CLEMSON – A month can be an eternity in college football. 

Only four weeks ago, the Clemson Tigers were favored to win the ACC and their season-opener against LSU. National analysts pegged the veteran-laden squad as a contender to win another national championship, while the players told reporters they believed this could be “the year.”

Now, just a month later, Clemson sits at 1-3 overall and 0-2 in ACC-play, far from the expectations laid out in the offseason. Following a frustrating loss to Syracuse last Saturday, Clemson’s team meeting on Monday turned into a vent session to air out feelings and grievances.

“(We were) able to out all our emotions, all of our feelings, and really just have a direct line of communication,” senior offensive lineman Collin Sadler said. “Being able to have players speak directly to our head coach, give their feelings, their opinions, and vice versa,  that’s an opportunity that not many programs get very often.”

Through the adversity, Sadler, an Inman, S.C., native has been a steady presence for the Tigers. The veteran has logged 273 snaps through four games, shifting from left guard to left tackle after starter Tristan Leigh suffered an injury at the end of the LSU game. 

“You pick up on different cues where it can help you read people better,” Sadler said ahead of the season. “It has been a huge blessing to showcase myself in different positions and get better that way.”

Less than two months after Sadler was named a permanent starter–-a personal victory he chased for three years–-he found himself in uncomfortable conversations about what legacy team leaders could leave after an abysmal start to the season.

“I want to leave the best possible legacy for those guys that I can,” he said. “I want to send them out in the best fashion that I can from a personal standpoint. I believe everybody in the room does as well.” 

That legacy, for Sadler, means setting an example and momentum for younger offensive linemen.

“Being older guys and being around in the program for a while, you set a standard for yourself, and it’s made very evident,” he said. “I don’t want to look back on this season and be known by the younger guys as a guy that quit, a guy that tapped out. I want to be a guy that they look back on and they think like, ‘yeah, you know, he never quit. He pushed through the end.’” 

Though seniors like Sadler and freshmen like standout Brayden Jacobs are three-plus years apart in age, they are both experiencing a losing record at Clemson for the first time. Despite age gaps and position differences, vulnerability has been key in keeping the locker room united.

“Everyone in there feels like they can be vulnerable and real with each other,” Sadler said. “I think that’s really what’s going to bring our team together… It was really special to just kind of have a big reset, especially going into a bye-week, just to bear our hearts to each other.”

Sadler and the Tigers will have two weeks to continue soul-searching before they head to Chapel Hill on a road trip to play the North Carolina Tar Heels.