Darien Rencher's storybook week 'orchestrated by God'

The mere mention of Darien Rencher’s name was all it took.

Dabo Swinney couldn’t hold it back any longer at his press conference. If his smile had grown any wider, it would have flown off the sides of his cheeks.

His Tigers — even plagued with a pervading sloppiness throughout the game — had just come away with a 45-10 thumping of Virginia Tech.

Sure, there were aspects of the performance that needed to be cleaned up. Clemson's well-oiled offensive machine appeared a bit rusty on Saturday. Swinney would be sure to address those issues during the next two weeks of practice. He’d have no choice. Similar misfires against Notre Dame for the ACC crown wouldn’t fly.

But Swinney wasn’t concerned with that as he opened up his press conference for questions from the media. The first to come through centered around senior running back and team-favorite Darien Rencher. The 12-year head coach perked up, beaming at the sound of Rencher’s name.

“He takes advantage of his opportunities,” Swinney remarked.

The opportunity Rencher seized against the Hokies was by far his biggest on the gridiron. As the clock wound down late in the fourth quarter, Rencher took a routine handoff from backup quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei.

That was the only ‘routine’ portion of the play.

A gaping hole opened up on the right side of Clemson’s offensive line. Rencher read it beautifully, bursting into the second level. The senior churned his legs as fast as he could, letting his adrenaline do the rest of the work on his way to a 50-yard touchdown run — the first of Rencher’s storied career. Even being flanked by several Hokie defenders, he didn’t look back once.

“I feel like I ran with him,” said Swinney. “Tony [Elliott] was up in the box saying ‘Go, go go! Is he going to make it?’ It was just awesome to see him finish.”

Just one week prior, Swinney attempted to get Rencher into the endzone on Senior Day in Death Valley. No dice. Rencher was turned away at the goal-line by a weary Pitt defense.

“It definitely was discouraging,” Rencher remarked. “I was honestly really discouraged after that game. Anytime you put a lot of work and effort into something, you want to see a good return on your investment. I was on the one-yard line, and it just didn’t work out.”

Ironically, since that failed touchdown rush, not much hasn’t worked out for the Tiger ball-carrier.

The Monday following the win over Pitt, Rencher was surprised to learn he was the 2020 Disney Spirit Award recipient. The rest of his team? Not so much.

“He’s probably the best leader on this team,” said quarterback Trevor Lawrence. “He’s just a guy that cares a lot about other people. I’m just proud to be his friend.”

Rencher was understandably emotional following the conclusion of one of the most significant weeks of his young life. The situation, he says, was one that could only have been set up from above.

“Just to think, all of those emotions I had the previous week [against Pitt], and then to just be blessed unexpectedly with the award and obviously the touchdown this past week, it was just incredible. I feel like God kind of set me up. I really feel like it couldn’t have been written any better, even if I tried to write it. I feel like God orchestrated the whole thing.”

Rencher’s head coach — and one of his biggest admirers — said the best part wasn’t the Disney Spirit award, nor was it his massive touchdown run to cap off his incredible seven-day span.

Swinney’s favorite moment was what took place after Rencher’s scamper to the end zone.

“The best part was just seeing the amount of joy these guys had for [Rencher]. Just seeing our guys be excited when their teammates make plays. It’s a very selfless team, and that’s not easy to have these days.”

Rencher remains grateful, still processing the highs of his recent success both on and off the field.

“I’ve just been really overwhelmed, joyful and thankful for everything that’s happened these past couple of days,” said Rencher. “It really was like a storybook type week.

“I couldn’t have imagined it happening any better.”