Chad Smith stood on the stage, confetti falling around him, and cradled his Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP trophy as tears rolled down his face. All of the sacrifice, all of the hard work, all of the early mornings and late nights, were worth it.
Smith. Clemson’s senior linebacker, collected 12 tackles in the win over the Buckeyes to earn MVP honors. Smith is starting for the first time this season after arriving on campus in January of 2015 as a highly-regarded prospect.
He redshirted in 2015, spent 2016 on special teams and never played more than 135 snaps over the next two seasons.