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Purple Heart recipient Daniel Rodriguez pumps up his Clemson Tigers
Daniel Rodriguez's story is inspirational.
And the Purple Heart recipient who played football at Clemson after serving in the military is looking to inspire the Tigers as they face Alabama in Monday night's national championship game in Glendale, Arizona.
Rodriguez served two tours in the military. He was in Iraq for 15 months and spent another year in Afghanistan.
In October 2009, Rodriguez was wounded during the Battle of Kamdesh. Despite having bullet fragments in his shoulder and shrapnel in his neck and legs, he continued to fight in a battle that killed eight Americans and wounded 22 others.
For his bravery and service, Rodriguez was given a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal with Valor device.
Upon returning home, Rodriguez went back to school -- a community college -- and worked out in hopes of building an academic resume and body that would enable him to play college football.
The 5-foot-8, 180-pounder walked on at Clemson, where he played in 37 games.
One highlight came on Military Appreciation Day in 2013, when he scored a touchdown against The Citadel.
Rodriguez graduated from Clemson in December 2014.
He stopped by the FOX offices recently. Check out the video above that he hopes will inspire Clemson to victory.
To follow Daniel on Twitter, go to https://twitter.com/DanielRod_83. He can be found on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/danielrod83/
