Dabo Swinney says Georgia is 'good enough to win the whole thing'
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney spoke with the media earlier today ahead of the Tigers’ matchup with Georgia. Here are a few highlights from the conversation.
Opening Statement:
"We're excited it’s game week, finally. Everything builds to this for us. So a lot of excitement around here, getting ready for a great matchup. But before we get into the game, just thoughts and prayers for all the people in Louisiana. We've got guys from that area as well and so just keeping them in our thoughts and prayers, and hopefully, you know, can get through a very difficult time. I want to have the right perspective there as we get focused on this game because there's a lot of people who are hurting right now and we know that."
"Game week is always exciting-- every single week-- everything builds to this, you only get 12 opportunities that they give you on your schedule and whatever comes after that, you know, as a result of what you did on those 12 days. If you go all the way, the National Championship, that's 15 days, and the other 350 you spend preparing, and dreaming and planning, and working toward and building toward these moments. So it's exciting, to finally have the opportunity to go play-- and I can't wait to see us play, I'm excited to see where we are because you just coming off a month camp. So where are we? And what do we got to do to get better?"
On facing Georgia in the opener:
"Huge, huge challenge, obviously, in Georgia, I think this is, I think it's the fourth time in the last 21 years, I guess since 2000, that there's been a Top 5 matchup as an opener. So these are rare, rare, rare moments that you have games like this. So really difficult challenge, right out of the gate, playing a team that's, that's good enough to win the whole thing."
On playing against the Bulldogs:
"It just makes sense. I mean, you're right down the road from each other. We've played big opponents. for 12 years, since I've been the head coach here. That's kind of what we've done. We've gone all the way out to A&M. We've gone to Auburn. We've done a couple of 'kickoff classic' type things now. It brings a lot of excitement to it and certainly, the fans love it. Anytime you play a quality opponent as we've played over the years, but Clemson, Georgia is not just a quality game and quality opponent-- there's a tradition there and a history, that I think both sides have a lot of respect for. There's been a lot of unbelievable moments, in the Clemson-Georgia game over the years. I remember when I got the job in 08-09 I mean, people were talking about playing Georgia in 2013. I remember that vividly. Like, 'we're gonna play Georgia,' it's like I don't know if I'm gonna be the head coach or alive in 2013-- I'm just trying to survive '09 and people are asking me about playing Georgia in 2013. So it's a big deal. It means a lot, your proximity, fan bases, living on top of each other in both states, Clemson people, Georgia people. So I think that just adds to the excitement. It's what makes college football fun is rivalries like this."
On Fred Davis being on the 2-deep:
"Everybody's available. We're all still kind of living in a COVID world and that's just kind of how we're gonna handle it-- really same as last year. Regardless of what the situation is, we're just gonna say, who's available and who's not available and keep moving on. So everybody is available at this point, except for a couple of guys that we've, we've talked about from a long-term injury standpoint."
On being more comfortable handling COVID-19 this season:
"Yeah, yeah-- and there's a vaccine. We've got very few guys on our team who have not been vaccinated-- very few. Our staff is vaccinated so that gives you a whole lot more comfort level. Last year, we didn't have that and it's not that you can't get it, but it's like knowing it's freezing outside and you go out and you dress properly. You got your toboggan, or you got a heavy jacket and some thermals-- you still get a cold, but you're at least doing everything you can to protect yourself. So I feel a lot better about that as far as the odds of getting it as vaccinated-- again, you can get it, then also, you know, the symptoms, hopefully not being as severe. If somebody does get COVID. I'm thankful for that and it shows that it works. So I'm thankful that we have that as an option. We didn't have that last year and hopefully, we can mitigate more throughout the season and continue to have guys available and ready to play. Then the quarantining, because of vaccination status and things like that, the protocols, the quarantining, all that stuff-- last year that was the biggest issue was if a guy got COVID, it was the contact tracing and all that. So that's we're just in a much different space than we were last year. Everybody is hopefully."