Jack of many trades: newfound maturity, hidden talents have molded Clemson o-lineman

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Bells and whistles were thundering through Jackson Carman’s eardrums at the crack of dawn one morning.

The Clemson offensive lineman, who was a freshman at the time, was sound asleep when the alarm was going off. He was in such a deep sleep that in his mind he knew those sounds were a part of the dream he was currently experiencing.

The problem was the alarm was actually a wake-up call. The even bigger problem was that he was about to be late – or even miss – a 5:30 AM workout with the rest of the team.

According to Carman, missing the workout was a one-time mistake. Everyone, not just the upperclassmen or his coaches, gave the freshman a hard time for missing something that was mandatory.

But there were other things that he missed, like team meetings, that showed some of the immaturity Carman had. Other players have told us time management is one of the hardest aspects to grasp when they first get to college.

Even Dabo Swinney has said when he first took over as head coach for the Tigers that managing his time, especially during the offseason, was difficult. At some point, Carman had to be more accountable.

At some point, he had to wake up.

“(Carman) was one of the least accountable guys and had a lot of maturing and growing up to do,” Swinney said Tuesday. “Once he realized that there wasn’t going to be any compromise just because he’s a good player, he eventually bought in.”

One of those moments was missing that 5:30 AM workout. Another moment was realizing that he had to change his eating habits in order to get into playing shape.

“The point was probably when I was 370 pounds trying to get through mat drills, which is not an easy task if anyone was wondering,” Carman said.

Even though Carman was 370 pounds at one point, the sophomore lineman weighed in at 335 pounds in August. He accepted the challenge from his coaches and bought in. That’s accountability.

That was one of the many steps in the right direction. Another step was getting an old-timey alarm clock, set other alarms in his house, and get his roommates to help him wake up so he’d be on time.

Hey, whatever works.

Carman has had the benefit of many influential leaders on Clemson’s roster looking out for him. Mitch Hyatt, who Swinney has said was the model of consistency, took Carman under his wing when Carman was a freshman. This year, he’s been able to look at the leadership of Sean Pollard, Gage Cervenka, and Tremayne Anchrum and pick up a thing or two.

Anchrum even remembers the time Carman missed that early-morning workout.

“Your immediate reaction is like, ‘man, what are you doing? This is important.’ But I remember back to my freshman semester here and I did the same thing,” Anchrum said. “You really can’t jump on him super bad. You gotta understand where he’s coming from and understand that you’ve been there before. We’re all people. He’s just finding his way.”

Anchrum, a senior, has had a front-row to seat to Carman’s progression since he first arrived on campus. The light has come on for Carman, who has been a force to be reckoned with so far in 2019 taking over Hyatt’s left tackle duties.

Carman doesn’t know how many dudes he’s flattened on their backs so far in 2019, but he was quick to point out that he believes he leads the team in knockdowns.

There’s a confidence to the way Carman carries himself as he continues to mature every day. That type of confidence has always been inside him ever since he got to campus.

The Oxford Dictionary describes a Renaissance Man as “a person with many talents or areas of knowledge.” Carman is a human being that can do it all and Dabo Swinney found that out on the very first day he met the 6-foot-5 offensive lineman.

When the two were meeting in Swinney’s office during his unofficial visit in the spring of 2017, Carman saw one of the few guitars that are on display, gifts that were given to Swinney from CJ Spiller and Lee Brice. Swinney barely touches them, but Carman noticed the instrument and immediately picked it up and started playing Dust in the Wind by Kansas.

Swinney’s jaw dropped.

That was just one of the many hidden talents Carman possess. He can play guitar, piano, wake surf, cook, was in the chess club in middle school, and has a singing voice that can “capture the room,” according to Swinney.

In fact, his love for baking was beneficial when Carman was trying to lose all that weight. As far as his singing goes, it comes from his mother, who is the Minister of Music at a church. Singing has given him an even greater confidence to the point where he is always bursting out into song around his teammates.

At “Club All In,” which is what Swinney refers to as the team’s rookie night for freshman, Carman volunteered to get on stage and sing. Swinney said it was easily the best performance of the night.

“He’s just a really unique guy to go along with being a humongous human being,” Swinney said of Carman.

The confidence Carman has and his buy-in has helped transform him into one of Clemson’s leaders - the same kind of leader Mitch Hyatt was when Carman first arrived on Clemson’s campus.

“I think he wants to be the best in the country. He’s just got an edge and a drive to him that is very encouraging for a young player,” Swinney said. “Now he’s become a leader for us. If you had told me that this time last year, I would have laughed at you.”

Carman’s career at Clemson is merely just taking off. Even as a first-year starter in 2019, he’s continuing to progress as a football player and a person every day.

But according to Carman, that just comes with the territory when you play football at Clemson.

“I feel like the culture we have here definitely promotes (growth),” Carman said. “It forces you to change, and if you don’t change it’s just going to break you down.

“You have to find what’s going to be able to separate you from everyone else. So if you’re willing to work harder than everyone else in the room, then you’ll end up being the best in the room, but if you just sit back and think that your talent is going to carry you, it’s only going to take you so far. You think about it, the more talent you have, the harder you work, the better you can be. Why would you not want to maximize?”

That sounds like the mindset of a player who has been completely transformed since missing that 5:30 AM workout. And the results have been eye-opening.

There are NFL dreams for Carman, who has a fair chance of making it if his progression and drive continues. But others say he may be destined for something else before then with all the talent he has.

“I’ve known him for a while and I still don’t have a handle of what all he can do,” Anchrum said. “He’s a Jack of many trades.

“You never know what he is going to do next and that’s why I think he’s going to be on America’s Got Talent before he gets to the NFL.”