Enough is enough
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CLEMSON -- Ben Boulware isn't much for poker faces. When he's disgusted by something, you're probably going to be able to tell.
Last year, the most frequent object of his disdain was the frequent skepticism about Clemson as a legitimate national title contender.
Something else that creates a furrow in Boulware's brow: Lack of interest in special teams by his own teammates.
"You don't have to really be talented to cover a kickoff," he said. "It's not like you've got to cover Mike Williams one-on-one like you're a corner. You've got to run down the field and tackle somebody. It's probably the easiest job in football."
So if all you fans think you've been incensed by the lapses in kickoff coverage last season -- including one rather unforgettable and unconscionable one with the national title at stake -- you might understand how Boulware was a darker shade of red-faced when he watched the meltdowns from the sideline.
The sideline, by the way, is a place Boulware will not be this season when the kickoff team trots onto the field. After he distinguished himself covering kickoffs in 2013 and 2014, and left that phase last season to devote his full attention to being a starting linebacker, he's back covering kicks in 2016 -- and with a Boulware-style purpose you might recognize.
"Yeah, football. Run down and hit guys. Kind of what I'm good at," he said.
It completely baffles Boulware that the Tigers struggled so much last season at special teams in general and kickoff coverage in particular. In his mind there was too much indifference to it, a position that's been echoed by everyone else we've polled about special teams this offseason.
"I think it was really just the want-to," he said. "I think some guys didn't want to be on special teams. And didn't give great effort. So it really comes down to want-to. I don't think we had the guys that wanted to do it.
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