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Mason Cloy has chosen to follow a path that he knows will define him more than anything he does on Clemson's football field.
Cloy spent a month this offseason at Fort Knox, Ky., in accelerated U.S. Army leadership training. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound junior will become a military officer upon graduation, no matter whether the NFL takes an interest in him.
''I always felt when I recruited him, he was mature beyond his years,'' Clemson offensive line coach Brad Scott said.
At a time when almost all scholarship players cling to NFL dreams, Cloy locked onto a different calling. Cloy said his mind is made up and won't be swayed no matter on much success he has on the field during his final two seasons.
Pro football ''won't weigh into my decision,'' Cloy said. ''I've already made my mind up.''
The Tigers hold their first practice for the fall on Tuesday.
The military is in Cloy's DNA. His father, retired Col. Michael Cloy, spent 27 years in the Army. Both Mason's grandfathers served. His older sister is married to an Army officer.
Cloy was born while his father was stationed in Germany and said he moved 13 times growing up. Cloy watched his dad deploy to various hotspots around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, yet grew to cherish what his father did.
''Living the Army life really makes you appreciate the little things,'' he said. ''It makes you see what's important in life, like family.''
Cloy grew into a highly regarded college prospect at Spring Valley High School while his family lived at nearby Fort Jackson. His military goals never left even as recruiters talked about his football potential.
Cloy's final three of Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech were all selected because of their ROTC programs. The Tigers gave him the best opportunity to balance his career choice and football, he said.
So many players ''think they're going to be in the NFL,'' Scott said. ''But do they have a Plan B?''
Cloy decided to make Plan B his prime choice. He took the first real steps toward that career this summer at the Leader's Training Course, four weeks of sunup to sundown military training.
''A day seemed like a week sometimes,'' Cloy said.
Cloy and 199 other cadets were up at 5:30 a.m. - ''And not the way your mother wakes you up,'' Cloy said - for hours of physical and mental training. Cadets learned to effectively communicate with fellow officers and the men they lead.
There were 10-kilometer marches with full ''ruck sacks'' over the fort's infamous hills named ''Agony'' and ''Misery.''
There was even a ''Survivor'' style exercise where groups were given supplies and ordered to navigate on their own from Point A to Point B. Cloy and the cadets worked with M-16s and were evaluated on their leadership potential.
''They come in kind of deer in the headlights, and at the end, they're ready to be part of an ROTC battalion,'' said Lt. Col. Chuck Schretzman, who headed up Cloy's training at Fort Knox and who played football at Army from 1985-88.
Cloy got a few wisecracks from Clemson teammates upon his return to campus. More of them, however, wanted details on the training. ''I'm glad he's on our side,'' Clemson center Dalton Freeman said.
Mason's father, is proud of his son's choice and says he could feel the mission to serve growing as Mason matured into a star athlete.
''He has told me time and time again that football is not his identity,'' Michael Cloy said.
At the moment, the Clemson junior is all about football. The Tigers will open practice Tuesday with Cloy listed as a co-starter at left guard with David Smith. Cloy started 17 of 27 games his first two seasons, but missed spring practice recovering from a leg broken in Clemson's ACC title game loss to Georgia Tech in December.
Cloy said he feels healthy and ready to go.
The same way he'd never abandon his fellow cadets, Cloy won't slacken at football with his career choice made. The Army ''is not by any means going to stop how hard I work here or how far I get here'' at Clemson, Cloy said.
Cloy will take part in Clemson's ROTC program the next two years. Upon graduation, he'd be commissioned a second lieutenant. He knows he'll have some ask about the NFL since even a rookie low on the depth chart made $310,000 in 2009.
''It's not about the money,'' Cloy says. ''Half the things people did, if it were about the money, they wouldn't be doing them.''
