Former Clemson player, assistant coach Willie Anderson dies at 72

Willie Anderson, the only person in Clemson football history to earn both first-team All-ACC honors as a player and serve as a full-time assistant coach on a national championship team, has died, the school announced Friday. He was 72.

Clemson said Anderson died Wednesday in Sumter, South Carolina. No cause of death was given.

Anderson was a three-year starter at Clemson at middle guard and linebacker from 1972-74. He started 31 of Clemson’s 33 games over those three seasons. In a game against rival South Carolina in 1974, Anderson made 21 tackles in a 39-21 win at Memorial Stadium.

He was named first-time All-ACC that season.

Anderson signed a free agent contract with the then-Oakland Raiders and later played the 1975 season with the Birmingham Vulcans of the World League of American Football.

He joined the Clemson coaching staff in 1976 and was promoted to a full-time position as tight ends coach in 1979. He went on to coach the team’s defensive ends in 1980 and helped the Tigers win their first national championship the following season.

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