Former players to be part of Clemson visit to White House

Quarterback Deshaun Watson and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, now members of the Houston Texans, will be joining their former teammates when the national champion Clemson Tigers football team visits President Trump at the White House on Monday.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said they will be able to take part in the trip, thanks to Houston Texans owner Bob McNair.

“I think (McNair is) actually going to fly Deshaun and Carlos,” Swinney said on the regionally syndicated “The David Glenn Show. “So that’s really the only way they’re going to be able to get there. But we’ve got guys out in California and down in Miami. So it’s just kind of hard for them, because they’re working.”

Clemson beat Alabama, 35-31, in Janaury to win the national title.

McNair is a South Carolina grad who donated $5 million to the Gamecocks football program to go toward their new football operations building.

Swinney said the trip will be a celebration for the team.

“This trip isn’t political. It’s not a fundraiser for a certain party or candidate,” Swinney said. “This is a celebration of what our team achieved last year; it’s been a national tradition for a long, long time.”

Swinney was a member of the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide football team that visited Bill Clinton’s White House in 1993.

The Clemson team also will visit the Statuary Hall and the Rotunda at the Capitol.

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Former players to be part of Clemson visit to White House."