With Clemson and South Carolina both being competitive Division I schools, it is expected that they produce high quality athletes that thrive in the professional leagues.
Let’s go through some of the rivalry’s best professional athletes:
Football
When people think of college athletics, most immediately consider football. Having the best team and the best players is what a college student dreams of, especially when you attend a school that holds a deep rivalry with another.
Clemson has produced one No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft: Trevor Lawrence in 2021. Though Lawrence is currently in the league, it’s hard to judge his career after just four seasons. Lawrence was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2022 after leading the Jaguars to their first playoff appearance since 2017 and finishing the year with a passer rating of 95.2, 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
South Carolina, on the other hand, has had two No. 1 overall picks in the NFL draft: George Rogers in 1981 and Jadeveon Clowney in 2014. Rogers, drafted by the New Orleans Saints, won the Heisman while at South Carolina. He led the league in rushing yards in his rookie season, which earned him a Pro Bowl selection and NFL rookie of the year. Rogers was traded to the Washington Redskins in 1985, where he won Super Bowl XXII.
Clowney, drafted by the Houston Texans, was selected to three straight Pro Bowls in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He currently plays for the Carolina Panthers.
Brian Dawkins, Clemson’s sole Pro Football Hall of Famer and nine-time Pro Bowler, holds an array of impressive records. Dawkins helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach five straight playoff appearances between 2000 and 2004, the longest streak in franchise history. He had at least one interception in 15 straight seasons, tied for the fifth-longest streak in NFL history.
Dawkins’ 34 interceptions with the Eagles were tied for the most in franchise history. Dawkins had 36 forced fumbles, the most by a safety since 1980.
Baseball
Clemson is the alma mater of one of the most electric young pitchers in MLB: Spencer Strider. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2020, Strider is one of the aces on their staff, holding a career 32-10 record, 3.47 earned run average and 495 strikeouts.
In 2023, Strider set the Braves’ modern-era record for strikeouts in a single season with 281, breaking Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz’s record of 276. Strider also broke his own record of being the fastest player to reach 200 strikeouts.
Strider was runner-up for rookie of the year, and he finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting a year later.
Former Gamecock Jordan Montgomery had an impressive 2023 season, where he captured his first championship with the Texas Rangers. He had a career-best 2.79 earned run average and a .240 opponent batting average. In the 2023 postseason, he went 3-1 with 17 strikeouts in 31 innings. Montgomery now pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Some other notable South Carolina alumni currently in the league include Whit Merrifield, Christian Walker and Clarke Schmidt.
Olympians
Clemson has produced multiple Olympic gold medalists, mainly in the track and field department. Some include Brianna Rollins-McNeal, who won a gold medal in 2016 in the 100-meter hurdles, and Kim Graham, a 1996 gold medalist in the 4×400-meter relay. Gigi Fernández, a former women’s tennis player, won 17 Grand Slam doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals and was ranked the No. 1 women’s doubles player.
Former Gamecock A’ja Wilson may be the most impressive athlete out of either school. Drafted No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Aces in 2018, Wilson has become a three-time league MVP, two-time WNBA champion, six-time All-Star, three-time first-team All-WNBA and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. At just 28 years old, Wilson has likely cemented herself into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
