Caldwell Selected to Furman Athletic Hall of Fame
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson Offensive Line Coach Robbie Caldwell, a graduate of Furman University, has been selected to the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame. On Wednesday, Furman Athletics announced Caldwell's inclusion as one of two members in this year's class to be honored during an induction ceremony on Friday, Sept. 20.
Caldwell was a three-year letterman as a center at Furman from 1973-75 and is one of only two offensive linemen in the program's history to earn team MVP honors in the last 46 seasons. As a sophomore, he played a key role in Furman going 7-4 following a 2-9 finish in 1972, making the Paladins the most improved program in the nation.
He was named Furman’s offensive line coach in 1978 under first-year Furman head coach Dick Sheridan and was instrumental in the Paladins winning six Southern Conference championships and posting consecutive triumphs over South Carolina (1982), Georgia Tech (1983), and NC State (1984 & ‘85) over an eight-year span, culminating with a 12-2 campaign in 1985 and national runner-up finish. He coached 18 All-SoCon performers, including current Furman head coach Clay Hendrix, and four Jacobs Blocking Award winners during his Paladin coaching tenure, helping pave the way for All-America running back and three-time SoCon Player of the Year Stanford Jennings.
In 1985, he accompanied Sheridan to NC State as offensive line coach, where he coached the Wolfpack offensive line for 14 seasons before moving on to North Carolina (2000-01) and Vanderbilt (2002-09). He served as the Commodores’ interim head coach in 2010 before assuming offensive line coach duties at Clemson in 2011.
Since Caldwell joined Clemson eight seasons ago, the Tigers have posted a 97-15 record, including eight 10-plus win seasons, five ACC titles, three national championship game appearances and national titles in 2016 and 2018. Last season, Caldwell's unit included consensus All-American Mitch Hyatt, who earned his second straight Jacobs Blocking Trophy, and all five of Caldwell's starting linemen from the 2018 season opener collected All-ACC honors as the unit powered Clemson to school records in rushing yards (3,723), yards per carry (6.55) and rushing touchdowns (49).