Carlos Watkins says he cannot wait for Sept. 5 to get here. Of course that’s the day No. 12 Clemson takes the field for the first time this season when it hosts Wofford at Death Valley for a 12:30 p.m. kick.

For Watkins it means much more than just playing in the season opener. It’s more of a celebration, as he feels he is finally back to being the player he was before a car wreck nearly two years ago almost took his life.

“I feel like I’m better than I was in ’13,” the defensive tackle said. “I’m ready to get back on the field, and play. Let’s see what happens.”

Watkins, who became a starter for the Tigers in a 26-14 victory at NC State on Sept. 19, 2013, was a passenger in a vehicle with two of his former teammates at Chase High School two days later when the car they were in hydroplaned on a rain-slicked road as it attempted to negotiate a left turn.

The car hit a large power pole which snapped off about four feet up. The vehicle rolled and the pole landed on the car as it came to a stop. One passenger was ejected and passed away at the scene, while Watkins was trapped in the passenger’s seat for more than an hour as rescuers cut live power lines, then removed him from the car.

The young man that passed away was Watkins’ best friend, Dache Gossett. He was just 21 years old.

“Losing him, it really hurt me,” Watkins said.

Watkins was later taken to a local hospital for treatment then transported to a trauma center in Asheville, N.C., where he stayed for observations for a few more days. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound junior did not play the rest of the year, and was eventually granted a medical redshirt despite playing in the first three games of the season.

It’s been a hard road back for Watkins. Though physically he fully recovered, and played in 11 games in 2014, he was not playing the way he was before the wreck.

Carlos Watkins had four tackles in just 22 snaps in Clemson’s victory over NC State on Sept. 19, 2013. Two days later, on the way to a cookout in his hometown, he was involved in a wreck that took the life of his best friend, Dache Gossett.

“Nobody can put a (timetable) with those kinds of deals because it is not only physical, it is mental as well,” Clemson defensive tackles coach Dab Brooks said. “When you go through a traumatic situation like that it takes a while.”

But halfway through practice this past spring Brooks saw Watkins had that look back in his eye.

“He was whipping people and he enjoyed doing it,” the Clemson coach said. “He had to get that mentality back a little bit.”

Brooks says Watkins is a very talented player and has everything they are looking for in a defensive tackle. He has the length, he plays long, he is strong, he is quick off the ball and he is very athletic.

“I think our whole focus is to have him at the same spot where he was when he started against Georgia, ahead of some guys that are on NFL rosters right now,” Brooks said. “We certainly hope so for him and the football team.”

Watkins is back both mentally and physically because of Dabo Swinney’s “it takes a family” mantra where coaches, teammates and everyone associated with the football program loved on Watkins and lent their support to him. He also had the services of a trained team of physiologists and other people that worked with him to help him get over the loss of losing a friend and coping with what happened on September 21, 2013.

“There is a grieving process when you lose a best friend and those kinds of things, everybody is different,” Brooks said, “Thankfully, we have people that can handle all of those things from the strength coaches, to the team physiologists, to Jeff Davis, James Trapp, all of those people have been involved in this process. Parents and high school coaches back home, our staff and Coach Swinney have been great with that, it takes time.

“In his mind, you know, ‘I’m going to be back and play that year.” Well, that wasn’t happening, but it is fortunate he was able to get the medical redshirt out of that. We have resources to be able to get them the help they need.”

Though he was not as productive as he needed to be, getting back on the field was the best therapy Watkins received.

Clemson defensive tackle Carlos Watkins moments after he committed to Clemson in 2011 with his friends. Watkins committed to Clemson following one of his high school games so he could do it with his friends along side him.

“I think that was one of the best things that happened for him,” Brooks said. “After all of that, and you get through all that, we actually worked him with the young guys we normally would do with a redshirt freshman at the bowl game.

“We put him back out there and let him play football in a scrimmage. That was the first time he had live snaps, where you go tackle somebody. I think that was really good for him mentally to cross that bridge, ‘Hey I can do this thing.’”

That Orange Bowl scrimmage was Watkins’ first step in getting back on the field. He later began off-season workouts, participated in spring practice and then played last season. This spring he was back whipping people like he did in 2013, and now after a long road back he is ready to contribute as a starter once again.

“I have gotten stronger, faster, and I have learned a lot more about the game,” Watkins said. “I have grown up. I am more mature. There is a lot I have added since ’13.”

And the memory of Dache is always there to motivate him and push him when times get tough.

“I always keep him in the back of my mind. When I get tired or something, he always told me I could make it and I can accomplish anything,” Watkins said.