By Emelie Weinbeck, Contributing Writer
Clemson University Tigers football is a powerhouse in the Atlantic Coastal Conference. After six undefeated seasons since 1981, five consecutive College Football Playoff appearances, 25 conference championships, eight divisional titles, over 100 All-Americans, 17 Academic All-Americans and over 250 players drafted into the NFL, Clemson is one of the best college football programs in the country.
Founded in 1899, Clemson is the second-largest university in undergraduate population in South Carolina as well as a leading public research institution. Along with a gorgeous campus setting, all-Nike athletic training facilities and a wide array of winning sports teams there is much to love about Clemson.
What’s more to love about Clemson is its highly popular Clemson Football TikTok. With over 392,000 followers and 5.6 million likes, the Clemson football team gets a lot of attention on social media. But behind all the football success and social media fame are just regular college kids who came to Clemson to play the game they love.
Since college football did not start until last weekend, the Clemson football team decided to take a break from being football stars and be college kids for one night. By now, most people have heard Drake’s new song “Laugh Now Cry Later,” which was released on Aug. 13, and debuted at number two on the Hot 100 Chart. The music video for the song has over 95 million views on YouTube and features artist Lil’ Durk.
Drake’s music video was filmed at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon and since Nike sponsors Clemson Athletics, the football team decided to recreate Drake’s music video shot for shot on Clemson’s campus.
Clemson football announced the release of their recreation on TikTok on Sep. 5. The video released the same day and has 476,000 likes as well as 2.7 million views. The full video can be found in their TikTok bio and on their YouTube page, which already has over 900,000 views and 53,000 likes since it was posted.
The video features some big names from the Clemson football team such as quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, tight end, Braden Galloway – who has a big following on TikTok with girlfriend Mackenzie Grimsley – defensive end, K.J. Henry and defensive tackle, Tyler Davis. The video was shot in Clemson’s Allen N. Reeves Football Complex and features sprawling turf football fields, custom Clemson golf carts and an extensive Nike shoe warehouse.
The video also features up-close and personal shots of the players just like Drake’s music video does, which is any Clemson Football fan’s dream come true. Towards the end of the video, there is also a guest appearance by Braden Galloway’s puppy, Blaize, riding in a golf cart. But most importantly the video showcases what college athletes do best, having fun and enjoying time with their team.
weinbeec20@bonaventure.edu
