Dabo Swinney surprises Clemson equipment manager with special needs with Super Bowl tickets

Nearly a month after the Clemson Tigers won a national title in their big game, head coach Dabo Swinney surprised one of their equipment managers with tickets to an even bigger game.

Swinney gave David Saville, a team equipment manager with special needs, two tickets to Super Bowl LIII, and video of the moment was posted to Clemson Football’s Twitter early Thursday.

“You do so much for this team, just the joy that you bring every day, the perspective, how hard you work — one of the hardest workers that we’ve got around here,” Swinney said to Saville while the team huddled around them after a workout.

That’s when Swinney pulls out the tickets.

“The NFL, they have presented you with two Super Bowl tickets,” he said before Saville threw his arms around Swinney’s neck in a hug.

Saville is then seen calling his dad to tell him the news. An equipment manager with the team since 2014, Saville, 28, is a graduate of ClemsonLIFE, a specially-designed program for students with intellectual disabilities. He was even featured in a story that aired on ESPN’s College GameDay in 2017.

“As y’all will see, David fills the room with joy and just such a wonderful spirit,” Swinney says into the camera afterward. “He gives our team and our spirit unbelievable perspective, and I have yet to see David Saville have a bad day.”

Sunday’s Super Bowl game will take place in Atlanta and feature the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots.