Former Clemson football star Ben Boulware returning in new role

A former Clemson linebacker and fan favorite is back on campus.

Ben Boulware, a four-year letterman and starting linebacker on the Tigers’ 2016 national championship team, has joined coach Dabo Swinney’s staff as an intern ahead of the 2024 season, Swinney confirmed on Thursday in a news conference.

Boulware, 29, is currently listed in the university directory as a “football defensive intern” and will work with the linebackers and the defense at large, Swinney said.

Boulware, a native of nearby Anderson, became a fan favorite while playing for Clemson from 2013-16. That was especially the case in his final two seasons, as he took on a starting linebacker role and was the heart and soul of a defense that helped the Tigers reach their first two College Football Playoffs.

In 2016, Boulware won the Jack Lambert Award as the country’s top linebacker and was the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year as Clemson beat Alabama to win its first national title since 1981. Boulware had a team-high 131 tackles that season and 10 tackles (two for loss) in the national championship game in Tampa, Florida.

Boulware finished his Clemson career with 352 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 10 forced fumbles/fumble recoveries and five interceptions in 53 games (31 starts). And he left a fiery legacy, as his hard hits, passion for the game and sometimes controversial playing style (he once suplexed a Syracuse player) made him a fan favorite.

After going undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft, Boulware signed with the Carolina Panthers and spent the offseason there before being released ahead of the season. He also spent a week on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad that fall.

More recently, Boulware founded The Junkyard, a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) style gym in his hometown of Anderson. The Junkyard now has four locations in the Upstate South Carolina area, including one in downtown Clemson.

He’s also remained a consistent presence around Clemson football and hasn’t been afraid to criticize his former program, saying after the Tigers got out to a 2-2 start last year: “We suck right now.”

Thanks to an NCAA rule change allowing for any staffer to provide on-field coaching instruction in practice and games, Boulware (plus a number of other new or returning support staffers) will be able to take a far more active role this year.

Clemson opens its season on Saturday, Aug. 31 against Georgia in Atlanta.