On this week’s edition of Tiger Hour, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney addressed fans’ questions following the Tigers’ 1–3 start and bye week. The conversation ranged from the team’s emotional meeting, to Cade Klubnik’s play, officiating frustrations, and the program’s direction moving forward.
On the emotional team meeting
“There were some raw emotion and… I would think probably somebody's life was impacted, you know, through the conversation in there and listening to the guys express themselves. I mean it was powerful and just a great reminder to me that… I love these guys and proud of them.”
“I mean it stinks there ain't no other way to say it. We are what we are but I know this didn’t catch God by surprise. I do know that… I know something great will come from it and it's just what I believe.”
On Cade Klubnik and QB play
“Cade is our starter, and I mean again did some good things. He certainly missed some opportunities as well… this is a reset for all of us this week and kind of looking at it as a new season with a new opener. That’s kind of what failure is — it’s an opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
On Clemson’s program trajectory
“That’s why we’ve been so consistent. You got to always… we start over every year. Every year we start over every year and you know we’re always trying to get better, and we learn and we grow and we recommit to our purpose… there’s nothing better than seeing a group of good people battle through adversity.”
On officiating frustrations
“It’s tough to play defense… I mean next step we’re gonna be just all flag football. I don’t… it’s hard, hard, hard to coach the defensive guys. Those are massive, massive calls… it’s a challenge for defensive guys for sure, but we just agree to disagree.”
On Adam Randall returning kicks
“Anytime we can get the ball to Adam, it’s a good thing. Whether it’s a kick or whatever… he’s always got a chance to hit it. He’s been a bright spot too, man. I’m proud of him.”
On emotions after the alma mater
“I mean it’s a tough moment. You win with class, you lose with class… this is way more than a job to me. I mean I love this place and man, we invest an enormous amount of effort and time and sacrifice to get results, and you don’t get them and you hurt. And then especially when… you just hate to let people down.”
On ACC moving to nine conference games
“I think that’s stupid… we’ve always played 10 [Power 5 opponents]. But if other people are playing nine, and we’re playing 11, I don’t think you’re putting yourself… it’s not very advantageous for your program.”
The road ahead
“This is as big a disappointment as I’ve had in a long time professionally as a coach, but again I know a lot of good will come from it and make us better. It’ll sharpen us… we’ll keep battling… and we got a lot of great days ahead.”
