Tanner Muse's 'immature moment' helps Clemson's safety improve

You remember the play. 

Clemson was trailing Syracuse 14-7 with just under nine minutes left in the second quarter. The Orange had just scored, but an offensive pass interference waved off the touchdown, and they faced a third-and-long situation.

On the next play, Isaiah Simmons knocked the ball loose, and the ball went right to Tanner Muse who returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.

What he did next embodied Clemson’s dreadful night perfectly. 

© Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Tanner Muse races to the end zone before being flagged for excessive celebration in Clemson's 27-24 loss at Syracuse.

Muse was excited about game-tying play and began celebrating his touchdown. It appeared that he popped the top, and started pretending to drink out of the football as if it were a can of beer. 

As teammates mauled him, he turned to the field and made a little throat-slash gesture that the referees saw, and Clemson was penalized. Some have claimed that they thought Muse was simply wiping the pretend beverage off of his face. Nonetheless, the Tigers were still flagged. 

When momentum finally swung Clemson’s way, something negative happened right after turning the tide back into Syracuse’s favor. The biggest problem, it was unnecessary. 

Coaches always say, "Act like you've been there before," and Muse has been there before. Last season against Syracuse, Muse returned an interception for a score in Clemson's blowout win, but this season's big play gave Syracuse momentum.

The Orange got the ball in excellent field position on the next possession and drove down the field to kick a field goal to take the lead heading into halftime.

Dabo Swinney stood on the sideline with a look of disappointment and let Muse know that his actions cost the team.

“It’s definitely a learning experience,” Muse said Tuesday. “It was an immature move on my part what I did. It won’t happen again.”

At his Tuesday press conference, Swinney showed that same look of disappointment on his face that he had on the sideline when the penalty was brought up. Swinney said that those actions do not represent what Clemson is about.

“That was unacceptable and will absolutely not be tolerated here,” Swinney said. “I sat him for pretty much the rest of the half after the play. It was costly...That’s not who he is. He just kind of got caught up in the moment and lost his mind.”

Swinney said that Muse responded the way that he expected him to last week.

“He was very disappointed in himself and knows that he hurt the team. It was just a selfish act. He put everybody in a bad situation… A young player that showed a lot of immaturity in that moment.”

One could only imagine what it is like to be chewed out by coach Swinney in an intense atmosphere. Swinney can go on a tirade now and then and not everyone can take it, but Muse said you have to.

“You sit and take it. You learn from it, and you listen to all the words he has to say.,” Muse said. “At that time, he’s telling it how it is, and he’s saying it from the heart. In the end, you do what you can with it constructively.”

Muse acknowledged that even though the play was detrimental to his team, he also believes that something positive came from it.

"Being able to take that moment and make something positive out of it, other guys on the team are going to learn from it, and I am definitely going to learn from it," Muse said. "So I think it was not all negative even though it was a negative play.”

Muse has 43 tackles in seven games this season and looks to keep up his aggressive play this Saturday against Georgia Tech. If he is fortunate enough to find his way back into the end zone, rest assured he will act like he's been there before.