Perry was inducted into the 2014 SC Football Hall of Fame class and was a speaker at his awards ceremony in 2018.
William “The Refrigerator” Perry has been one of the most famous names attached to the Clemson brand after making his mark in the NFL.
Prior to his Super Bowl mix, Perry was one of the most dominant players in college football on the inside.
Perry joins his brother Michael Dean Perry in a deep and talented position for Clemson of all time with a defensive tackle. He shows up here at # 2 of the TigerNet Top-5 formula for the ACC era.
Learn more about ‘The Fridge’:
Play: 1981-84
Notable career statistics: 60 TFL, 261 total tackles, 25 sacks, eight forced fumbles in 45 games (26 starts).
Why he is here: Perry was Clemson’s first three-time All-American and All-ACC winner, achieving consensus first-team status in 1983 and another first-team honor in 1984.
Perry led Division I in loss-per-game tackles as a senior (2.45), totaling 100 saves overall (27 loss) with 10 sacks.
Perry was a finalist for the Lombardi (best college football player) and Outland (best indoor lineman) trophies.
He left Clemson with career best scores in sacks (25) and tackles for loss (60; a better ACC at the time before Michael Dean Perry won).
After that outstanding senior campaign, he was selected with the 22nd pick in the 1985 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, who would win the Super Bowl that year.
TigerNet Top-5: DT
Our formula here weighs a number of factors, including national awards, All-America and Conference honors, as well as single-game, season, and career school records. An impact rating on the success of this team and the intangibles involved are also assessed in this mix. And to wrap up the college aspect, we take how the NFL scouts judged them with their draft position.
5. Jim Stuckey
4. Dexter Lawrence
3. Michael Dean Perry
2. William Perry
(Statistics compiled and written by Brandon Rink)
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