CLEMSON — Last year, when Sammy Watkins thought he was just surprising Tajh Boyd by telling him he was in the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame, Dabo Swinney tricked him. Swinney also surprised Watkins by telling him, he was inducted into the same hall of fame class.
It is no surprise Swinney wanted to catch DeAndre Hopkins off guard, as well, when he learned the former Clemson wide receiver was a part of Clemson’s 2025 Hall of Fame class. When Clemson’s Director of the Block C, Bob Mahony, informed Swinney Hopkins was going to be enshrined into this year’s class, Swinney asked if he could hold off telling Hopkins until he found a creative way to do it.