Ben Boulware, Mike Williams Inspire Young Audience

March 27, 2017

Ben Boulware is quick to offer a critical self-assessment, particularly for a football player about to embark on a professional career.

“I’m not the biggest or the fastest or the strongest guy around,” Boulware said.

But he possesses perhaps an even more important ingredient in abundance.

“I’ve been blessed with the attitude and mentality to work,” Boulware said.

Boulware did just that during his four seasons at Clemson, and his diligence paid off in January when the Tigers won their first national championship since 1981. That work ethic was the crux of his message Monday night during a Coaches 4 Character program at the Redemption Center in Greenville.

Boulware was joined by former teammate Mike Williams for the presentation titled “Two Tigers: One Message,” which attracted a crowd of more than 1,200 elementary, middle and high school students from the Upstate.

The night also belonged to two Greer Middle School students who were named recipients of The Greenville News’ Coaches 4 Character Awards – Vincent Bush and Dominique Harris.

According to Greer Middle School Principal Dan Bruce, Bush is a seventh-grader who aspires “to become a highly successful engineer who shares his ideas with the world,” while Harris, an eighth-grader, “is a very good, well-rounded student who is determined to make education her ticket to success.”

Williams, a wide receiver who is expected to be a Top 10 selection in next month’s NFL Draft, emphasized the message that he was similarly determined while in school.

“I always felt like I was a student first and an athlete second,” Williams said.

Boulware, a linebacker, and Williams both graduated at Clemson in three and a half years, and both urged the young people in attendance Monday to follow a similar path, regardless of how long it takes.

“I think a college degree is something to build upon, not fall back on,” Boulware said. “An NFL career could be 15 years or 15 months.

“A lot of things are possible. The phrase I’ve been living by is ‘control everything that’s in my power, and the outcome will take care of itself.’”

By: Scott Keepfer  -- Greenville Online

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