Boulware, Tigers want Jordan-Hare to be quiet
By: will-vandervort August 17, 2016

On Wednesday, Clemson University opened up classes for the 2016-’17 school year. For the football team, it meant the end of fall camp and the beginning of preparations for Auburn.

“When you are going to classes, it’s almost game time,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said. “You know you have a couple more weeks and then reality sets in.

“We are ready to play. I’m sure Auburn is ready to play. I know they have been grinding, too. I’m just looking forward to Sept. 3.”

The second-ranked Tigers trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama is just 17 days away. Clemson will venture to the Plains with some new faces, especially on defense. Kendall Joseph and Tre Lamar will be playing at middle linebacker, while freshman Trayvon Mullen or sophomore Mark Fields will get their first start at cornerback.

Sophomore Van Smith will get his first start at free safety, while redshirt freshman Clelin Ferrell will be starting at defensive end.

Though he was not a starter at the time, Boulware remembers the trip to Georgia in the 2014 season opener and the nearly 93,000 Georgia fans yelling at them all evening. It is an experience he can bring to the young guys on defense so they are not overwhelmed with the 88,000 fans Auburn will have packed into Jordan-Hare on Sept 3.

“Noise is noise, no matter if it is coming from Clemson’s or Auburn’s. It is all distractions,” the senior said. “You have to learn to block that out. I think a lot of our guys have learned to do that playing here (at Clemson) and playing at Louisville, at NC State … all of it is loud.

“It’s just loud. It’s just a distraction and you have to be mature enough to block it out and do your assignment. Regardless if it is SEC or ACC (stadiums), I don’t think the noise knows it is ACC or SEC. It is still loud. So I don’t think we really care if it is ACC or SEC.”

Boulware explains the key to handling the crowd noise is simple – don’t give them a reason to get loud.

“If you shut them down, they are not going to say anything at all. That is kind of our job,” he said. “We want to make that stadium as quiet as possible. If they are loud, then it means we are probably not doing our job.”