Stanton Seckinger wasn’t the highest touted recruit or a five-star prospect, but the two-star original walk-on from the Isle of Palms, S.C., played a role in an offense that racked up over 500 yards of offense in the last 11 games of Clemson’s historical 2015 football season.

Seckinger came from a family of Clemson grads and earned his degree in December of 2014. He played through his eligibility as a redshirt graduate to be a part of the Tigers’ drive to the National Championship.

However, the journey was not always so easy.

Seckinger was a redshirt walk-on at Clemson when Mackey award-winning tight end Dwayne Allen recorded 50 receptions for 598 yards and eight touchdowns in 2011. Allen decided to forgo his senior year for the NFL Draft, and the standard had been set for Clemson tight ends.

Brandon Ford emerged the year after Allen with 480 yards and eight touchdowns off of 40 receptions. However, Seckinger set his first milestone with a four-yard receiving touchdown against Maryland that season. That was his first career touchdown.

In 2013, Sam Cooper and Seckinger were expected to take over for Ford, but a spring ACL injury set Cooper back and Seckinger became the primary tight end that season. Seckinger, who originally joined the team as a wide receiver, started in 10 of Clemson’s 13 games to record 244 yards and four critical touchdowns in 21 receptions that season, two of his touchdowns came in fourth-quarter game-winning situations. One was against Georgia in the season opener and the other against Ohio State in the Orange Bowl Classic.

However, Seckinger wasn’t as productive in 2014, as he suffered from a season ending knee injury against South Carolina that required surgery. He then missed the spring due to his injury, but he was able to return to playing for the last 14 games of the 2015 season.

The senior used his standout leadership skills as a vocal captain of a special squad. Although he only had three receptions for 25 yards, Seckinger made the majority of his contributions in blocking for a very successful running game. Fellow tight end Jordan Leggett was used as a primary target, racking up 525 yards and eight touchdowns on 40 catches. Seckinger was able to make his contributions to the team by aiding in a running game that averaged 223.0 yards per game.

Clemson ended the season with 3,345 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns while also racking up 4,373 passing yards for 35 touchdowns.

In Seckinger’s time as a Tiger, Clemson played in three Orang Bowls, winning two of them, defeated LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, routed Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl and played Alabama in the National Championship Game.

His senior class is also the winningest class in Clemson history. That is a heck of a haul for someone who was once a walk-on.

If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.