasing my dream of playing in the NFL, but coming here was one of them. I can write a check that I came here and I put my mind to it. I worked hard and put in a lot of dedication to come here and be a part of something great.”

Like his dad, DeShawn won an ACC Championship and has played in tons of big games, including Monday’s game against Oklahoma at The Citrus Bowl Stadium. He has also been a part of 41-career victories – the most in Clemson history for a senior class.

And though those things are great and he is thrilled he had the opportunity to be a part of the accomplishments in building his own success, he appreciates that his love for Clemson all came about when he watched his dad score touchdowns against Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia and countless other teams.

“It is kind of funny, but I pretty much know the whole roster from when my dad and them played,” DeShawn said. “Some people ask me how I knew all of that stuff at such a young age, but I watched a lot of film from those days. I watched how their defense played. They were very aggressive. That is something I try to imitate.

“Clemson is written on me. I was born and raised here and I’m proud of it.”