Touchdown! Clemson arrives in California ahead of showdown with Alabama

Clemson has touched down in California and is ready to continue its prep for the national championship game against Alabama.

The Tigers landed at San Jose International Airport at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday with buses with Clemson decals waiting for them. Alabama arrived later Friday evening.

“This is awesome. We’ve got the mountains in the background. I’ve never been to California,” Tigers receiver Hunter Renfrow said. “It was a good flight. A lot of the guys slept. They wanted us to drink like five bottles of water in the air so that was fun. But excited to be here.”

Clemson and Alabama are set to participate in Media Day Saturday morning and will practice Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers are practicing San Jose State University, while Alabama is practicing at Stanford.

“I feel like everyone is focused. Everyone is ready to get situated. A lot of guys, including myself, haven’t been to California before so we’re just ready to get comfortable and go practice (Saturday),” Renfrow said. “Then have our ‘Focus Friday’ on Sunday and our ‘Successful Saturday’ on Monday.”

Clemson and Alabama are playing in the College Football Playoff for the fourth consecutive season. The Crimson Tide topped the Tigers 24-6 last year in the Sugar Bowl before going on to win the national title.

Clemson defeated Alabama in the 2016 national championship game after losing to the Crimson Tide in 2015 title game.

Clemson topped Notre Dame 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29, while Alabama held off Oklahoma 45-34 in the Orange Bowl.

“We are just gonna appreciate the time out here,” Renfrow said. “Obviously we have a task at hand but I think that this team has done a really good job of enjoying the moment and taking advantage of the moment and I feel like if we can do that then we’ll be going back Tuesday happy.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2019 at 10:20 PM.