By Will Vandervort.
Ben Boulware does not like to live in the past.
Every now and again one of his Facebook friends will tag him in a video that shows his 47-yard interception return for a touchdown from Clemson’s 40-6 thumping of Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. He has watched that play just a few times, but since mat drills started once the Tigers got back on campus in January, he has not even thought about it.
“It was a good game, a good win, but it is over with,” the junior said.
Boulware is instead focused on what lies ahead. As a projected starter in Brent Venables’ defense, a unit that has to replace eight starters from a group that led the nation in 2014, he is focused on what he has to as a guy counted on to be an every-day starter.
He also knows that if he wants to play and start for Venables, who is also his position coach, he has to come prepared.
“You have to come to work every day,” Boulware said. “The first day I did not come nearly as focused and he jumped on me. You have to be focused and you have to be ready. If your eyes are not on him every second of practice, he is going to bust your butt. He is looking for it too.”
Boulware has had those days when he was not prepared and they were eye opening moments. But normally he is prepared, a trait he demonstrated greatly in the two games last season he was called upon to step up.
Due to an injury that limited weakside linebacker Tony Steward, the Anderson native started the Louisville game and responded with a career-high 12 tackles in the Tigers’ 23-17 victory. It seemed as if he lived in the Cardinals’ backfield all afternoon as he racked up three tackles for loss, while recording one sack.
Clemson’s defense limited Louisville to 52 rushing yards and 1.4 yards per carry.
Boulware got his second start against the Sooners in the Russell Athletic Bowl, this time subbing for Stephone Anthony at middle linebacker, who was suspended in the first half due to a helmet-to-helmet call against South Carolina in the regular season finale.
“The only reason I played like that is because I prepared so well,” Boulware said. “I think for me it is a reminder that the only thing I can do is keep preparing like I did for those two games. I just have to keep preparing every day and keep working.”
Boulware responded in the Russell Athletic Bowl with six tackles, one tackle for loss, recovered a fumble and his 47-yard interception return for a touchdown, where he instantly transformed back into that player who returned kickoffs in his high school days at T.L. Hanna.
“I was so anxious in those two games I got to start that I did not want to miss the opportunity,” he said. “I would go overload. I was in there every day for hours and texting Coach V. I knew I was annoying him. I know if I want to keep playing well, I have to do that every day.
“There are some days when you get tired and you don’t want to do it, but if you want to play at this level, you have to make sacrifices and you have to be in that film room, in that book and on your phone texting Coach V every day.”
Venables doesn’t mind the constant texting by his junior linebacker, who is working mostly at weakside this spring. He rather Boulware be a nuisance than someone who does not care.
“He does not annoy me ever. He does not annoy me one bit. I love it actually,” Venables said. “Ben is a very proud-full guy. He does not want to let anyone down. No one cares more than Ben. He is very invested, very emotionally vested, very physically invested. He is tough on himself.
“It is a great quality to have and it is also a bad quality to have. Sometimes you can be too hard on yourself and you have to be able to have a short memory. You have to lean on those kinds of things. That’s been one of Ben’s strongest attributes is how much he cares. He is an emotional player out there on the field and guys feed off that.”