ESPN 'College GameDay' guest picker is Christian Wilkins of Dolphins, Clemson football
Former Clemson football star Christian Wilkins, a Miami Dolphins defensive lineman, will be the guest picker on Saturday morning during ESPN's "College GameDay" broadcast prior to the ACC showdown between Clemson and NC State on Saturday evening.
Wilkins will be the first person with a direct Clemson tie to be the guest picker on the popular pregame show. On the five previous "GameDay" telecasts from Clemson in which a guest picker was used, the guests were actors Bill Murray and Eric Stonestreet, country music’s Eric Church, baseball player Alex Rodriguez and The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore – none of whom had direct ties to Clemson.
Wilkins starred as a defensive lineman at Clemson from 2015-18 and was a three-time All-American. A three-time All-ACC pick, he also was the second four-time All-ACC Academic selection in school history and in 2018 was recipient of the William Campbell Trophy, which is referred to as the “Academic Heisman.” He was the first football player in Clemson history to earn his undergraduate degree in 2½ years.
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Wilkins amassed 250 career tackles at Clemson, including 41 tackles for loss and 16 sacks. The versatile and fun-loving Wilkins also rushed four times for 13 yards and two touchdowns and also caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.
The Springfield, Massachusetts, native was a first-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and has quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s top defensive linemen.
Saturday’s show, which will be broadcast live from Bowman Field on campus, is set for 9 a.m. to noon, ahead of the primetime matchup (7:30 p.m., ABC) between undefeated ACC rivals No. 5 Clemson (4-0, 2-0) and No. 10 NC State (4-0, 0-0).
It will mark Clemson’s 30th overall appearance on and eighth home appearance on "College GameDay." Clemson has been featured on "GameDay" at least once for 13 consecutive years. The Tigers are 18-11 all-time when playing in the featured contest on "GameDay", including a 14-4 record since the start of the 2016 season. Clemson, which is 6-1 when hosting "GameDay" on campus, made its first "GameDay" appearance prior to a 31-7 victory against Georgia Tech in 2006.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Who is ESPN College GameDay guest picker this week? Christian Wilkins
