Former Paladin Billy Napier Happy To Be Back At Clemson

Feb. 16, 2006

By Greg Wallace

Anderson Independent-Mail

CLEMSON -- Following his senior season at Furman four years ago, Billy Napier sent out, by his estimation, 50-60 resumes.

He got one phone call back -- from then-Clemson assistant Rick Stockstill.

By all measures, Napier has made the most of his chance. He spent two productive years as a Tiger graduate assistant, then parlayed that into a job coaching quarterbacks at Division I-AA South Carolina State.

Now, at age 26, Napier is back at Clemson -- as the Tigers' tight ends coach and one of the younger full-time assistants in Division I.

And he knows what a great opportunity he has.

"I knew for a long time this was what I wanted to do," Napier said Wednesday while meeting with the media for the first time. "I didn't know I'd get to do it at this level so early, but I was very fortunate. I looked back on it and I've really been blessed."

Napier, an all-Southern Conference quarterback at Furman, came into college with ambitions towards coaching high school ball, like his father had for him.

That changed midway through his career.

"I got the college bug as I got into playing and having that Furman experience," he said. "Playing for Bobby Lamb was great for me -- it taught me a lot about the game and the offense (we ran there) forced me to learn the game."

While at Clemson, Napier got valuable experience as an offensive graduate assistant, where he believes he got coach Tommy Bowden's attention.

"He was in the room, I was a young guy fresh out of playing, I spoke my mind early and often and continued to do that," Napier said. "At some point he said, `This guy knows what he's doing.'

Bowden even felt comfortable enough to let Napier recruit in winter 2004 following the firing of both coordinators and Ron West's hernia surgery left the staff shorthanded.

He did well, helping Clemson bring in a top-25 class.

"Looking back on that, it was kinda invaluable, that experience," he said. "At some point I had to do that, and for me to do that here and show I could get it done, it was crucial for Tommy to see that.

"That he had that trust factor that I'd be a guy that would be able to do that in the long run, and even to the extreme that he trusted me at that age, that he'd ask me to do that."

Last June, Napier packed up his belongings and made the short drive south to Orangeburg, joining S.C. State as a quarterbacks coach.

He had a successful season, even though he never had an office of his own, working out of the staff's meeting room. And just before signing day, Bowden gave Napier the call he'd hoped for.

Longtime tight ends coach Jack Hines was likely to resign; was Napier interested? You bet.

"Anybody in this business will tell you it's a no-brainer," he said of a D-I move. "There are so many more things that go into football at this level. It's competitive at that level, everyone wants to win, but if you've got any substance about you, you want to go to the highest level and you want to play at the big table."

And getting the opportunity with Bowden? Well, it was the perfect situation.

"I want to work for Tommy Bowden, that's one thing I can tell you," he said. "I enjoyed working for Buddy, but Tommy is a guy that gave me my chance, so in some ways I owe him.

"He's obviously a man of great character and faith and those are things to be admired and respected, and I'm going to work my butt off for him."