Lannden Zanders crossed the field against Miami and delivered a punishing blow to a Hurricane ballcarrier, hair flowing freely from underneath his helmet, drawing comparisons to former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. Zanders probably wasn’t thinking about his idol at that moment, however. He was thinking about his grandmother and her famous mac and cheese.
Zanders is Clemson’s starting safety who has racked up 13 tackles, three pass breakups and one quarterback pressure in 145 snaps so far this season, a daring playmaker who is just as happy tipping the ball away from a receiver as he is delivering a punishing blow to a running back who dares fill the lane.