Swinney after Scrimmage, 'That Group Ain't Anywhere Near Good Enough'

Head coach Dabo Swinney acknowledged on Wednesday that Clemson’s first spring scrimmage was a mixed bag, with several players unavailable, forcing the team to adjust lineups. He praised the defense for its strong performance in the red zone, creating turnovers, but criticized the offense for being too careless with the ball. Swinney also noted that the team was generally undisciplined, stressing the need for continued development as they progress through spring practice.

Here's more from Swinney's post-scrimmage comments.

On running back Adam Randall: 

"I think it's been a lot of fun working with Adam. He's a problem. It's an interesting matchup with him because he's so dynamic in the passing game. How do you play him? He's flashed really, all spring. He looks confident. He's smart."

On the play of transfers Tristan Smith, Jeremiah Alexander, and Will Heldt in the scrimmage: 

“I'm sure they all enjoyed that. Tristan had an opportunity today -- Cole [Turner] was out. So, it's good to see him take advantage of his opportunity. [He] got some really good work -- made one big play. Jeremiah [Alexander] got some good live work. Will [Heldt], all those guys, I've noticed them every day, and they're working hard.”

On what he saw from the young cornerbacks while veterans like Avieon Terrell and Ashton Hampton played limited reps: 

"They all got a ways to go. Ain't none of them ready to play. Thank God we don't play right now. I'm glad we don't play this spring."

On which areas he would like to see improvement from the young cornerbacks:

"Every area. Name one. Name it – that one. They got to grow in every area. That group ain't anywhere near good enough. I hope y’all print that."

On the play of senior quarterback Cade Klubnik: 

"I don’t think Cade had a very good day today. I thought he was very average. I think he checked out. I think he was already gone to Cabo or something. I don’t think he was ready to go today and maybe because he knew he wasn’t going to get a lot of reps."

On if he noticed any difference in tackling this spring: 

"I think that's been a huge emphasis in particular in space. I saw a couple of really good open-field tackles today. And again, Coach [Tom] Allen has done a great job, man. He's a rolling ball of butcher blades out there on that practice field every single day. And if you don't have the right technique, you're going to hear it. So, you see the improvement coming. We got to tackle better. We got to do the little things better if we're going to be better on defense. So, it starts with tackling.”

On what he thought of the men's basketball team's upcoming matchup in the ACC Basketball Tournament:

"I know that Brad [Brownell] will have them ready to go. They'll be excited to play. It'd be really cool to go win the tournament. Have we ever done it? Won the tournament? So, it's hard to do something for the first time. But why not, right? Like, eventually it's going to happen, so why not this time? How cool would that be?

"We're all about the tournament and this and that, but what they did this year. You cannot lose sight that they won the most games ever. I mean, that's incredible.  It's incredible what that bunch did this year. It was awesome. And I think that should be celebrated."