Jim Brown? Clemson Players Didn’t Know ex-Syracuse Star

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney waited all season for Syracuse week so he could name Tigers long snapper Jim Brown a captain and pay homage to the great Orange and Pro Football Hall of Fame runner of the same name.

And when he told the team Monday, all Swinney got were blank stares.

Swinney says it was "sad beyond explanation" that the Tigers didn't recognize the former Syracuse great. Brown was an All-American at Syracuse and played nine seasons in the NFL, leaving as pro football's all-time rushing leading.

Swinney believed his team would enjoy the symmetry of Clemson's Brown as a team captain on Saturday. Instead, Swinney gave an impromptu history lesson on Syracuse's Brown.

The No. 1 Tigers (9-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) play Syracuse (3-6, 1-4) on Saturday