Tears and Triumph—Clemson Legend Ben Boulware Gets Emotional About His 'Full Circle' Return

CLEMSON, SC – The passion that defined Ben Boulware as a player is clearly alive and well in his new role as Assistant Linebackers Coach. At Media Day, Boulware became visibly emotional when discussing his return to Clemson, describing it as a deeply personal and "full circle" moment.

"Man, just like, whew, I'm going to cry. I'm going to drink my coffee so I don't cry," Boulware admitted, his voice catching as he reflected on the opportunity. "But I will say, man, just like it's full circle for me. It was cool, like, it was really cool."

Boulware expressed immense gratitude to Coach Dabo Swinney for believing in him, acknowledging the rarity of such opportunities for former players like himself and CJ Spiller. "One, I would say super thankful and appreciative of Coach Swinney. I'm well aware that, like, situations like this and kind of like CJ Spiller, like those don't happen a lot. And so, one, man, just – I'm just very thankful for him for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to lead the linebacker room."

The former Clemson star, known for his fiery play, couldn't hold back the sentiment. "Oh, it's too early on Tuesday for me to be tearing up, man, but it was cool like, it was cool like oh freaking weenie oh little baby a lot of y'all saw me play it's like yeah man so to now like uh be back to be back in this mission it's cool like it's like just a full circle for that for me and uh no other way to explain other just man like, thankful the opportunity."

Boulware's emotional honesty underscores the profound connection he has to Clemson and the significance of returning to lead the very position group where he became a legend. His passion is sure to ignite the linebacker room.