Dabo Swinney: Georgia Tech Press Conference
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We were on campus this morning for Dabo Swinney’s first press conference of the year as the Tigers continue their preparations for Georgia Tech. Here are some unedited notes from the session:
– The team went out under the lights last night to prepare for the 8:00 PM tip.
– There’s only so far you can get without playing a game. Excited for us to play a game and figure out where we are. Whatever happens Thursday night, we have a lot of work to do. At the end of the day, it’s just one of 12. We don’t know a whole lot about Georgia Tech. Openers are tough because teams have more time to prepare for this game than any other game.
We have a lot of new pieces, 40 players who were not here yesterday. Also a lot of players with new roles. A lot of moving parts, like Derion Kendrick moving from receiver to cornerback. Georgia Tech has good players and a whole new staff. We know a lot about Temple, but we aren’t playing Temple. There are a lot of unknowns going into this game for us. They have not only a personnel change but a philosophy change.
– Injury wise, we are in a good spot (knocks on wood). Full pads today. Guys who are out are Amari Rogers and Bryton Constantine. Amari is doing great and is making drastic improvements. Logan Cash has decided to withdraw from school and move on after an injury that put him out for the season.
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"We're going to be full pads today. So we got one more good on good type practice and then tomorrow be like a Thursday day for us. So knock on wood there we're in a pretty good spot only guys that are out are Amari (Rodgers) and (Bryton) Constantine. Constantine's been out all camp Amari is doing great, looks awesome. He's really made drastic improvements and doing a lot of stuff in practice. Feel good about his progress, but definitely will be out this week for sure." |
– Everything we do builds to this moment on opening night. Usually, when we play on Thursdays, it is on the road so it will be a unique experience to play this game at home.
– Trevor Lawrence has had an awesome camp. If he can just continue to do what he’s done in practice and take it to game day, he’s going to be a great leader.
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"Trevor's had an awesome camp. I mean, unbelievable camp. If he just continues to do what he's done in practice, and just take it to game day, he's gonna be a great leader for us out on the field. He's really worked very hard and all areas that we challenged him in and now go take it to game day." |
– We are going to play a bunch of guys. It’s like a big ol’ pack on the defensive line. Xavier Thomas is a special talent. Justin Foster is a salty dog. Those are our two most experienced guys. Logan Rudolph, oh my lord, nobody is game-planning for him because they don’t know who he is, but they will. KJ Henry has improved in all areas.
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"Yeah, I have. Even from the young guys. Those guys, I always tell them, 'you don't have to be a senior to be a leader', to go above and beyond. To be detailed and so forth. I've seen that from a bunch of those guys. It's just been a good group." |
– Nyles Pinckney, Jordan Williams, and Tyler Davis have separated themselves inside. Tyler hasn’t taken a snap yet, but they have loved what they have seen in practice. Just gotta go play, it’s like we are changing a lot of diapers. Eventually, they will be potty trained and they can walk. Some walk sooner than others.
Nyles and Jordan have done an excellent job this summer meeting with guys and prepping. Tyler Davis, you can’t help but be inspired from where he is right now as a young player. Our strength will be in numbers and that won’t be a bad thing.
– Jackson Carman has been amazing. Most improved players offensively: Jaelyn Lay and Carman. He understands what it takes to be great at this level and has transformed from this time last year. He has been very steady. He’s clearly positioned himself to jump in there first. He’s one of the smartest players we got, too.
– We’re just getting ready for what they think they may do schematically. We think we know, but we really don’t know. They have a bunch of veterans in their offensive line.
– Luke Price is strong. Moved him from linebacker last spring and would’ve been a special teams factor. Wanted to move him to tight end after knowing their situation. Price is really smart and he’s just one of them blue collar guys that grinds. Catching the ball has come pretty natural to him. Wish he was bigger, but he’ll play like a 250-pounder out there. Put him on scholarship and thankful he’s here.
– Can’t say enough about Lay and Davis Allen. Those guys are coming. Allen, he’s just natural. He is a tough kid, played linebacker, three-sport athlete. Even though he missed a lot of practice, he was able to go out and function.
– Terry Bowden is literally a grad intern. He doesn’t talk or say much, but glad to have him a part of the program.
- Feels really good about his situation at quarterback and that backup Chase Brice was good enough to play at 100+ programs.
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"Well, it sure beats not having that. That's for sure. So it's great. Chase is a great player. He'd probably be starting at a 100+ schools out there. He's a really good player and a guy we have a lot of confidence in. I have zero issues putting him in the game, at any point. He can play. I'm really proud of Taisun and Ben, and the camps that they've had, those guys have made tons of progress and I think we're in a really good spot at that position." |
– Word for the season is “ purpose.” Purpose as a man, father, husband, and our program. (More on that later).
– Loving the ACC Network. Mark Richt is very funny. What does it do? Heck, it’s got people talking about the ACC all day. To be able to have a network that is constantly talking about the ACC and promoting our league, giving our teams a platform, we have not had that and we’ve still been pretty good. Now we do, and that's a game-changer. It’s also about the rhetoric.
– Conversations about coaching to other coaches at a high level are easy conversations. Easy because you are dealing with people, not the philosophies of different sports.
– Doesn’t expect anything but to play well on Thursday. This isn’t a perfect game. We never grade 100 percent as a player or a coach… I just want to play Clemson football. If it’s enough to win, great. If not, we are going to win
That Florida-Miami game, I might just quit if we ever end up like that. There were balls all over the ground.
That Arizona-Hawaii last-second play: loves to coach off stuff like that. That defensive tackle should not have made that play on the final play of the game, but he believed and stopped Arizona QB just short. We learn from our mistakes, but it’s a lot easier to learn from other people’s mistakes.
– Eric Mac Lain was born for his role on the ACC Network. He was a player at Clemson that was completely committed to excellence in every area of his life. I’m getting older now because I got players on TV.
