Clemson LB James Skalski Planning to End Career With ‘Bang’

One of the biggest games of the entire college football season will be played in week one.

Clemson and Georgia are set to renew their rivalry on September 4 in Charlotte. It’s a rivalry that used to be played every season but this will be the first time the teams have met since 2014 when Deshaun Watson was a true freshman.

Veteran linebacker James Skalski spoke about the matchup at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte last week and said he is looking forward to the challenge of opening up against a team the caliber of the Bulldogs.

“We usually end our regular season in Charlotte,” Skalski said. “It’s a pretty cool experience getting to play a team the caliber of Georgia in a place luckily we’re familiar with. It’s exciting. We’re happy we get that caliber of opponent so that we can hopefully prove some people wrong.”

Skalski is entering rarified air. This will be his sixth season with the Tigers and he is already the only player to play in and win five consecutive conference championship games. Doing so for a sixth time would absolutely put him on a pedestal all his own.

Although, now that he is entering his final season, Skalski admits he has one eye on the future and what it might entail.

“I just show up every day and I’m in love with what I do,” Skalski said. “When you get old like me, you start to think about, ‘What am I going to do for the rest of my life?’ I’m getting to that point.”

“I just can’t think of my life without the game of football or sports in some way. Maybe I’m not the next Coach V or Coach Swinney, but in some form or fashion I’ll be around this game. That’s just how I see it. It’s something I love. I can’t get enough of it. So I got to have it.”

However, before he gets to that point, there is the business of the 2021 season and Skalski is determined to do what he can to ensure this season doesn’t end like the last one.

“It truly is the last one, so… I got to go out with a bang.”