Once jilted by Clemson, Germantown RB finds stardom at UMass
Tony Nelson remembers a summer day more than five years ago when he sat in the office of then Clemson football coach Tommy Bowden and listened to his compelling sales pitch, delivered in a charming Southern drawl.
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Nelson, a standout running back at Northwest High in Germantown, accepted Clemson’s scholarship offer, only to be jilted later by Bowden, three weeks before he was set to sign a National Letter of Intent.
Losing his chance to play Division I-A football was difficult to accept. But things have worked out for Nelson, who has rushed for 2,423 yards, ranking No. 6 all-time at Division I-AA Massachusetts.
“Obviously I was upset about the whole thing. But looking back, it was for the best,” said Nelson. “Things happen for a reason.”
The fall of 2008 was when karma kicked in for Bowden and Nelson. As Bowden was on his way to resigning in the middle of his 10th season, in part because his character was exposed, Nelson was emerging as a star at UMass.
“I didn’t really think anything of it,” said Nelson of Bowden’s departure. “I’d moved on.”
Under Bowden, Clemson had gone to eight bowl games in nine years. But when he publicly criticized players and assistant coaches as Clemson got off to a 3-3 start in a season of high expectations, he was under fire, and replaced by assistant Dabo Sweeney.
“Anytime you have a coaching change in midseason, nobody wants to go through that,” said Nelson. “From that standpoint, yeah, I was glad to be up here.”
Meanwhile, Nelson was on his way to becoming an all-Colonial Athletic Association back, rushing for 1,325 yards and 12 touchdowns. In the first start of his career, he ran for 171 yards against Albany. In the season finale against Hofstra, Nelson sped for a career-high 204 yards.
This season, injuries have limited Nelson to 377 yards on 86 carries. But the 5-10, 210-pounder was pronounced fit this week by coach Kevin Morris and he will start Saturday at Richmond.
While Nelson has been sidelined, his roommate, Jonathan Hernandez, has emerged. Last week when Nelson was out last week with a thigh contusion, Hernandez rushed for 166 yards in an upset of No. 4 New Hampshire.
“Jonathan is a great talent,” said Nelson. “You always want to have two solid backs, so you can rotate them.”
