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Clemson Football

A Fresh Start: Clemson's Spring Practice is underway

February 28, 2018
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CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney approached the media on a rainy Wednesday afternoon with a smile on his face.

“The gang’s all here!” he shouted.

Clemson football is officially back. There was an excitement, yet business-like demeanor oozing from Swinney as he spoke with the media. It’s the start of something new.

A new season. A new journey to get back to the top of the college football mountain.

A new season. A new journey to get back to the top of the college football mountain.

It’s been 58 days since Clemson left the field in New Orleans with confetti falling from the rafters for the wrong reasons. Swinney said the 58 days have been filled with self-scouting and trying to get better one day at a time. Today was just another step forward.

“Spring ball is about starting over,” Swinney said. “It’s about the details of your position, it’s about the details of your system offensively and defensively, and just the fundamentals and techniques that apply to them. It’s a lot of work on Clemson. We are trying to get people in the right place.”

Luckily for Swinney, this year’s spring practices won’t be anything new to many of his players. Last year’s team in the spring was filled with young talent that was about to get placed in a brand new position.

This year, it’s a veteran-led team. One with eight returning starters on both sides of the ball.

Clemson comes into the new season with a ton of depth on offense and defense. Swinney believes this year’s squad may have the most depth out of any team he has coached.

“We’ve got a lot of talent, but I want to come out of spring feeling like it’s functional talent and guys can go play. It’s a good place to start.”
- Dabo Swinney

“Our starting point this year is a lot different than it was last year,” Swinney said. “We’ve got a lot of talent, but I want to come out of spring feeling like it’s functional talent and guys can go play. It’s a good place to start.”

The next 15 spring practices will be filled with plenty of position battles and all eyes will be on the quarterback position.

This time a year ago, Kelly Bryant stepped in and competed hard for the position of QB1. It’s a battle he won and he said he doesn’t plan on relinquishing his spot. Behind him is Hunter Johnson, Chase Brice, and some long-haired quarterback from Georgia.

“He’ll have the same opportunity everyone else has,” Swinney said of Trevor Lawrence. “Everything counts. Best guy plays. Get in line and go to work. We’ve got four special players and four talented guys.”

Swinney had high praises for all of his quarterbacks and his receivers, which we’ll get more to later. For now, it was just about getting back to work.

It was about having a fresh start.

“I’m looking forward to it. We get 15 practices, today’s just day one,” Swinney said. “But the guys are eager, very eager, to get out there and get going.”

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A Fresh Start: Clemson's Spring Practice is underway

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