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CLEMSON, S.C. -- When Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables learned the Tigers were facing Virginia Tech for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, he had a strong message for his players.No. 3 Clemson (11-1; No. 3 College Football Playoff) tries to penetrate the defense of No. 19 Virginia Tech (9-3; No. 23 CFP) on Saturday night in the ACC championship game.Were going to have to play our butts off on defense because I know our offense is going to have to play its butts off, Venables said of Hokies counterpart, Bud Foster. Nothings going to come easy.It rarely does for opponents when facing the game plans of Venables or Foster, two of college footballs best at what they do. Clemsons defense leads the ACC and is eight in the FBS with 307 yards allowed. Virginia Tech is close behind, fourth in the league and 19th overall at 332 yards per game allowed, perhaps more remarkable in a year many figured would be a transition under first-year coach Justin Fuente.But one of Fuentes earliest moves was holding onto Foster, who won the Broyles Award in 2006 as the college footballs top assistant.Foster is glad to maintain his role in Virginia Techs program .Ive been a part of this thing for 30 years now and I like that, Foster said.If Foster wasnt effective, though, he would not be the longest-tenured Bowl Subdivision defensive coordinator at 22 seasons and counting.Virginia Tech defensive end Ken Ekanem said keeping Foster meant the Hokies would not surrender their championship goals to a coaching change.Foster has kept the Hokies humming as they were while winning four ACC titles between 2004 and 2010. Among Power Five conference teams, only Michigan and Wisconsin have been better at stopping opponents on third down than Virginia Tech.I dont ever look forward to going against Bud Foster, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.The one thing that I know Im going to see is a group thats going to play incredibly disciplined. Theyre going to play hard, with great effort. Theyre going to play physical and tough. Theyre going to tackle well, and theyre going to play with a relentless mindset, and thats their DNA.Clemson can be just as relentless under Venables, an unrestrained personality on the sidelines who often needs a staffer to pull him back off the field as he wildly runs his defense.Linebacker Ben Boulware calls him wired. Venables, under the alias Jimmy Greenbeans , plays scout team quarterback in prepping his defenders to make sure things are right. Coach V is intense, defensive end Christian Wilkins said.Venables was hired from Oklahoma after the 2011 season and Clemsons 70-33 Orange Bowl debacle against West Virginia. Since, hes steadily built a group of fast, fiery defenders adept at stopping the run and the pass. They lead the ACC with 16 interceptions and are second with 42 sacks. The Tigers are tied for second nationally with 104 tackles for loss.And he did it this season after six of his starters, five who were underclassmen, were taken in the NFL draft.Im definitely proud of our guys, Clemson senior linebacker Ben Boulware said. Weve been very focused the whole season, especially the latter part of the season.The Tigers have picked things up on defense the past two weeks after giving up a season-high 43 points and 464 yards, their second highest total of the year, in a loss to Pitt on Nov. 12. Clemson has yielded only 20 points and 415 yards combined in easy wins over Wake Forest and South Carolina.Venables is up for the Broyles Award this season, his second straight year as a finalist.Hes honored to share the defensive spotlight this week with Foster. He doesnt chase money or (job) titles and has chosen to stay the course, Venables said. I have a lot of respect for him.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . Jayson Werth Nationals Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Carter Kieboom Nationals Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. https://www.cheapnationals.com/ . 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LINCOLN, Neb. -- Five years ago, Nebraska coaches finalized a recruiting class that featured the likes of quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., who seems to be setting career records weekly, and prolific receiver Jordan Westerkamp.As a footnote to the 2012 class, the Cornhuskers announced the addition of 18 walk-ons, a group that grew in the offseason to include 10 players who earned scholarships. Defensive end Ross Dzuris, tight end Trey Foster, quarterback Ryker Fyfe, running back Graham Nabity, receiver Brandon Reilly, linebacker Brad Simpson and center Dylan Utter remain as fifth-year seniors, contributing to a team with a chance to win 11 games for the first time at Nebraska in 15 years.Gone from the collection of former walk-ons are Andy Janovich, a rookie fullback with the Denver Broncos, receiver Lane Hovey and All-Big Ten punter Sam Foltz, who died July 23 in an auto accident after attending a kicking camp in Wisconsin.The image of Foltz shines brightly in the minds of his former teammates this week.Together, they extended a meaningful legacy as perhaps the most accomplished class of walk-ons at a school rich in walk-on tradition.When the No. 18 Huskers host Maryland on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, the seven seniors and Foltz will be honored before the home crowd as their stories -- touched by triumph and tragedy -- near a close in Lincoln.Heres a look at the highs and lows of the journey, as told by those who experienced it:An unreal feelingArmstrong, Westerkamp, Foster and linebacker Josh Banderas visited Chicago on the fourth weekend of July this year to attend the wedding of Westerkamps cousin. After the ceremony, all but Foster were set to stay in the city for Big Ten media days. But after Banderas took an early call from coach Mike Riley on July 24, they all came home to mourn Foltz. Word of the accident quickly spread that morning through other calls and by text messages to stunned teammates.Brandon Reilly: I got the text from Zack Darlington and didnt believe it was real. I turned my phone off, then turned it back on. I just thought there was no way it could be true.Dylan Utter: Brandon Reilly called me. It was an unreal feeling.Brad Simpson: I got a call from Dylan Utter. He said Foltz was in a car accident and it sounded pretty bad. There was a pause. We were both like, Is this real?Graham Nabity: I got a text from a teammate, Ty Bekta, who said something about praying for the family and for Sam -- that he had passed away. To me, it wasnt actually Sam. I had to read it a couple times, but I didnt have any emotion. I didnt know what to think. I had no idea how to respond. I was in shock.Andy Janovich: I was in disbelief.Trey Foster: I didnt know what to do, but we all knew we had to get back to Lincoln.Early signs of successFrom the impromptu prayer vigil outside Memorial Stadium hours after Foltzs death, rewind 49 months to June 2012, the unofficial moment of launch for this walk-on class. All but Hovey, from Iowa, played at Nebraska high schools. They converged for two weeks of practice before the Shrine Bowl, an annual prep all-star game in Lincoln. Immediately, the future Huskers noticed Janovich, rock solid at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. Turns out, they were on to something. He skipped a redshirt season. Two months ago, Janovich ran for a 28-yard touchdown on his first NFL rushing attempt.Brad Simpson: We all wanted to be Janovich. He basically motivated our whole class to play.Trey Foster: I showed up for the initial meeting, saw Janovich and remember thinking, Wait, this guy couldnt get a scholarship? I have no chance at Nebraska.Andy Janovich: I dont think its right to say I was a big motivating factor. I wouldnt say I set the bar by any means. The other guys knew what they wanted to accomplish. Whether I got a scholarship or not, that wasnt going to determine anything for those guys.Ross Dzuris: We realized about the third practice that a lot of guys in this group were pretty special.Brandon Reilly: The day after the Shrine Bowl, most of us enrolled in class. And I think early on in summer workouts, we all knew that our walk-on class might be different.Graham Nabity: We knew we could compete with anybody. Through the trenches of training in the offseason, in my opinion, it was really the walk-ons who pushed everyone through. We were willing to lead this team even if nobody knew our names.Ryker Fyfe: Me and Foltz (a former Grand Island High School teammate) figured we could hang with these guys. We went out right away on the scout team and played with something to prove. I was a quarterback, and he played receiver. And he was good, a 4.4 guy. Mainly, he just ran past people.Trey Foster: Youve got to realize, Foltz didnt come here to punt. He was a guy who was going to play safety or wide receiver and, without a doubt, he was one of the most athletic guys on the team. In the spring after our first year, Coach [Bo Pelini] talked to Sam and asked him to punt a couple balls.Ross Dzuris: Thats when you realized he was going to start the next year, and there really wasnt any question about it.dddddddddddd I was like, Wow, thats an NFL punter on our team.Trey Foster: And like that, he was done playing wide receiver.Sharing the joyJanovich, as expected, got his scholarship first -- in camp before the 2013 season. Reilly and Foltz came next in the summer of 2014, followed by Fyfe in August of that year. New coach Mike Riley delivered the news to Foster, Hovey, Dzuris and Utter in August 2015. Nabity received a scholarship last spring, and Simpson got his three months ago in addition to Logan Rath, another 2012 Shrine Bowl vet who transferred to Nebraska after one season at South Dakota State. Each time, the whole group shared in the joy.Brad Simpson: I had been waiting for those words since I got here. As soon as I told my parents, my mom started crying.Brandon Reilly: We always wondered which one of our guys was next. And so down the line, as they started coming, it was a great experience.Ross Dzuris: Some teams will make a big deal out of it, but here at Nebraska, were a lot more subtle. Its somewhat expected.Trey Foster: Every single time one of us got put on scholarship, a month would pass and wed all start joking around, telling that guy that hed changed and forgotten where he came from. But Foltz was the main guy to make sure you knew he remembered what it was like to not have school paid for -- to have to figure out student loans and finances with your parents.Walk-on visionEarly in the careers of the 2012 walk-ons, Foltz initiated a ritual. It might happen at practice or in the weight room or in a game. At any moment that required, he would make rings with his fingers and press them over his eyes.Brandon Reilly: We joked about how we always had to keep the walk-on vision. We joked about it, but it was true. Youve got to have that chip on your shoulder. We all had the mindset that we werent good enough coming out of high school, so we had to continue to prove ourselves.Mike Riley: What I have found [in walk-ons], most all of them really, really work hard to achieve their dream. These guys who got scholarships and are playing are great examples to the rest of them of what might occur. They were rewarded for a reason.Graham Nabity: Foltz was the natural guy who took things to the next level. If he ever saw a guy who was slacking off, he would call him out. He didnt care. Sam Foltz was a punter. Since when do punters have that type of leadership role, especially in the weights and the running? They just kick balls. Well, that was definitely not the case with him.Brad Simpson: In our summer workouts, he would lift with the early group, then stay after with the late group and encourage those guys. There was one time where the linebackers had to run stairs because some guys had missed a workout. Foltz ran them with us. It was awesome. Thats just the kind of guy he was.Foltzs senior legacySaturday marks a ceremonial conclusion for this group. Theyll play again next week at Iowa, then at least once more. But for the former walk-ons, every relationship began in the state of Nebraska. Foltzs parents, Gerald and Jill Foltz, have attended each game this fall, traveling on the team plane and eating meals on the road with Sams teammates this month. Nebraska figures to involve its late punter in the Senior Day ceremony. To his walk-on classmates, the presence of Foltz has remained strong, fueling their path to eight wins in 10 games.Brad Simpson: Hes always going to be in my heart. Hes just that special kid. He wasnt like anyone else, just so positive all the time. If anyone needed to talk, he was there, the most down-to-earth guy. He connected with everyone.Trey Foster: It still hurts, but I think it would hurt more if we looked back and didnt feel like we honored him every single week.Ryker Fyfe: Its hard not to feel like hes with us. When Im by myself, its something I think about all the time. Im still trying to get through and hope things get better. I know its never going to be easy. Itll always be there, and Ive definitely felt like hes watching over me. But this is the last game. I should be walking out with Sam.Brandon Reilly: Different guys have different rituals. The specialists carry his jersey. Other guys write No. 27 on their tape. Even the guys who dont, I know its still on their minds. You go through what we did, the bond we had, thats something youll never forget, especially on game day. No one loved game day more than Sam.Mike Riley: Hes one of those guys that set the bar and was a great example and had that great passion and dedicated his sports life to making it here. And he did. And so were always reminded of that. Its part of the identity, not only of Nebraska, but particularly this group.Graham Nabity: We never stopped fighting. We dont ever give up. More than anything, thats the legacy of Sam Foltz. ' ' '