CLEMSON, S.C. — An hour after Syracuse lost 54-0 to No. 3 Clemson, Amba Etta-Tawo, and a group of family and friends stood outside the visitor’s tunnel at Memorial Stadium. For the first time since late June, Amba saw Etta Etta-Tawo, his brother and a Clemson alumnus.

Etta estimated 20 other friends and family showed up to Syracuse’s closest game to Powder Springs, Georgia, where Amba’s from and said Amba had 24 tickets. The family didn’t know as many people were coming until a week ago.

Amba racked up 84 yards on nine catches, breaking Syracuse’s (4-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) single-season receiving record in the process. Entering the game, he needed only 57 yards to break the record previously held by Marvin Harrison. The latter tallied 1,131 yards in the 1995 season, but Etta-Tawo now has 1,158 yards this season, placing him in the top 10 of NCAA receivers in yardage. He broke the record on the same field Etta used to play on and the field where he caught his first collegiate touchdown with Maryland. Etta’s career ended at Clemson in his redshirt freshman season because of a heart condition.

“I try not to look too much at it today,” Amba said about his brother playing at Memorial Stadium. “I just try to grasp it.”

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Almost two hours before kickoff, Amba sat in an orange, thickly cushioned chair on the sideline. Five chairs were arranged in a semi-circle. The receiver faced the opposite direction of director of high school relations J.B. Gerald and receivers coach Kim McCloud. For most of the pregame, Amba sat separate from his teammates. Before the game, a Clemson coach ran onto the field just to talk to the Syracuse wide receiver.

In the third quarter of the loss, Etta-Tawo broke in on a 6-yard in-route, catching an Austin Wilson pass. The catch brought him within 11 yards of Harrison’s record after two Clemson defensive backs brought him down. Two plays later, Etta-Tawo cut inside of cornerback Cordrea Tankersley four yards downfield, caught a Wilson pass six yards downfield and turned to gain another 11 after the catch.

Etta said he checks in on his brother every day by typing his name into a search engine to find articles. The two sometimes call and talk about what defense the other team runs so Etta knows what to expect from Amba on the day of the game. Clemson rotated its No. 1 corner Cordrea Tankersley on and off Amba. On Saturday, Etta didn’t know until after the game that his brother had broken the Syracuse single-season receiving record.

Following the contest, Amba smiled as he walked over to his contingent near the end zone. He high-fived seven different family and friends before McCloud pulled Amba into the tunnel and the locker room. As the Syracuse wide receiver walked to his interview, he came from just outside the tunnel, where his family congregated after the game. Included in the group were former McEachern (Georgia) High School quarterbacks Trent Thompson and Dondre Purnell, who had the receiver’s gloves in his back pocket.

“I told him that (he broke the record),” Etta said, “and he said, ‘I gotta just keep on playing, just keep on going.’”

Published on November 5, 2016 at 11:05 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati