CLEMSON, S.C. — Former football All-American Michael Dean Perry and former Clemson men’s golf coach Larry Penley will be inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor this fall. The exact football weekend during which the duo will be honored will be announced at a later date.
Perry was a first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year as a senior defensive tackle in 1987. Penley coached the Clemson golf team to the 2003 National Championship and concluded his career with more tournament victories than any coach in ACC history.
Perry, who played for the Tigers from 1984-87, becomes the 11th football player or coach to be named to the Clemson Ring of Honor. He joins players Jerry Butler, Fred Cone, Jeff Davis, Steve Fuller, Terry Kinard, Levon Kirkland, Banks McFadden and C.J. Spiller, and coaches Danny Ford and Frank Howard.
Penley joins three of his former players — Jonathan Byrd, Kevin Johnson and Charles Warren — among members of Clemson’s men’s golf program in the Ring of Honor.
The Ring of Honor is the highest award bestowed by Clemson Athletics. Recipients must have made an outstanding contribution to the heritage of Clemson Athletics, must be a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame and be a graduate of a four-year institution for consideration.
Perry helped Clemson to a pair of ACC Championships in 1986 and 1987 and top-20 team finishes in those seasons. He was named the ACC Player of the Year as a senior in 1987, one of just six defensive players in the history of the ACC to earn overall ACC Player of the Year honors. He was named an Outland Trophy finalist in 1987, one of just two Clemson linemen so honored in history. The native of Aiken, S.C. had 24 tackles for loss among his 74 tackles and 10 sacks in 1987. His 61 career tackles for loss remain the Clemson record 38 years after he played his final game for Danny Ford’s Tigers.
Perry was a second-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in the spring of 1988. He was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in his season in 1989, and he was named to six Pro Bowls in his 10 years in the league.
A 2005 Clemson graduate, Perry was named to Clemson’s Centennial Team in 1996 and was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. He was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002, and was inducted into the State of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005 and the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame in 2016. He was honored by the Clemson football program…
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