Brent Venables says Clemson's players have done an "amazing job" at "unifying"

Opening statement:

"I know our guys are incredibly excited. It's been a tough and challenging five months. It's pretty surreal that game day is just a few days away. So we're all very, very thankful for the leadership of our university and our athletic department. Most proud of our players, for how they've handled all of the things they've come with the last six months, from social justice to the COVID and everything in between. It's been very emotional and draining, but at the same time, there's always good in the middle of the bad and our guys have had done an amazing job at both leading, galvanizing and unifying through all of this."

On James Skalski having to sit out the first half against Wake Forest after targeting call in the national championship game:

"That's the rules in college football word carries over from that last game. So we've known that for quite some time and we've made plans in how we've practiced and things of that nature, through all of our good on good work."

On Jake Venables having to step in:

"Jake's ready for the moment. He's gotten some opportunities last year as a redshirt freshman and came in and did some really nice things under pressure and in "mop up" time as well. He's very focused and serious about his responsibilities and his opportunity and has a great deal of value and respect for the preparation that it takes."

On the backups for Skalski:

"I'm excited for him [Jake Venables], feel good about not only him but Kane Patterson and Kevin Swint as well. They've all had nice camps and Jake's also worked at some you know, WILL linebacker for the last year."

On Braden Galloway’s work with the scout team last year:

"I think he's always been a very talented guy, he's got length, he can run, super athletic. I was most proud of Braden coming over on scout team, that's a hard thing going from an every-down player or a very integral part of an incredible offense to, 'hey, you're gonna go run over there and get screamed at every day on the scout team,' without getting the game reps and things like that. So, I was really proud of Braden, I think it helped him mature and grow up and have an appreciation and a value for what it takes to get ready for a game and the value that you can take away from the grind every day of improving, working on your fundamentals and your skillset and certainly your mindset. you know. Because we're not letting you hide on scout team, you got to come over and you got to perform and give great effort. There's a lot of precision that goes with that and so that starts with having the mature mindset and he did an incredible job for us. We're really fortunate to have him over as part of that group and really helped us get better and prepare week in and week out."