Honorary Captains announced for 2024 Aflac Kickoff Game
ATLANTA (Aug. 14, 2024) – Officials today announced that A.J. Terrell and Kevin Butler will serve as honorary captains for their respective alma maters at the 2024 Aflac Kickoff Game between No. 14 Clemson and No. 1 Georgia. The honorary captains will join the team captains at midfield for the pregame coin toss prior to the noon ET kickoff on Aug. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Representing the Clemson Tigers as an honorary captain will be Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell who played under head coach Dabo Swinney from 2017-2019. During his tenure at Clemson Terrell appeared in 44 games with 30 starts, and was credited with 107 tackles, 20 pass breakups, six interceptions and one touchdown. He helped lead the Tigers to the 2018 CFP National Championship and an overall 29-1 record in his two seasons as a starter at Clemson, earning First-Team All ACC honors in 2019. The Atlanta native was then selected as the 16th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Falcons. Since entering the league, he has started in 61 games, posting four interceptions, 247 tackles (including solo tackles) and two quarterback hits.
Serving as the honorary captain for the Bulldogs will be Kevin Butler who played for Georgia as a placekicker from 1981-1984. Butler kicked 77 field goals and 122 extra points, scoring 353 career points for the Bulldogs. He holds the record for the longest field goal in Georgia school history with a 60-yard kick against Clemson in 1984, and his 52.4% accuracy on attempts 50 yards or longer was an NCAA record. Butler earned Consensus All-America and All-SEC honors during his collegiate career. He was also named to the Sports Illustrated All-Century Team, the Walter Camp Foundation All-Century Team and the American Broadcasting Company All-Time Team. Following his time in Athens, Butler was later drafted in the fourth round with the 105th pick by the Chicago Bears in 1985 where he spent the next 11 years of his career, capturing a Super Bowl Championship in 1986. He retired after two years with the Cardinals and 13 years in the league. Butler was later inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001, becoming the first placekicker to earn that honor.
In honor of the Aflac Kickoff Game’s “Kickoff for a Cause” initiative and in anticipation of September as National Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month, the honorary captains will be joined by two current college students from each respective school, both of whom have their own inspiring pediatric cancer stories.
Taking the field with A.J. Terrell will be Grayson Gentz, a Clemson sophomore who was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 2022 before entering his freshman year of college. Kevin Butler will be accompanied by UGA freshman Ethan Daniels, who was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia in March of 2017 and celebrated his last day of chemotherapy in 2020. Ethan was treated at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
As part of “Kickoff for a Cause,” Clemson's The Tiger and UGA's Hairy Dawg will go head-to-head in a friendly rivalry on Aug. 31 at the Aflac Fan Experience to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. Fans are encouraged to rally behind their favorite mascot and vote in the mascot challenge to support children’s hospitals.
Aflac and Peach Bowl, Inc. are teaming up for “Kickoff for a Cause,” uniting their joint commitment to supporting children facing cancer. Since 1995, Aflac independent sales agents, employees and The Aflac Foundation, Inc. have given more than $183 million to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Peach Bowl, Inc. has donated more than $20 million to create the Peach Bowl LegACy Fund that is currently supporting 14 clinical drug trials for children.
The 21st edition of the nation’s longest-running kickoff game will feature the highest-ranked matchup of Week One between No. 14 Clemson and No. 1 Georgia in the 66th meeting between the two programs dating back to 1897.
About Peach Bowl, Inc.:
Peach Bowl, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization that operates the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Aflac Kickoff Game, the Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament, and manages and operates The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank national coach of the year award. It is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and is recognized as college football’s most charitable bowl organization, having donated more than $63.3 million to organizations in need since 2002.
Peach Bowl, Inc Events:
Our Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is one of the New Year’s Six bowls selected to host the College Football Playoff including the CFP Quarterfinal in 2025 and the CFP Semifinal in 2026. Over its 56 years, the game has drawn 3.3 million fans in attendance, a total television audience of 239.8 million viewers on ESPN, delivered $245.1 million in team payouts, and has created $889.77 million in direct economic impact and $51.85 million in tax revenue for Atlanta and Georgia.
Our Aflac Kickoff Game is the nation’s longest-running kickoff game and has reshaped the opening weekend in college football. Over 20 games since 2008, the game has regularly hosted the nation’s top teams and has drawn 1.3 million fans, 100.4 million television viewers, distributed $117.7 million in team payouts and created an additional $564.8 million in economic impact and $39.2 million in tax revenue for Atlanta and Georgia.
The Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge is the nation’s premier charity golf tournament featuring top current and former college football coaches. Hosted at the beautiful Reynolds Lake Oconee resort outside Atlanta each spring, the event has generated $9.7 million for the various foundations and charities supported by its coaches.
The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank is college football’s most coveted national coaching award. Named for legendary Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, The Dodd Trophy annually honors the FBS football coach whose program represents three pillars of success: scholarship, leadership and integrity.