Eric Mac Lain reveals the general feeling within Clemson's program

On3 imageby:Alex Weber08/05/22

Clemson football clearly had a down year in 2021 by program standards. However, former Tiger Eric Mac Lain believes the down year was a shock to the system for Clemson players, who until then hadn’t missed the College Football Playoff in their careers. So the Tigers may have gotten lax last season — lost their hunger.

Mac Lain joined JD PicKell over on the On3 YouTube channel. Where he explained why Clemson will bounce back better from the adversity they faced in 2021. You can watch his comments right here or read them in full below.

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Eric Mac Lain on Clemson’s rebound

At one point in the video, PicKell asked Mac Lain what he thought the general vibe around the program was. To which the analyst responded:

“Yeah man, it’s cool when you can kind of keep that inside look. And you can keep that going and the relationships with players coaches head coach. Just because you get a little bit different look than a lot of people do, and and so the the excitement level, is at an all-time high,” Mac Lain said of getting to cover the team.

He then moved on to talk about the actual Clemson team for 2022. A team that, unlike others of late, is coming off a season where the Tigers didn’t even make the ACC Championship and missed the CFP.

“These guys have been training and busting it. You know, like they really hadn’t in their careers. And you know, I think what’s so interesting — is this is really their first piece of adversity in quite some time. Think of the run that Clemson has been on. I mean, every single person on that team, this was the first year they missed a Playoff. They didn’t know what that was like. This is the first year they didn’t win an ACC Championship. Think how crazy that is and what all goes into that. Kind of this new fire that they have found and the dedication that they have found.”

Mac Lain believes the experience will provide added motivation this coming season. He’s fired up to watch how it all plays out.

“So I can’t wait to see it. We’ll be down there. Clemson’s second to last on this tour so I’ll get to see it up close and in person.”