Clemson safety had Tigers fans reach out and criticize him. How he responded

Clemson safety Tanner Muse checked social media following the Tigers’ 56-35 victory against South Carolina last Saturday and could only smile at some of the messages he had received from fans reaching out.

Clemson earned its fifth consecutive victory against the Gamecocks, but the win did not come as easy as most Clemson fans expected. The Tigers secondary in particular struggled, and Muse heard from Clemson fans that were unhappy after USC quarterback Jake Bentley passed for 510 yards and five touchdowns.

Muse read the direct messages he received to his mom, expecting her to find humor in the fans lashing out, just like he did. But his mother Shannon had a different reaction.

“I just read them out to her as a joke thinking she’d think it’s funny and she definitely did not think it was funny,” Muse said. “But it’s no big deal. If I see it I’ll always say, ‘Thank you for the love and support, hopefully I’ll be able to get better from it.’ But it doesn’t affect me... It definitely affects her because she’s like a mama cub.”

Shannon Muse took to Twitter to voice her displeasure with the fans that had reached out to her son.

“If you think it is appropriate to reach out to the players with direct messages of hatred and insulting comments then you need serious help! It’s uncalled for!” Shannon Muse tweeted.

After being asked if Clemson players had received messages she replied, “Yes. It makes me sick. These are young men trying to get through school, football and other stresses of life. I understand that people have opinions and it comes with the territory but that just crosses the line.”

Tanner joked that he needs to take away his mom’s Twitter account and added that he is usually good at blocking out the noise.

But he also acknowledged that the words can be hurtful to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and to the Tigers team. Swinney went on a rant against fans earlier this week that were unhappy with the way Clemson improved to 12-0.

“We have a really special group of guys, and for people not to appreciate it in the moment, it kind of hurts (Swinney). And it hurts us,” Muse said. “But it is what it is. At the end of the day we know we’ve got a special group and a special core around us with the assistants and the support staff. So we know what we have. We’re very appreciative. If people can’t see it on the outside so be it. We know what we have.”

Muse has had a strong junior season overall with 62 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. The North Carolina native also leads Clemson with two interceptions and has four pass breakups.

But Muse has made his share of mistakes throughout his college career and dating all the way back to little league. He learned at a young age you can’t let criticism get to you.

“You always hear noise here and there but you can’t let it affect you. You’ve got to have thick skin, especially playing on the back end,” Muse said. “There’s going to be a lot of criticizing and that’s kind of why you play the game. You play the game to further your career, further your experience for your family and your life, so there’s always going to be criticism with that so it is what it is.”

Muse will be back playing near his hometown of Belmont, N.C. this weekend as the Tigers look to make history by becoming the first team to win four consecutive ACC championships.

Muse and Clemson’s defense will attempt to put last week’s disappointing defensive performance behind them and play well Saturday night against Pitt.

“I’m excited to get back home to Charlotte and see the family. Just ready to get after it,” Muse said. “You’re never going to please everybody and we know that, but at the end of the day it’s about what we do and not what everybody else does. So as long as we get the win, we’re not really worried about what everybody else has to say. We know what we have to do week in and week out and that’s to get the win. At the end of the day, if you’re more upset with how we win than if we were to lose, then that’s OK with us.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2018 at 5:41 PM.