Dorian O'Daniel: "You didn’t have to force it. Guys out there were genuinely having fun."
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The body language and energy on defense a couple of weeks ago during Clemson’s loss at Syracuse was a bizarre sight.
Players who usually brought their own edge were seen with their heads down and had puzzled looks on their faces.
It was a devastating cycle of bad plays leading to negative energy and negative energy leading to bad plays. The tornado of negativity for Clemson continued all night until it was too late.
Austin Bryant said on Monday that after the Syracuse game, it was vital for Clemson’s defense to get back to who they were. They didn’t have their swag at Syracuse. “We had to get it back,” Bryant said.
Saturday night at home, it was back.
The same defense that looked so lifeless at Syracuse came out against Georgia Tech with the swagger that has defined this defense so far this season.
Dorian O’Daniel, who named a semifinalist for Butkus Award, said that if anyone didn’t want to embrace the elements, dance around, and have fun, then he didn’t want them out there.
During the game, players were dancing and enjoying the moment. Christian Wilkins said it felt like playing backyard football as a kid, and your mom was telling you to come inside in 10 minutes, but you play for an extra hour.
After the defensive line was "Swag Surfing," O'Daniel made a play and acted like he was swimming as he was on the ground in a puddle.
“The best way to get out of that funk or any mindset of you don’t want to be out there is you can’t hide it, so you might as well embrace it,” O’Daniel said.
Maybe there is another, a more positive, cycle to this Clemson team that is defined by the quote: “The fun is in the winning.”
When energy is low, Clemson stumbles over itself. But when the Tigers are loose, dancing around and having fun, they win.
The players weren’t timid at all about going out and playing in brutal conditions. You could tell from pre-game warm-ups that the Tigers had that spark back.
“The best thing about it, in my opinion, was you didn’t have to force it,” O’Daniel said. “Guys out there were genuinely having fun. I feel like when you have a team that is having fun, guys are making plays, that’s what it’s all about.”
O’Daniel said that when one guy brings the energy, it affects the next guy, and the next guy, and so forth.
“It’s contagious. It rubs off on your other teammates, so it is a good feeling.”
Clemson will need to bring that same type of energy and swagger on the road to a different kind of environment that wants to see them fall.
Positivity, and a little bit of swagger, will be the key.
You can view Dorian O’Daniel’s full interview previewing N.C. State here: