Clemson’s Tony Elliott has family members who will cheer for Gamecocks on Saturday
The Clemson-South Carolina rivalry divides families throughout the Palmetto state. Tigers co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott’s is no exception.
Elliott, who played at Clemson before later joining the Tigers’ staff, has a sister and aunt who attended South Carolina. They’ve continued to cheer for the Gamecocks, even with Elliott now being in his seventh season coaching at Clemson.
“(Sunday) was my sister’s birthday and I texted her and I didn’t get a response because she’s a South Carolina grad,” Elliott joked earlier this week. “We don’t have a pro team in this state, so if you grow up in this state you’re either Clemson or South Carolina. Families are divided, and we’ve got passionate fan bases on both sides that take it personal.”
Elliott joined Clemson’s staff prior to the 2011 season and has a record of 3-3 against the Gamecocks.
The Tigers were 0-3 against USC his first three years before rebounding to win three straight. He added that holidays and family gatherings have been much more enjoyable the past few years after a rough stretch early on during his time at Clemson.
“It wasn’t fun, especially in my family when I’m the only Clemson grad and I’ve got a couple of Carolina grads. So they let me know every single day of the year that they had the upper hand,” Elliott said. “Those three years that I was here that we didn’t get it done, trust me, that sits in the back of my mind. And now while we do have the upper hand, we’re not going to take that for granted because we know how much this means to our fan base, to our university, to our administration, to everybody associated with Clemson.”
Elliott played at Clemson beginning in the fall of 1999 as a walk-on and finished his playing career in 2003.
He then entered the business world, working at Michelin for two years before starting his coaching career.
Elliott spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons at S.C. State, then spent three seasons at Furman before joining the Tigers staff.
While Elliott has played and coached football in the state of South Carolina for more than a decade, it was actually his time away from football that made him appreciate the importance of the rivalry even more.
“I didn’t really know what it was about until I was talking to the folks that work at Michelin that plan their whole year, plan their whole budget, plan weddings, plan everything that they do around football season and the one game that they circle,” Elliott said. “If they can’t make it to anything, they’re going to find a way to be a part of this game so that to me is when I really learned how special and how important this rivalry is to our fan base and to the people of this state.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2017 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Clemson’s Tony Elliott has family members who will cheer for Gamecocks on Saturday."