Clemson legend and current Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Christian Wilkins joined the Third and Long podcast hosted by former San Francisco 49ers and current Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead.
Armstead asked Wilkins how he ended up going to Clemson, and the former five-star recruit from Massachussets reflected on why he chose to be a Tiger.
“For me just growing up, someway, somehow, I kind of heard about Clemson at a young age, like a family friend,” Wilkins said. “I grew up in South Carolina, so Clemson was at least kind of like on my mind. Like, I remember hearing about Clemson, and obviously the ‘Thunder and Lightning’ in the backfield with CJ Spiller and James Davis. So, I remember hearing about them when I was a young kid, and even before I even knew college football was a possibility for me. So, Clemson was kind of like at least a little ingrained in my mind.
“But then as I was going through the process as I was growing up, just a lot of things I was looking for in a college, Clemson was preaching that. Clemson was all about those things. I wanted to grow spiritually, academically and socially, and obviously athletically, and I felt like Clemson gave me the best opportunity to do that. Even going far away from home from Massachusetts to South Carolina, I felt right at home, felt like I could make the adjustment and was able to have a good solid career there at Clemson, do some good things.”
Of course, Wilkins had more than just a solid career at Clemson. It was a stellar four-year career from 2015-18 that he concluded as one of the school’s most decorated and beloved figures.
Wilkins was an integral part of the Tigers’ 2016 and 2018 national title teams, and he completed his college career with 250 tackles, 41 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 56 quarterback pressures, 16 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries over 59 games (45 starts).
A three-time All-American and three-time All-ACC selection, as well as a four-time All-ACC Academic selection, Wilkins has carried over his success at Clemson to the NFL level. He recently became one of the NFL’s highest-paid players at his position when he signed a massive four-year, $110 million free agent deal with the Raiders that includes $84.75 million guaranteed.
After being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round (13th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder amassed 355 tackles (43 for loss) and 20.5 sacks across his five seasons with the Dolphins from 2019-23.
You can check out Wilkins’ appearance on the Third and Long podcast with Armstead below:
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