Someone who plays college football at an elite program like Clemson was likely a good player at the high school level and dreamed of playing professionally.
For some, that will be a reality, but for others, it means realizing they won't be able to play football in the NFL and they have to figure out what to do after graduation.
That may be difficult for some.
But some already have plans for what they want to do with their lives after their football career is over.
Current Clemson University safety Tyler Venables is in the latter category, and he told The Clemson Insider he already knows what he'll do when his eligibility expires at the end of this season.
“I have a degree in political science, but I'm not going to law school. That's what I want. I'd like to be a GA (graduate assistant) or an analyst or something. I'd like to be part of a team somewhere,” he said.
Given his last name, that shouldn't be a surprise.
His father, Brent, was a longtime Tigers assistant before taking on the Oklahoma Sooners as his first collegiate head coach in 2021. The former Clemson defensive coordinator had a tough start to his tenure but led the team to 10 wins last year and earned himself a lucrative contract extension.
Tyler was limited to playing in just two games last season due to injury, which may have been what prompted him to decide to become a coach after graduation.
He said the idea to wear the headsets came from head coach Dabo Swinney and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin.
It allowed him to have experiences he had never had before.
“It felt like I was in a video game, but I was also listening to someone playing chess at the same time. Listening to coach Goodwin and why he's thinking this way, what's going on here, where they're on set, what calls are we making and why. That's what it was like. It was a really amazing experience to hear everything that goes on behind the scenes. I've never experienced anything like it before,” Venables said.
He plans to go into coaching after graduation, but the safety probably wants to spend his final year on the field instead of on the sideline.
