Dabo Swinney on the first half vs. App State: 'It was as good as you think'
TAKE ADVANTAGE → Get THREE Months of CST+ for just $1.00
Opening Statement: "Proud of our team and staff, or just how they prepared. Really just set the tone right out of the gate against a really good football team, a team I’ve got a ton of respect for in App State. Just a lot of positives, but still plenty of things that we can do to grow our team.”
On the defense: “Defensively, the best part was we played a lot of guys and that is really good for our development. You don't often get the opportunity to play that many guys early in the season—the way we were able to—we weren't able to play a lot of guys against Georgia. So it really worked out great. Some guys got exposed, and some guys showed that they were ready for the show. So that's a great opportunity for us to teach and develop the team.”
On the offense: “Offensively, I mean, it was just one of the best games I've ever been a part of. Honestly, I've never been a part of a game like that. Eight consecutive touchdowns. So that was pretty amazing. The most yards ever and a half, most points. First time since ‘12 to have a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher, and two 100-yard receivers. So a lot of great things, a bunch of big plays.”
On injuries: “Unfortunately, we had a couple guys hurt that'll be out for the year. I just hate it for these guys because they put so much into it. Those of us that have played the game, that's part of it too. Kobe McCloud, he's gonna be done for the year. He's gonna have to have surgery on his knee. Then Caleb Nix is gonna be out for the year. So Kobe, a very important player for us. And then Caleb, a starter on all of our special teams and a backup safety guy for us. Just two great kids, and you hate it for those guys. So some other guys will have to step up in those roles. Both of them will be out with a knee injury. Other than that, we're in pretty good shape.”
On Peter Woods: “He will be day to day.”
On the first half vs. App State: “That's exactly what I told our staff was, it's never as good as you think and it's never as bad as you think, except for the first half of that tape. It was as good as you think. It was amazing. It really was. I mean, just incredible. Physical up front, again, elite quarterback play, throwing and catching at an incredibly high level. So many guys involved. Thirteen different guys with a big play—a catch of 16 yards or more, a rush of 12 or more, or a touchdown. No sacks. It just really, really clean that first half. I mean, Cade (Klubnik) really only had one bad throw. We were first in goal. And he just took a kind of win-route shot over to Antonio; that was the only throw he really was off on.”
On filling in for Kobe McCloud: “It’ll be Sammy (Brown) and Dee (Crayton) and Jamal (Anderson). Those three guys all played a lot the other night. That's a really good thing that they all got that amount of experience. So those three guys will step up and fill the void. Then we’ve got you, Drew Woodaz, and C.J. Kubah-Taylor, that we're hoping to hold this year, but we'll have to see how it goes, but hopefully, those three guys can step up and fill that void.”
On Garrett Riley’s playcalling: “Just got everybody involved early, and, you know, just got rhythm. I mean, that's what happens when you can get in rhythm, and you start putting some first downs together, and you're making the routine plays. It makes it a lot easier to really dial it up, It was just a good four-quarter game—especially the first half, but even when we subbed a lot of guys, we still did a lot of good things. We got a bunch of guys in.”
CST+ Subscribers can listen to the full audio here!
