A former Tiger did not hold back in his critique of the state of the current Clemson program.

Former offensive lineman and current ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain went all in on the Tigers during the most recent episode of the Gramlich and Mac Lain Podcast.

Not only did Mac Lain blast the current state of the Clemson offensive line, but he also called for the end of one of the program’s longstanding traditions, an opinion bound to garner considerable pushback.

“We have got to get rid of meeting at The Paw — we have to stop,” Mac Lain said. “Because I don’t know if y’all noticed this, but we’ve lost a lot at home recently. And all that does is allow other fans to come on our field, eff up the Paw, take pictures, celebrate, do dumb stuff on our field, and that drives me crazy. I hate seeing that. I don’t know if you saw any videos, but it’s people everywhere. Going back to the South Carolina game where they’re literally ripping up parts of our grass and stuff.”

Gathering at The Paw is a tradition that stretches back to the Frank Howard days. Win or lose, after every game fans gather around midfield to mingle with coaches and players.

However, in recent years, Clemson has experienced more home losses, including four last season alone. On Saturday, they took one of their worst home defeats in recent memory when No. 4 Miami walked out of Death Valley with a 41-13 win. After the game, Hurricanes fans were seen on the field celebrating, and for Mac Lain, he’d rather do away with the tradition altogether than see opposing fan bases celebrating a victory on the playing surface inside Memorial Stadium.

“Listen, shoulda beat you and it doesn’t happen, but we gotta cut that out. I’m so sick of that. I just want it done. We gotta cut it out. It’s an old tradition. Moving on from it. We don’t need to do it anymore. It’s a sacred space, and needs to be treated as such.”

Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider