Late in Clemson’s win over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve, ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge opined that the Tigers’ domination of the Sooners started in the trenches, and Blackledge said the Tigers were winning the weight room game.
Fast forward 11 days and Clemson not only held its own against Alabama – for years the gold standard of winning games in the trenches – but won the game in the trenches.
Watching it all with a sense of pride was Joey Batson, the man who has led Clemson’s strength and conditioning program for 18 years.