Rob Gronkowski shares voicemail he got from Clemson student after committing to Arizona
Before he was a star tight end in the NFL, Rob Gronkowski was a college recruit. Ultimately, he chose the Arizona Wildcats over several other potential programs, including the Clemson Tigers. That, in turn, led to an interesting voicemail from a Clemson student.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Gronkowski used his recruiting trip to Clemson as a chance to party. So, even though he didn’t commit to play for the Tigers, he was able to have some fun on the visit.
“My Clemson visit, I went absolutely ham at. Bless them for even hosting me that weekend,” Rob Gronkowski said on The Ryen Russillo Podcast. “I mean, they probably thought I was the biggest idiot of all time, which was true. At that time, I sure was.”
A four-star recruit, Rob Gronkowski was the sixth-ranked tight end in the Class of 2007, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. Naturally, he was a much sought-after recruit, with offers from schools like Penn State, Ohio State, and Clemson.
Despite all the partying on his visit, Gronkowski did admit that he was impressed by Clemson, noting the facilities were good and that he had a good time. This was in December 2006, when Clemson was coached by Tommy Bowden and was coming off an 8-5 season.
At the time, Dabo Swinney was Clemson’s wide receivers coach and had he committed to Clemson then the Tigers would have had CJ Spiller and Rob Gronkowski on the same offense. He didn’t, though, deciding to play for Arizona instead. That’s when he got a voicemail from a Clemson student who he didn’t remember meeting while partying during his visit.
“I actually commit to the University of Arizona, and here’s the kicker. I get a voicemail in my messages. So, I must have gave out my number a couple times that night. I don’t remember, I was having too good of a time. I was drinking all the water they got down there in Clemson. It was great water,” Gronkowski said.
“I listen to it and it’s some girl that goes to the University of Clemson. And it’s like, ‘Hey, Rob. I saw you committed to the University of Arizona. I’m going to tell you this right now, you absolutely f***** your decision up. We were all waiting for you down here in Clemson. Well, you have a good life. We’re gonna miss you so much, but let me tell you, once again, you f***** up. Bye-bye.'”
If the caller was trying to upset Rob Gronkowski, it didn’t work. He loved the voicemail and showed it to anyone who would listen at the time.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, s***! What a voicemail!’ I was showing it to all my friends like, look at this voicemail, listen to it, and we thought it was the greatest thing at that time. That’s for sure. I was in high school. I was 18 years old. It was the coolest voicemail I ever got in my life.”
In the end, Rob Gronkowski would be a Freshman All-American in 2007 and a Third Team All-American in 2008. After missing his junior season with a back injury, Gronkowski entered the NFL Draft and was taken by the New England Patriots for the start of one of the best professional careers of a tight end, ever.
Rob Gronkowski open to playing flag football in 2028 Olympics
Flag football is officially coming to the Olympics. It, along with several other sports, are going to be added for the 2028 games and Rob Gronkowski hopes that he has a spot on the team
“Hopefully there’s no tryouts and they just accept me,” Gronkowski said. “But I’m in. I’m going for that if there is flag football in the Olympics in 2028.”
Along with flag football, the Olympics will also be adding cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse, and squash to the games, which will be held in Los Angeles.