Advertisement
Premium content
PREMIUM CONTENT
Published May 21, 2019
Dabo doubling down
Larry Williams  •  TigerIllustrated
Senior Writer
Twitter
@LarryWilliamsTI

THE WEST ZONE message board | SHOP NOW: DEALS on CLEMSON apparel

When you walk through the doors of Clemson's lavish football facility, immediately to your right are the doors to the PAW Journey wing of the fortress.

Once upon a time, under Tommy Bowden and then Dabo Swinney, former Tiger great Jeff Davis was a one-man PAW Journey as he occupied a small office in the McFadden Building and tried to give real-life advice and wisdom to football players who thought football playing would go on forever.

At some point -- much sooner rather than later, in 98 percent of cases -- football was going to end. And for elite athletes who have spent most of their lives defined and even deified by a sport, moving on to a new definition of self at the age of 21 or 22 is a trying and often traumatic transition that most of us never think about.

Davis and Swinney have been thinking about it a long time. Long ago, they had a shared vision of preparing these football players for what happens next. Of doing something more than just shuttling them through college classes, keeping them eligible and then moving on to the next commodities when their eligibility expires.

Subscribe to read more.
Unlock Premium news from the largest network of experts.
Say your piece in exclusive fan communities.
Dominate with stats, athlete data, Rivals250 rankings, and more.
Go Big. Get Premium.Log In
Advertisement