The Main Ingredient
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What has been the main ingredient that Dabo Swinney added to Clemson’s football program to make it so successful in recent years?
It’s not 5-star recruits or a ton of X’s and O’s.
It’s the culture at Clemson that Swinney has created and continues to build by adding key pieces with high-quality character.
We've often heard that when Swinney was given the keys to Clemson's football program, several high ranking individuals told him about other programs that they felt Clemson should emulate.
Swinney wasn't interested in that.
As we understand it, Swinney was quick to let them know that his vision for Clemson was that it would become the program that other schools would want to model themselves after.
Recruiting has to be one of the hardest aspects of college football, especially as a big-time Power 5 school on the rise. You have to sell an 18-year old on what would make your school the place for him, but you also have to judge him by what he brings to the table.
On and off the field.
After his performance in the ACC championship where he accounted for 100 receiving yards, Ray–Ray McCloud was met with many questions after the game about his performance.
We wanted to hear his take on the culture at Clemson and how he sees if certain players will fit the mold and make the culture better.
“Environment is everything,” McCloud said. “The atmosphere may be a little thing that may bring him or make him leave. I think Clemson is somewhere that can fit everyone. It has a family atmosphere, it has…”
McCloud paused. “It’s hard to explain. But really everything is love there, and everything helps you grow into a man, on and off the field.”
It’s not just the coaches who have to judge the content of a recruit's character in only a short amount of time. The junior receiver also said that it’s the player’s job to spend some time with a recruit and make sure that he would be a guy that would help the culture grow.
Sometimes, players can come through, go to Clemson, and fall through the cracks.
But Swinney rarely misses. His judgment of character seems to be the first thing he looks for in a recruit, no matter how talented they are.
The first example that we can think of that has been positive for Clemson’s culture is the quarterback situation. Right now there are three quarterbacks who could almost get significant playing time at any Power Five school in the country.
You have guys like Hunter Johnson and Zerrick Cooper who have NFL aspirations getting backup reps, not to mention 5-star Trevor Lawrence coming in next year to compete with them.
It seems like one of them would complain, or even leave, but Johnson told us after his game against the Citadel that he doesn't plan on transferring. The guys love the competition, the grind, and being a part of something unique no matter what role they play.
Another example is the running backs. C.J. Fuller was the guy at the beginning of the season with all the experience and was expected to get a lot of playing time. With the rise of Tavien Feaster and Travis Etienne, his carries have dwindled.
Has he complained about getting more carries? Not at all. The committee of backs makes each other better every week.
It goes beyond football. Etienne said that the main pitch Tony Elliott and Swinney made to him during recruitment was that Clemson would make him a great husband and great father. He was sold.
That’s culture. If that’s a reason you attend a university, then that also speaks a lot about your character.
Every school’s culture is different, and by no means do we believe Clemson is the perfect team that has the perfect players that always stay out of trouble.
But rarely do you feel any negative energy around this program. If there ever is, Swinney does as good of a job as anyone at ending it.
We think back to a time when Sammy Watkins was at Clemson and got arrested during the 2012 offseason for drugs. Swinney had a tough decision to make and decided to suspend the All-American for the first two games of the season.
Jeff Scott remembered that moment in time distinctively as it was a strong step forward for Clemson’s program:
“Coach Swinney’s message to our staff was, ‘Hey guys, I’m not making this decision about one game. I’m making this decision about what’s best for our program long term.’ He’s always had this long-term approach with the decisions that he’s made.”
Watkins responded and grew from his mistakes during his time at Clemson. We believe he’s a better man now because of it.
Deon Cain's suspension during the 2015 College Football Playoffs is another example of Coach Swinney making tough decisions to send a message about what the Clemson program stands for to his players, fans, and recruits.
With Cain, Clemson may have had enough in the tank to beat Alabama, but when you want to be the program that others aspire to be, you can't compromise your values for a victory.
That’s culture.
That’s the main ingredient.