Swinney talks Early Signing Day, Fun with Nick Saban, and 'Unexpected Rivalry' with 'Bama
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was a little under the weather but took some time to take a break from his recruiting trips to speak with the media Wednesday night as his team continues to prepare for its Sugar Bowl contest against Alabama.
“This is the first time in several years we have had to balance practice and recruiting so that’s been a little different, working around the finals. We’ve had a good plan. We got a good start Sunday night to sort of knock the rust off of them and got focused. We’ll ramp it up a bit tonight.”
Health-wise, Clemson was about as healthy as they have been when they played Miami. Swinney said that Tre Lamar will go in full pads Wednesday night at practice and is a lot better. Judah Davis, however, will be out for the Sugar Bowl with an MCL injury.
Swinney said that Early Signing Day presents something different, but he still plans on having a full day planned like the program does in February. Clemson is planning on having seven mid-years, if not more, enroll in January. He likes the new format.
“Most of our guys are committed and it’ll give everybody a chance to move on. Depending on what happens with some of our juniors, they might have a spot or two to chance in January. For the most part, it is an opportunity to turn our attention to 2018.”
This was the first time the media had seen Swinney since Clemson walked off the field as ACC champions in Charlotte for the third consecutive year.
Swinney said that he thinks Clemson has been hitting its stride and it started with the game against the Citadel.
“We played so well that day. That was a game where I was looking for some maturity. This team has been very focused and very easy to coach. These guys have been locked in. I would definitely say that we are playing our best football right now. That’s the best ACC Championship game we’ve played and I have been in five of them. Against a good team, especially defensively.”
With the Sugar Bowl being the third consecutive meeting between Clemson and Alabama, Swinney has spent a ton of time around Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
“Playing Alabama was kind of fun the first time,” Swinney said. “But now it’s like, ‘Okay can we get rid of these guys?’ They won’t go away.
Swinney also told a story about him and Saban hanging out at the College Football Awards in Atlanta last week.
“I was messing with him. He was asking me if I was staying for the show after the press conference. I was like, ‘no, we didn’t have anybody good enough to win any of these awards this year. It was kind of a ‘rebuilding year’ for us. Maybe next year we’ll have somebody good enough to win one of them awards.’”
Swinney said that Alabama is probably tired of seeing Clemson as well. He commented that Alabama-Clemson has become a “healthy” and “unexpected” rivalry.
“Sometimes rivalries kind of pop up that you don’t expect. Somehow or another they happen in sports and I think that has happened here,” Swinney said. “There’s a really great respect from both sides. I know Alabama people have great respect for good football. They might not necessarily like you, but they recognize good football, and effort, toughness.
"It’s the same thing here at Clemson. We all know somebody is going to win and lose, but I think everybody knows what to expect in this game. You are going to get unbelievable effort and it’s usually a few plays… It’s a sight to see and you just know it’s coming. As a competitor, you love that.”
You can watch Swinney's full interview below: