

Clelin Ferrell's trip to a Columbia Waffle House changed his outlook on the rivalry
Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell didn’t really understand the heated rivalry between Clemson and South Carolina until he stepped foot on both campuses as a recruit.
The Virginia native visited Clemson first and heard a little bit about the rivalry itself from fans as he was learning more about the school.
His next visit was a trip to Columbia, which Ferrell said was a “different” kind of experience. An experience that may have caused him to back away from attending South Carolina.
“It’s a little bit different down there,” Ferrell said. “Their fans take it a little bit differently than how ours do. Obviously, none of us like each other, but we have two very different fan bases.”
A stop at a local Waffle House in Columbia during his visit changed his entire outlook on the rivalry between the two fan bases.
“When I went down there, I went in the Waffle House, and some guy walked into Waffle House in Columbia with a Clemson shirt on and the next thing I know I see people trying to fight him and stuff like that. So I’m like, ‘Ok, well what’s going on here with that?’ But yeah man, it’s real. It’s really real down here. I didn’t notice that when I first came to Clemson, but now I understand why people take it so seriously.”
Two years ago, Ferrell traveled back to Columbia to watch the rivalry game as a redshirt freshman when the Tigers were the top-ranked team in the country.
Again, his experience was an eye-opening one.
“Me, Tanner Muse and Denzel, we rode up to that game, and I just remember being on that field watching, just kind of how that whole atmosphere was and just kind of seeing some of the fans throwing stuff at our sideline and stuff like that. But it was a good game because that was a close game two years ago. A lot of people say they should have won that game, but hopefully, this year going back there and playing in a great atmosphere like they have we get a chance to kind of put this one to bed.”
Ferrell said that the rivalry is personal to him based on his experience last year in a “chippy” game and accusations of racial slurs being said to South Carolina players during the game.
His experience from two years ago still lingers in his mind, and Ferrell said that fans throwing debris was an example of taking things a little too far.
“My redshirt year when we went up there they were kind of throwing stuff at us on the sidelines. When we walked into the tunnel they were kind of throwing stuff,” Ferrell said.
“But fans do that everywhere. It was just kind of my first experience with that. I didn’t really understand how serious the rivalry was, but when I saw that it was kind of more so like, ‘Ok, yeah, it’s a really heated battle right now.’”
Saturday night, Ferrell will get his chance to be a part of Clemson's matchup in Williams-Brice Stadium. After the game ends, there are sure to be plenty of places to catch a late night meal. Waffle House in Columbia may not be at the top of Ferrell's list.