Mitch Hyatt hasn’t missed a beat since he showed up for his first day of class 12 months ago.
The five-star, high school All-American left tackle has started in all 14 games this season and played 965 snaps, both of which are Clemson records for a true freshman offensive lineman. Voted freshman All-American, Hyatt has also received third-team All-ACC honors.
On Monday, he’ll face the biggest test of his career: Alabama.
Big, bad, Bama.
“Even I think, it’s Alabama,” Hyatt said. “That’s the team. They’re the storied program.”
For Hyatt, there used to be a certain cachet that came with Bama.
“People do get caught up in the name, but now that I’m here and I’m getting the chance to play them, it’s not something I’m really thinking about,” he said.
No offense to Nick Saban, Bear Bryant or houndstooth. That awe factor was lost along time ago, sometime between Wofford and Florida State.
At this point, Hyatt is pretty much a veteran, even though he is still a freshman. Usually, the 15th career game comes sometime during the sophomore year.
It’s almost unbelievable, but at this time last year, Hyatt and the other 2015 offensive line signees were just arriving to Clemson.
“I had no clue what I was getting myself into when I first showed up here,” he said. “We got here and we were just so worried about doing winter workouts. Now that we’re in season and getting ready for a National Championship, it was crazy.”
What’s even more remarkable is that a freshman left tackle is anchoring one of the best offensive lines in the country.
All five starters received some sort of All-ACC consideration. Plus, the team is tied for 19th in the country in sacks allowed (16) and 16th in rushing offense (228.6).
Never mind the name, Alabama presents its own challenges. They are big — the average defensive end is 6-3, 291 and the average nose guard is 6-3, 315. And they are bad (as in good) — first in the country with 50 sacks and rushing defense (70.8).
“They’re physical. Very talented team,” Hyatt said. “We have the same talent level. We just have to match the physicality and play as hard.”