CLEMSON — Last year, when Sammy Watkins thought he was just surprising Tajh Boyd by telling him he was in the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame, Dabo Swinney tricked him. Swinney also surprised Watkins by telling him, he was inducted into the same hall of fame class.

It is no surprise Swinney wanted to catch DeAndre Hopkins off guard, as well, when he learned the former Clemson wide receiver was a part of Clemson’s 2025 Hall of Fame class. When Clemson’s Director of the Block C, Bob Mahony, informed Swinney Hopkins was going to be enshrined into this year’s class, Swinney asked if he could hold off telling Hopkins until he found a creative way to do it.

What did Swinney do?

Well, he used one of the greatest plays in Clemson history to tell Hopkins. Besides being an All-America and putting up a ton of catches, yards and touchdowns at Clemson, Hopkins is best known for his big-time catch that sparked the Tigers’ game-winning drive to beat LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

This play is said to be the one that changed the fortunes of Clemson Football.

The play is simply known as Fourth-and-16 at Clemson, as Hopkins made a sliding 26-yard catch from Boyd on fourth-and-16 from the Clemson 16-yard line to extend the drive, which ended in a Chandler Catanzaro walk-off field goal as time expired.

So, on April 16 (4-16), Swinney called Hopkins, along with Boyd, and let him know he is in the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame. Below is the video from Clemson Football’s official account on X.

The rest of the hall of fame class includes Chester McGlockton (Football), Dov Kremer (Cross Country), Oswald Drawdy (Men’s Golf), Donnie Heckel (Wrestling), Stewart Ralph (Track and Field), Sophie Woorons (Women’s Tennis), Jennifer Mihalik (Women’s Swimming), Natoya Goule (Women’s Track), and longtime Clemson administrator and broadcaster Tim Bourret.

The class will be honored and inducted in conjunction with Clemson Football’s Nov. 8 contest against Florida State.

DeAndre Hopkins Clemson stats:

*Finished his 39-game Clemson career with 206 receptions (fourth in Clemson history) for 3,020 yards (second in Clemson history) and 27 touchdowns (tied for most in Clemson history).

*Had 82 receptions for 1,405 yards and an ACC-record 18 touchdown receptions in 2012, earning him First Team All-ACC honors, a second-team All-America nod by Athlon, CBS Sports, Lindy’s, Phil Steele and Scout.com, and a third-team All-America selection by the Associated Press. 

*One of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award in 2012. 

*Had 12 career 100-yard receiving games, still second in Clemson history. 

*In 2011, helped lead Clemson to its first ACC Championship since 1991

*First-round selection of the Houston Texans in 2013, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 2014. 

*Five-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection;  leads the NFL in receptions since he entered the NFL in 2013. 

*Ranked among the top 100 players in the NFL seven times, including No. 8 rankings in 2020 and 2021. 

*Led the NFL in touchdown receptions in 2017 with 13. 

*Ranks 16th in NFL history in receptions with 984. Has 12,965 yards to rank 21st and his 83 receiving touchdowns rank 26th.