Swinney on QB Cade Klubnik: 'He’s just going to get better and better'
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Opening remarks: "This is a really dangerous football team coming in here. They’ve got some weapons. They’ve got some tools. This quarterback has been around. He’s not a guy that will be overwhelmed with the environment. He’s started at Texas. He’s started at Nebraska. Offensively they do a lot of good things. Coach Herman, I’ve known him for a long time. They’ve got some speed and some dudes that can really, really run and take the top off the defense. This is one of biggest offensive lines we will play all year.”
“Quarterback is a guy who can make throws. When he scrambles, he looks to throw, but he will pull it down and run it. This is a team that will challenge us schematically and athletically.”
“Defensively, they’ve got some very active guys up front. No. 50 and No. 8 are two really impressive inside players. No. 95 and No. 18 jump out at you. Just a good group across the board. They’ve shown a little bit of everything in the first two games as far as their style of play.”
On Klubnik’s play: “Been really good outside of about five plays, and those five plays have been bad. He’s been really really good. He’s got a great understanding. He’s just had a couple of plays you wish you could get back, but you don’t get them back. It’s just a good learning-- teaching opportunities for a young starter. He’s just going to get better and better.”
On the turnover margin: “That is a great equalizer against any opponent. That’s something that hopefully, we can get out of our system. We need to go on a run of winning the margin-- or at least being even. We don’t have to be perfect, but we’ve got to at least be even and I’ll take those odds.”
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On Tink Kelley: “He will be back this week. He and Cole (Turner). We will get both of those guys back. I hate Cole missed this past week. Then Tink is available if we need him-- a guy that we are really excited about. A guy that probably would have-- last year or the year before would have been right there in the mix. But we feel like we might be able to hold that kid if we can, but he’s there if we need him.”
On Vic Burley’s status: He’s back in practice this week. We will see how he does today and tomorrow. Today will be full pads-- tomorrow will be shells. He’s a guy that we hope is going to be able to help us. We will just have to evaluate him during the week. He was set to play. He was a green-light play guy until he got hurt. That’s still kind of the case right now. Let’s see where he’s at as he works his way back into playing.”
On FAU’s offense and quarterback Casey Thompson: “They are going to test us in two ways schematically they are going to test us because they do a lot of really good things. There is a ton of misdirection. A ton of play-action. A ton of pistol play-action, swap boots, RPO stuff, that creates conflict. I think really suits him. A million cross-mesh routes. A lot of mesh concepts and again screen game mixed in with it as well. His ability to throw the football on the move is a huge challenge.”
On Klubnik’s RPO play: “I don’t think he’s been indecisive with the RPO game, I think indecisive with more the pull, run, not the RPO game. There’s been a couple of things where, ‘let’s make a decision,’ what I meant on that turnover down there, that wasn’t an RPO, that was not being decisive in the run game. He’s got a great feel for that stuff. He’s really good. He’s just got to eliminate two or three bad plays-- or just make bad plays, we can live with bad plays; we’ve just got to get rid of the catastrophe.” I know we focus on the bad plays, but this kid has done some stuff in two ballgames that is incredibly encouraging.”
If Peter Woods is the strongest freshman they’ve had: “A stronger freshman? I don’t think so. We’ve had some kids that have shown up really strong, but I don’t think we’ve ever had one stronger than Peter Woods. He’s unique. Came from a great program in Alabama, 7A, well coached. Football at Thompson High-- it’s important down there. They take it serious. They work hard at it year round and that’s what he’s been exposed to since the 8th grade.”
