Robert Carswell Class: Senior Hometown: Lithonia, Ga. High School: Stone Mountain Height / Weight: 6-0 / 225 Position: FS Experience: 3VL

Carswell Fact: Needs just 13 tackles to break Terry Kinard's Clemson record for career tackles by a defensive back.
Fall 2000 Depth Chart Position: First-team free safety
Years Started: 1997, 1998, 1999
Years Lettered: 1997, 1998, 1999
Bowl Participation: Started in 1998 Peach Bowl against Auburn; started in 1999 Peach Bowl vs. Mississippi State

Overall:
First-team preseason All-American for 2000 according to Playboy, Sporting News, Blue Ribbon, collegefootballnews.com, Street & Smith and Football News...ranked number-three among Thorpe Award candidates for 2000 according to Lindy's and fifth by The Sporting News....has 16 career double figure tackle games, most ever by a Clemson defensive back in his first three years...has started 29 consecutive games for Clemson, the longest streak by any active player...has been in double figures in tackles in 16 of those 29 games...has not missed a game the last three years, playing 35 in a row...veteran of 1979 plays, first among active Tigers...also first among active Tigers in tackles (282) and games started (29)...one of the top leaders on the Clemson team, he is a four-year member of LIFELINE...chosen to the AFCA Goodworks Team for 1999, the first Clemson player ever chosen for that team that is based success on the field and community service...recipient of the team Hustle Award on defense in 1999...bench presses over 400 pounds and power cleans 325, tied for the best power clean on the 2000 Clemson team...high school teammate of Clemson signee Matt Bailey and of offensive lineman Gary Byrd.

In 1999:
Honorable mention All-American by Football News...first-team All-ACC by AP/ACC Sportswriters Association and The Football News...set Clemson record for tackles in a season by a defensive back with 129, 10.8 per game....he was fourth in the ACC in tackles overall, first among defensive backs in 1999...10th in the nation in interceptions with 6 (Co-leader in ACC), most by a Tiger since 1995...that was quite a jump from previous years, he did not have an interception his first two years...of course his change of position to free safety has a lot to do with that...led team in takeaways with seven, also most by a Tiger since 1995...already has 282 career tackles, just 13 away from breaking Terry Kinard's all-time Clemson record for tackles by a defensive back...has ranked in the top 10 in the nation in tackles among defensive backs each of the last two years...only defensive back in Clemson history to record at least 100 tackles in a season, twice...a prime reason Clemson ranked 2nd in the ACC and 17th in the nation in pass defense...two-time ACC Defensive Back of the Week, he was honored for his play against Virginia Tech and Duke...named ESPN/Visa Player of the Game for Clemson in the titanic contest with Florida State...named Real Yellow Pages Tiger of the Game by the Clemson Radio Network for his performance against Virginia Tech, so he played well against the top teams...one of just three active Tigers to start two bowl games, he had seven tackles, including a career high 2-10 in tackles for loss against Auburn in the 1998 Peach Bowl...had seven more tackles in the Mississippi State game in the Peach Bowl...had double figures in tackles in each of the first six games and was in double figures in eight of the 12 games in 1999...had three games in which he forced two turnovers...had two interceptions against Virginia Tech and Duke and had an interception and fumble recovery against Georgia Tech...truly outstanding at Virginia Tech with 16 tackles and two interception returns for 37 yards...only player to intercept Michael Vick twice in 1999...both thefts stopped sure scoring drives by the Hokies because both interceptions were made near the Clemson goal line...the 16 tackles were a career high for Carswell...had four games in which he had 10 first hits, Marshall, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia Tech...had 14 tackles in 83 plays against Tech...rarely comes out of the game, he played 869 snaps for the season, more than any other Tiger on defense.

In 1998:
Consistent performer who had nine tackles or more in eight of the 11 games in 1998...had 11 tackles in the season finale against South Carolina and had six double figure tackle games for the season...that total against the Gamecocks led the Tigers, the first time in his career he led Clemson in tackles in a game....consistent performer who had between 8 and 11 tackles in 10 of the 11 games...had four tackles for loss, one each in four separate games...had season high two passes broken up at Virginia....had double figures in tackles in three of his last four games of the season...had career high eight first hits in win over South Carolina...had streak of three straight games with double figures in tackles at midseason (Virginia, Wake Forest and North Carolina)...played 705 snaps that year, second to Alex Ardley among defensive players and third on the entire team.

In 1997:
Dating to 1952, just the sixth first-year freshman to be considered a starter over the course of the season...Became starting safety at Maryland and responded with 11 tackles and three passes broken up...had 11 tackles and two passes broken up the next week in the win at Wake Forest...his 405 plays and six starts were more than any other first-year freshman in 1997...played well in the overtime win over Duke with seven tackles and a PBU...went from playing just seven snaps against Virginia, to playing 68 the next week against Maryland...his insertion into the lineup paralleled Clemson's comeback in 1997...Clemson had a 4-1 regular season record in games he started in 1997...played just five plays at South Carolina because of the ankle sprain, but came back strong for the Bowl game against Auburn...played 86 snaps in that game and had seven tackles to go with two tackles for loss in the starting assignment...had eight tackles in 33 plays from scrimmage over his first six games of the season, he had 43 over his last six games and that includes the South Carolina game when he played just five snaps.

In High School:
A first-team All-State selection...a Parade All-American and National Sporting Goods Magazine All-American...All-American according to Southeastern Recruiting Alliance...a second team All-South Team member by Countdown to Signing Day...ranked as 28th best player in Southeast by Tom Lemming...listed as one of the top 12 incoming defensive backs in the nation by Lindy's...listed as one of the top 38 incoming defensive backs in the nation by Athlon...listed as one of the top 50 incoming players in the ACC by Athlon...had 95 tackles, seven caused fumbles, and four interceptions his senior year of high school..rushed for 503 yards and a 6.7 average as a fullback...ranked as the seventh best utility player in the nation by the National Recruiting Advisor...the DeKalb County Player-of-the-Year and Metro Atlanta Defensive Player-of-the-Year...a first-team Southeast Region selection by PrepStar...also rated as an All-American and the fourth-best defensive back in the Southeast Region by PrepStar...voted the team MVP in his junior and senior seasons...also ran track in 400m (48.7), hurdles, and the shot put...went to the state finals competing in the shot put...his brother, James, played football at Presbyterian...played his high school football for Matt Fligg his first three years and for Bill Harris his senior year.....perhaps the most active among Clemson football players in community service.....born Robert L. Carswell on 10-26-78...majoring in education.