Quarterback Tajh Boyd holds Clemson's career passing and total offense records.
The Clemson Tigers football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Clemson Tigers football program in various categories,[ 1] including passing , rushing , receiving , total offense , defensive stats, kicking , and scoring. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Tigers represent Clemson University in the NCAA 's Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Although Clemson began competing in intercollegiate football in 1896,[ 1] the school's official record book does not generally include statistics from before the 1940s, as records from before this time are often incomplete and inconsistent.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since the 1940s, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[ 2] The Tigers have played in 22 bowl games since this decision, including two in 2015 , 2016 , 2018 , and 2019 , giving many recent players extra games to accumulate statistics. Similarly, the Tigers have played in the ACC Championship Game seven times since 2009.
The Tigers have topped the 5,000-yard mark 17 times in school history, with ten of those coming since 2010 . The Tigers eclipsed 6,000 offensive yards for the first time in 2011 and have now done it nine times. The Tigers set an offensive record in 2019 , with 7,931 yards, their fourth year eclipsing the 7,000-yard mark, overtaking 2018 's 7,908 yards. In 2015 they gained 7,718 yards and nearly matched it with 7,555 yards in 2016 . This means more recent players will tend to dominate offensive lists.
These lists are updated through the Tigers' game against Ohio State on January 1, 2021 .
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Tajh Boyd
11,904
2010 2011 2012 2013
2
Deshaun Watson
10,163[ 3]
2014 2015 2016
3
Trevor Lawrence
10,098[ 4]
2018 2019 2020
4
Charlie Whitehurst
9,665
2002 2003 2004 2005
5
Woodrow Dantzler
6,037
1998 1999 2000 2001
6
Cullen Harper
5,762
2005 2006 2007 2008
7
Nealon Greene
5,719
1994 1995 1996 1997
8
DJ Uiagalelei
5,681[ 5]
2020 2021 2022
9
Kyle Parker
4,739
2009 2010
10
Rodney Williams
4,647
1985 1986 1987 1988
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Deshaun Watson
4,593[ 3]
2016
2
Deshaun Watson
4,104[ 3]
2015
3
Tajh Boyd
3,896
2012
4
Tajh Boyd
3,851
2013
5
Tajh Boyd
3,828
2011
6
Trevor Lawrence
3,665[ 4]
2019
7
Charlie Whitehurst
3,561
2003
8
Trevor Lawrence
3,280[ 4]
2018
9
Trevor Lawrence
3,153
2020
10
Cullen Harper
2,991
2007
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Travis Etienne
4,952[ 24]
2017 2018 2019 2020
2
Raymond Priester
3,966
1994 1995 1996 1997
3
James Davis
3,881
2005 2006 2007 2008
4
C. J. Spiller
3,547
2006 2007 2008 2009
5
Andre Ellington
3,436
2009 2010 2011 2012
6
Wayne Gallman
3,429[ 25]
2014 2015 2016
7
Travis Zachery
3,043
1998 1999 2000 2001
8
Kenny Flowers
2,914
1983 1984 1985 1986
9
Terry Allen
2,778
1987 1988 1989
10
Will Shipley
2,748[ 26]
2021 2022 2023
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Travis Etienne
1,658[ 24]
2018
2
Travis Etienne
1,614[ 24]
2019
3
Wayne Gallman
1,527[ 25]
2015
4
Raymond Priester
1,345
1996
5
Raymond Priester
1,322
1995
6
Terrence Flagler
1,258
1986
7
C. J. Spiller
1,212
2009
8
Kenny Flowers
1,200
1985
9
Terry Allen
1,192
1988
10
James Davis
1,187
2006
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Sammy Watkins
3,391
2011 2012 2013
2
DeAndre Hopkins
3,020
2010 2011 2012
3
Aaron Kelly
2,733
2005 2006 2007 2008
4
Mike Williams
2,727[ 34]
2013 2014 2015 2016
5
Terry Smith
2,681
1990 1991 1992 1993
6
Perry Tuttle
2,534
1978 1979 1980 1981
7
Artavis Scott
2,480[ 32]
2014 2015 2016
8
Tee Higgins
2,448[ 40]
2017 2018 2019
9
Rod Gardner
2,404
1997 1998 1999 2000
10
Justyn Ross
2,379
2018 2019 2021
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Sammy Watkins
1,464
2013
2
DeAndre Hopkins
1,405
2012
3
Mike Williams
1,361[ 34]
2016
4
Sammy Watkins
1,219
2011
5
Tee Higgins
1,167
2019
6
Rod Gardner
1,084
1999
7
Aaron Kelly
1,081
2007
8
Rod Gardner
1,050
2000
9
Mike Williams
1,030
2014
10
Derrick Hamilton
1,026
2003
Receiving touchdowns [ edit ]
Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. It does not include receiving or returns.[ 51]
Total offense yards [ edit ]
Career
Rank
Player
Yards
Years
1
Tajh Boyd
13,069
2010 2011 2012 2013
2
Deshaun Watson
12,097 [ 3]
2014 2015 2016
3
Trevor Lawrence
11,041 [ 4]
2018 2019 2020
4
Charlie Whitehurst
9,763
2002 2003 2004 2005
5
Woodrow Dantzler
8,798
1998 1999 2000 2001
6
Nealon Greene
6,785
1994 1995 1996 1997
7
DJ Uiagalelei
6,594 [ 5]
2020 2021 2022
8
Steve Fuller
6,096
1975 1976 1977 1978
9
Cullen Harper
5,549
2005 2006 2007 2008
10
Rodney Williams
5,510
1985 1986 1987 1988
Single season
Rank
Player
Yards
Year
1
Deshaun Watson
5,222
2016
2
Deshaun Watson
5,209
2015
3
Tajh Boyd
4,410
2012
4
Tajh Boyd
4,251
2013
5
Trevor Lawrence
4,228
2019
6
Tajh Boyd
4,046
2011
7
Woodrow Dantzler
3,639
2001
8
Charlie Whitehurst
3,610
2003
9
Kelly Bryant
3,467
2017
10
Trevor Lawrence
3,457
2018
Touchdowns responsible for [ edit ]
"Touchdowns responsible for" is the NCAA's official term for combined passing and rushing touchdowns.[ 52]
Single game
Rank
Player
Tackles
Year
Opponent
1
Keith Adams
27
1999
South Carolina
Field goal percentage [ edit ]
Clemson does not list single-game scoring leaders in its football media guide. Its officially recognized single-game scoring record is 33 points, set by Maxcey Welch in a 1930 game against Newberry. This is one of the very few "old-time" records that the program acknowledges.
Unlike the "Total touchdowns" lists in the "Total offense" section, these lists count touchdowns scored . Accordingly, these lists include rushing, receiving, and return touchdowns, but not passing touchdowns.
As in the case of the single-game scoring record, Clemson does not publish an all-time list of top performances for single-game touchdowns. As in the case of single-game points, the school's officially recognized record in this category comes from the "pre-modern" era. The aforementioned Maxcey Welch scored 5 touchdowns (all rushing) as part of his record 33-point performance against Newberry in 1930; this equaled Stumpy Banks' performance of 5 rushing touchdowns in a 1917 game against Furman.
^ a b "2019 Clemson Tigers Media Guide" (PDF) . Clemson Tigers. Retrieved August 29, 2019 .
^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . AP. August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2014 .
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^ a b c "Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins set marks in No. 18 Clemson's rout" . ESPN.com . October 25, 2012.
^ a b c d "Tajh Boyd accounts for 8 TDs as Clemson roughs up NC State" . ESPN.com . November 17, 2012.
^ "Watson throws for 3 TDs in No. 5 Clemson's 34-17 victory" . ESPN.com . October 17, 2015.
^ a b "Deshaun Watson TD pass with 1 second left lifts Clemson to national title" . ESPN.com . January 9, 2017.
^ a b "No. 2 Alabama holds off No. 1 Clemson for Nick Saban's 5th national title" . ESPN.com . January 11, 2016.
^ a b c "Watson throws 6 TD passes, leads No. 4 Clemson to 56-7 win" . ESPN.com . November 26, 2016.
^ "Harper's 5 TD tosses leads Clemson to 2nd win this week" . ESPN.com . September 8, 2007.[dead link ]
^ "Clemson 70, Cent. Michigan 14" . ESPN.com . October 20, 2007.[dead link ]
^ a b "Tajh Boyd tosses 5 TDs to push No. 7 Clemson past North Carolina" . ESPN.com . October 22, 2011. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023.
^ a b c "Clemson dismantles Duke behind Tajh Boyd's 5 TD passes" . ESPN.com . November 3, 2012.
^ "Tajh Boyd's 5 TDs, 288 yards pace Clemson romp of Citadel" . ESPN.com . November 23, 2013.
^ a b c d "Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins connect as Clemson rallies past Ohio State" . ESPN.com . January 3, 2014.
^ a b "Deshaun Watson, No. 3 Clemson stay perfect" . ESPN.com . October 31, 2015.
^ "Watson TDs lift No. 5 Clemson to 42-36 win over Louisville" . ESPN.com . October 1, 2016.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Travis Etienne" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c d "Wayne Gallman" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
^ a b c d "Will Shipley" . ESPN.com .
^ a b "Georgia Tech closes out Clemson, claims first BCS berth" . ESPN.com . December 5, 2009. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023.
^ a b "Clemson gets 231 yards out of Andre Ellington to drop Auburn" . ESPN.com . September 1, 2012.
^ "Clemson clocks Georgia Tech behind career day from Davis" . ESPN.com . October 21, 2006. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023.
^ "Clemson overcomes upset-minded Maryland behind Tajh Boyd's 4 TD passes" . ESPN.com . October 15, 2011. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023.
^ "Wofford vs. Clemson Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2019 .
^ a b c d "Artavis Scott" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
^ a b "Amari Rodgers" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c d e f g "Mike Williams" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
^ "Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins pace No. 9 Clemson past Maryland" . ESPN.com . October 26, 2013.
^ a b "Clemson edges LSU on last-second field goal" . ESPN.com . December 31, 2012.
^ "Clemson 37, Middle Tenn. 14" . ESPN.com . September 13, 2003.[dead link ]
^ "No. 1 Clemson keeps rolling, outscores Syracuse 37-27" . ESPN.com . November 14, 2015.
^ "OT Thriller: No. 3 Clemson survives NC State, 24-17" . ESPN.com . October 15, 2016.
^ a b c d "Tee Higgins" . ESPN.com .
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^ "Wayne Gallman rushes for 191 as Tigers end 5-game slide vs. rival" . ESPN.com . November 29, 2014.
^ a b "Virginia vs. Clemson Box Score" . ESPN.com . December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019 .
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^ "Pittsburgh vs. Clemson Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020 .
^ "Jordan Leggett" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
^ "Deon Cain" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
^ "DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Ellington spark No. 12 Clemson" . ESPN.com . September 8, 2012.
^ "NCAA Statistics" .
^ "Diondre Overton Game by Game Stats and Performance" .
^ "2021 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 9. Retrieved December 4, 2021 .
^ "2021 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved December 4, 2021 .
^ "Clemson rebounds with easy victory over Citadel" . ESPN.com . September 6, 2008. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023.
^ Release, Press (November 7, 1999). "Clemson vs Duke Notes: Record Setting Day for Tigers - Clemson Football News - TigerNet" . www.tigernet.com . Retrieved April 6, 2016 .
^ "Clemson downs Virginia Tech for third straight win over ranked team" . ESPN.com . October 1, 2011. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023.
^ a b c d e "B.T. Potter" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c "Greg Huegel" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
^ "Dean sets school record as Tigers edge Aggies" . ESPN.com . September 3, 2005.[dead link ]
^ "Spiller drives Clemson with 219 all-purpose yards before leaving game with injury" . ESPN.com . September 19, 2009.[dead link ]
^ "Tajh Boyd injures hip while No. 8 Clemson glides past Boston College" . ESPN.com . October 8, 2011. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023.
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