Andrew Miller is a sports reporter, covering The Citadel, College of Charleston, S.C. Stingrays, Charleston Battery, etc. Before joining The Post and Courier in 1989, he graduated from South Carolina with a degree in journalism.
Nobody better say a cross word about Clemson coach Dabo Swinney around The Citadel's Maurice Drayton.
When Drayton was an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina (2010-11), the Chanticleers' coaching staff visited the Upstate campus.
"We went up there for a few days to study what they did and learn why they were so successful," Drayton said.
Drayton was able to bring his son, Montrel, along for the visit to Clemson. His son was already a huge Tigers fan.
At birth, Montrel was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and went through a slew of surgeries to correct the issue. Many of the medical staff at MUSC had gone to Clemson.
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"I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to bring Montrel along with us," Drayton said. "He was such a huge Clemson fan because of all the doctors and nurses that cared for him while he was in the hospital. The Clemson coaching staff and players took Montrel in like he was one their own and loved on him.
"It was one of the best experiences of his life. He got to break their team down after one of the practices and he got autographs and memorabilia signed by C.J. Spiller (now an assistant coach at Clemson) and some of the other players."
Meeting Drayton's son left a lasting impression on Swinney.
"From that day forward, I was no longer coach Drayton to coach Swinney," Drayton said. "I became 'Montrel's Dad.' It was a very cool moment for our family."
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It's why Drayton is so fond of the Clemson head coach.
"When I think about coach Swinney and his program, and what they've done for our family, you better not say anything bad about him around me," Drayton said.
Of course, all the niceties aside, that doesn't mean that Drayton doesn't want to beat Swinney and the 20th-ranked Tigers on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
"Our feelings for coach Swinney and Clemson won't change, but we want to beat them just as badly as they want to beat us on Saturday," Drayton said.
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The Citadel's trophy case this season is almost overflowing with some new and old hardware.
The Citadel has played in four games that have featured trophies this season, and the Bulldogs took home three of them.
The most recent came this past weekend when The Citadel grabbed the "Big Dog Bowl" trophy after its 30-17 victory over Wofford on Saturday.
"We love trophies, and there's no better feeling that taking home a trophy after a road win," Drayton said.
The Citadel also took home the Silver Shako -- with a 13-10 home win over rival VMI -- and the Lowcountry Boil Bowl after rallying to beat Charleston Southern 22-21 in the season opener.
The only trophy The Citadel wasn't able to corral was the Lowcountry Bulldogs Classic after South Carolina State defeated the Bulldogs 23-20 back in September.
"Anytime you can win a trophy game, it's been a good weekend," Drayton said. "We've won three out of four, which makes us happy, but we're coming for all four in the coming years."
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There's a running feud between Drayton and assistant coach Tony Coaxum on who does the best imitation of 16-time world champion professional wrestler Ric Flair.
Coaxum, the Bulldogs' special teams coach, does a shorter version of The Nature Boy's greatest hits, while Drayton is more old school and dives into a longer version of his Flair impression.
"Coach Coaxum probably does the short version better than myself," Drayton admitted. "The long version, I'm all in. I'll challenge anyone."
Drayton said they've reached out to Flair in hopes of getting the WWE Hall of Famer to visit the downtown military school and speak to his players.
"We would love to have Ric come down here and meet us in the locker room before the game," Drayton said.
Drayton understands that "To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man! WOOOOO!"