To be a national contender in Division I College Football it does not come without sacrifices.
Clemson offensive lineman Matt Bockhorst quickly found this to be the case once becoming a Clemson Tiger. The Cincinnati, Ohio native had to leave behind a huge part of his life and family in order to become a successful football player.
“I’m not from the state or surrounding states, so I don’t get to go home very much,” he said. “I probably get to go home about five days a year. Time with family, as my grandparents get older, I haven’t really seen them much. Cousins, I have a really close family back home that all live in Cincinnati. That was a huge part of my life growing up. We still are close.
“Thankfully, I still get to see my immediate family often, but there are a lot of things that you sacrifice. Talking about a close group of friends in high school, who also play at other schools, we get to see each other pretty much on Christmas. If you want to call it that. It’s a couple days before Christmas. We spent Christmas in Dallas last year.”
Bockhorst knows that with great sacrifice comes great reward. He has recorded 260 snaps already this season and earned ACC Offensive Linemen of the Week honors for his performance against Florida State.
“There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes,” he said, “early morning wake ups, a lot of people in college go out on Thursday nights, well we don’t. It’s something that you sign up for and it’s something that you know you are getting into.”
The sophomore is not alone when it comes to making sacrifices for Clemson, but he says that is why they have become successful.
“There is definitely an extent to which people don’t understand, but that is also why here at Clemson we can be so successful,” he said. “Guys do sacrifice. They don’t try and cut corners, and that is what is important about having a really great team.”
Bockhorst looks to continue to be a key role in Clemson’s offense this Saturday as the Tigers take on Wofford at Death Valley. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
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