CLEMSON – It was mid-February, and Jay Guillermo didn’t feel right. He knew something was wrong, so he turned to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney for advice. His head coach’s message was simple: Go home and find your joy.
The redshirt junior center dealt with a foot injury during the 2014 season, and in the six weeks after the Tigers’ win over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl Guillermo realized he wasn’t happy with the game he loved. So he went home and found his joy.
The Maryville (TN) native spoke with the media Monday morning in the WestZone, and for the first time since rejoining the team for summer workouts and fall camp opened up about that journey, his reasons for leaving school in February and coming back to Clemson to regain a spot on Swinney’s team.