The Sports Grouch

Frugal Moms and Dads trying to teach their wayward children the value of money will love this.

So will Clemson fans.

Do you know who will graduated from college this year without a load of student debt, $15,000 in the bank and walk into a $10 million to $20 million job?

OK. Give up?

He’s ... drum roll ... All-American DT Christian Wilkins of the national champion Clemson Tigers. He’s expected to be taken in the NFL draft’s 1st round for that kind of money.

Your kids should be that fortunate, shouldn’t they?

What are his secrets?

Wilkins has a radical approach to saving money.

“It’s simple,” he told sports writer Rachel Bachman. “Save a whole lot more than you spend. I’m not ever willing to spend much. I’m very low-maintenance when it comes to my needs.”

Wilkins lives in a $300-a-month apartment.

“It’s nice down South cause it’s cheaper,” said the New England native.

He spends little time there to keep his electrical and water bills down.

When he isn’t in class or on the practice field, he’s in Clemson’s 140,000-square-foot football-operations center, eating most meals and even showering there.

He doesn’t need a car because he has a bike or gets rides from teammates. He doesn’t pay for music or phone apps and wears team-issued clothes.

“I’m the cheapest guy in the world,” he said.

Even the NCAA helps

An NCAA rule change helps him save. The NCAA allowed schools to help athletes cover the full cost of school including transportation and personal expenses.

This year, Clemson athletes on full scholarship living off campus received $1,532 a month for room and board – a bit over $50 a day. Wilkins also received federal Pell Grants.

He was the youngest of 8 children in Springfield, Mass. His family didn’t have much but had each other.

Wilkins has not 1 but 4 bank accounts. The 1st is for everyday expenses. He keeps $150 a month in that account. When that is gone, he stops spending and eats at Clemson’s training table.

“My biggest weakness is food,” he said. At 6-3 and 315 pounds it’s “like my only drug in life.”

The 2nd is for rent and big items, like airline tickets to fly home to see family. The 3rd is for half his monthly check for savings and investments and the 4th is for emergencies.

Wilkins won the National Football Foundation’s Campbell Trophy – the “academic Heisman” – as the nation’s best football scholar-athlete.

If you have wayward children to learn something, tell them Christian’s story.

The Sports Grouch welcomes readers’ emails at ChronicleSports@yahoo.com .