FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tony Elliott was fine last December, leading up to the Russell Athletic Bowl. Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris had become the head coach at SMU, and Elliott and Jeff Scott were named co-coordinators in his wake.
Then the day of the game, after a hotel meeting, the Clemson coaches sent the players back to their rooms, and Elliott grew nervous. He never gets nervous.
“Obviously, it was our first time and we just wanted to give our kids an opportunity to be successful,” Elliott said.
Fast forward a year. Another bowl game against Oklahoma, only this one in the Orange Bowl as a College Football Playoff semifinal.