“Everybody Has to Be on the Same Page”: Swinney on Clemson’s Offensive Line Adjustments
On what constitutes success for you from that group of starters, and maybe the backups on them as well, on the offensive line after losing two key pieces in Walker Parks and Brayden Jacobs:
Dabo Swinney:
“Yeah, everybody just knowing their job, not having any busted assignments. I mean, you’ve got no chance if everybody’s not on the same page. So our first five, those guys have played a million snaps, so that’s a veteran group. And Dietrick’s (Pennington) a guy that’s been around here, so he should be able to get in there for us as a backup. He’s played a lot of ball. Ronan O’Connell is a redshirt freshman. He’s gotten some experience this year, and when he’s been in there, he’s played well. And then we’ve got a couple other guys that have not played as much on game day, but they’ve practiced well and they know what to do. Our twos get the same amount of reps as our ones. So the biggest thing is just everybody being on the same page, communicating, not turning guys loose, having everybody targeted properly.”
On Klubnik’s mobility:
Swinney: “Yeah, he’s better. I mean, he’s the best he’s been in a while, for sure. Way better than he was two weeks ago. Better than he was last week.”
On Stephiylan Green’s health:
Swinney: “I’m not going to get into how many snaps guys are practicing, but he’s out there practicing every day and back available for us.”
On talking with the freshmen and some of the sophomores to kind of get their perspectives on this season:
Swinney: “I mean, it’s great. That’s between me and the players. But yeah, I meet with the guys all the time, but specifically where we were at that point in the season, I really wanted to kind of meet with each group—first-year, second-year, third-year guys. I meet with the seniors all the time, twice a week as it is. But it was good. It was very, very good. That’s actually one of my positives from this season, is I’ve been able to have some conversations that we might not have had if everything had gone exactly the way we want. So a lot of growth in those guys and good communication.”
On Lorenzo Ward a guy Swinney has known for a long time and what it has been like having him on the staff these last years:
Swinney:
“Oh, he’s great. Whammy’s—I’ve known him since 1988, so I’ve known him a long time. We were GAs together. He was one of my coaches when I was playing, and then we were GAs together for a year. And we’ve been friends for a long, long time. Just haven’t had an opportunity to work together since Alabama. But it was at the point in his career where he was kind of ready for the role that he’s in. He’s great. He’s very smart. He understands offense and defense, and he’s been a great addition and a great asset to our staff and to me.”
