lege game. But shortly after the Spring Game, he suffered a setback. “I tore my meniscus and MCL in my left knee,” recalled #73. “I was down about that but worked hard and actually came back earlier than expected. “I found out more about what the Clemson family means after my first injury, my first serious one. I thought everything would go downhill from there. But everyone surrounded me and built me back up, so that was a cool experience.” Gore was then asked to move from his familiar spot on the end of the defensive line to the offensive side of the ball. “I moved to the offensive line during fall camp of the same year,” said Gore. “In the midst of that transition, I tore the same meniscus again and found myself in the same situation.” During workouts the next summer, the rising sophomore was stretching and recognized something felt off. “I sat down and couldn’t get back up. I didn’t know what happened.” For the third time in just over a year, Gore tore the same meniscus. Not only was he still adjusting to a new position, he was also having to overcome setback after setback. He continued to rehab and work hard, and his playing time began to increase. Heading into his junior season in 2014, Gore was healthy and hungry for playing time. Then, as was becoming all too normal for Gore, he suffered another setback. This time, Gore had appendi8
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citis and needed to have it removed immediately. When asked what game has been most memorable in his career, Gore re-
flected on his first game back after that surgery. “Of all of the games during my time at Clemson, the Syracuse game last sea-
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
JOE GORE Full Name Jocephas Gore Degree PRTM Jersey #73 Position Offensive Tackle Height 6’6” Weight 300 Hometown Lake Waccamaw, N.C. High School East Columbus HS Date of Birth Sept. 25, 1992
son definitely stands out to me. It was the first game back for me after my surgery. They threw me out there with all younger guys.