LSU and Clemson have a lot of things in common, aside from their teams both being called the Tigers. Both teams call their respective home stadiums “Death Valley,” though LSU head coach Brian Kelly riled up Clemson fans by calling their home stadium, Memorial Stadium, “Death Valley Junior.” TJ Parker was having none of that and fired back at the LSU coach.
The clap-back from Parker was also a nod to the teams’ season opener against each other on Aug. 30, where LSU will be visiting what Kelly called “Death Valley Junior.” LSU has a strong team this year, with a lot of transfers, but TJ Parker, whose NIL is valued at $1.1 million, noted that they will be in for quite the challenge for LSU.
“They can have their opinion. We’re gonna handle all that on August 30,” TJ Parker said. “At the end of the day, we can do all the talking, we still got to play. So, we gonna see, you know what I’m saying? They’re hyping up everybody across the board, all these transfers they got — we’ll see.”
The last time LSU met, the Bayou Tigers defeated Clemson 42-25 during the 2019 national championship game. However, that was a different time, and the Tigers had a different coach. Kelly has not yet won a national title himself, though the two previous LSU coaches did, and Kelly is seen to still be playing catchup to them.
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Clemson’s Memorial Stadium was the first to be called “Death Valley” by Presbyterian College head coach Lonnie McMillian back in 1948. LSU did not start calling Tiger Stadium “Death Valley” until over 10 years later, in 1959, after LSU defeated Clemson at home, 1959, when it was known as “Deaf Valley” for how loud it got.
TJ Parker Speaks on Not Leaving Clemson Despite Transfer Offers From Other Schools
As for TJ Parker, he actually has a lot of offers from other schools to enter the transfer portal, but he has so far stayed loyal to Clemson. During the ACC Media Days, the defensive end revealed why he has not even entertained any of them.
“There’s no point in me leaving if I have everything I want here,” Parker told reporters.
This statement from Parker only reinforces that the culture Dabo Swinney has made over there at Clemson, with the school having a “family atmosphere” that may prove attractive to players and making the older ones want to stay.
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