If you happened to stop at the Bojangles in Pendleton last Friday, you might’ve recognized who was serving you chicken tenders and biscuits.
Ahead of the Tigers’ matchup against Notre Dame on Nov. 4, former Clemson football player turned country music star Lee Brice returned to Tigertown, stopping at Bojangles for a few hours to connect with the community.
Lee immersed himself in the whole Bojangles process, from cutting and baking the biscuits to serving customers at the drive-thru window, the country star even autographed Clemson-themed Big Bo Boxes for fans.
“It’s awesome to come back. We try to come back at least once a year. It’s part of my life. Clemson is family, Bojangles is family, and you can’t beat this atmosphere,” Brice said.
Brice has been a partner for Bojangles in promoting products like their famous chicken sandwich, although his favorite Bojangles menu items are their morning chicken biscuits, sweet tea and blueberry biscuits.
Speaking to the media at the Bojangles event, Brice explained how he always knew singing country music was in the cards.
“You know, I think you go through life, and you see what you want to do. I was at Clemson for engineering, and there was always a major, major passion and a belief that I was going to be in music at some point,” Brice said.
“And so yeah, my dreams were to go to Nashville and to do this. And so then I came back to Clemson and had a song that I wrote for a big artist, and I was able to play it in Littlejohn, and it was like, ‘Okay, I get to do this, but now I’m coming back and doing this.’ You do expect it, but like, whether it comes true or not, who knows?
“And so being back here, it’s kind of like, well, I remember driving by going, ‘One day, I’m gonna come back to this town, and everybody’s gonna want to see me play music.’ And so that’s kind of what I’m taking from it. As you know, dreams come true. And sitting right here in a Bojangles parking lot. This is part of it right here.”
Clemson has changed a lot since Brice packed his bags for Nashville, but he explained that he cherishes what has remained the same about the community, specifically its attitude, pride and traditions.
“Everything has grown, but the traditions and the attitude at Clemson and the pride in Clemson is still the same. And no matter whether you’re up or down, that’s the state you always got to be,” Brice said. “I love more about what didn’t change than what has changed, but it has been really great with all the growth in Clemson.”
Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Brice grew up a Clemson fan, but the energy in Memorial Stadium really sealed the deal.
“The energy and excitement in that stadium can make your hair stand up,” Brice told the Clemson Tigers. “When you’re in Death Valley, you can’t help but be excited about Clemson. I had always been a Clemson fan, but that experience just confirmed where I was going to school.”
Brice walked onto the Clemson football team for the 1998 season as a reserve long snapper. His time as a collegiate football player was cut short after he suffered a right arm injury during the season, and from that point forward, Brice turned his attention toward music.
Since leaving Clemson, Brice has found great success in the country music industry.
Brice burst onto the scene in 2014 when he won the Academy of Country Music award for Song of the Year with his hit song “I Drive Your Truck” as a part of his second album, “Hard 2 Love.” In that same album, he had hit songs named “Hard To Love” and “Parking Lot Party.”
In his most recent album, Brice has four songs with over one million listens on Spotify, including “One Of Them Girls” and “Memory I Don’t Mess With.” In total, the former Tiger has nearly 7.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Brice is set to go on tour from Feb. 1 to March 30 next year, stopping in Greenville, South Carolina, on Feb. 15.
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