TigerIllustrated.com - Swinney holds weekly teleconference

November 22, 2009

Cris Ard
TigerIllustrated.com Publisher

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Opening statement: "Winning the division championship, it's a good thing for these guys. They've worked awful hard and deserve it. The players of the game were Kavell Conner on defense. He was outstanding. The offensive player of the game was Jacoby Ford. Great, great night for him. Had a career night in all purpose yards. Our special teams player of the game was Tig Willard. He's a young man we think has a great future here. I was happy for him.

"Defensively, we did not play very well the first half, obviously, giving up three touchdowns. Guys were playing really hard. We just didn't do little things right, like contain and cover the people we were supposed to cover. It's all about finishing the game and they came back in the second half and were disruptive with seven sacks. Chris Chancellor probably had the best game in the secondary. The defensive tackles were solid. Kevin Alexander continues to be a dominant player for us. Andre Branch is another guy who keeps jumping out at me.

"Kyle Parker continues to get better. He's now the winningest freshman quarterback in the country. That's a great accomplishment by him. I thought our running backs ran extremely hard. The wideouts and tight ends caught the ball well. The o-line had another good game. We only rushed for 56 yards on Virginia last year and had 130 something this week. They're a tough, tough team to prepare for.

"Michael Palmer is a guy who keeps jumping out. He's got 30 catches now and needs ten more for an all-time Clemson single-season record. I was happy for C.J. as well. And I can't say enough about coach Powell. He had his hands full. They had done it all in looking at UVA. I thought coach Powell had a great plan put together and executed.

"I thought our kickers kicked well. Richard hit the ball extremely well. They were dead even all week long. They were dead even in pre-game, so we went with experience. Dawson punted well. Mike Wade and Matt Skinner were very solid. Special teams were really good for us.

"We have to move on quickly. We've been at it all day. We have to turn the page to get ready for South Carolina, a good South Carolina team. We have to burn the oil a lot over the next two days getting caught up. We're excited about going to Columbia to play them."

Question: Yesterday was something none of these players experienced before. Any worries that they won't be able to turn the page as quickly as you've done each week?

Dabo: "I think that's one of the best things our staff has done. We go on to the next game. We go to the next play. It's no different this week. They knew they won the division before yesterday but still played with great effort. If we line up and play, we have a standard of excellence that we're committed to. As long as we stay committed to that, we'll be OK. We'll prepare the same, exact way. Thanksgiving Day will be different for us, but we'll dial our kids back in. This is an important game. It's not an ACC game, but it's important to this state and this program. We're looking forward to it."

Question: How's Da'Quan?

Dabo: "He's doing good. He was able top play about 13-14 snaps. He moved around good. That's about what we were hoping to do with him to just kind of try to test the water. His confidence should be high tomorrow. I think he'll be ready to go in a full-blown role next weekend."

Question: How easier does it make it for players to focus this week, given that it's a rivalry game?

Dabo: "I guess it's easier but we really haven't had any issues with that, because of the way we've prepared. We beat Miami and then we came home to play Coastal before Florida State. I think that's a good sign of leadership on your team and the staff doing a good job. We have two more games left on our schedule, so that's the way it is. Right now our full attention is on South Carolnia. We'll worry about the championship game next week. Georgia Tech wants to beat Georgia, I guarantee you. We'll do everything we can to give our kids a chance to win."

Question: Are you concerned that maybe S. Carolina would put some wildcat in during their open date?

Dabo: "We always prepare for the unknowns and unexpected, but we'll put the best plan in on both sides of the ball. Last year they had a week off before we played them. They've had a little extra time, so they'll have a few things, but we'll have to adjust during the game. We'll have to get our plans in place and go play."

Question: What's the last 12 hours been like?

Dabo: "It's been really good. There's a lot of joy in Clemson in knowing that the Atlantic Division title, the trophy is sitting here in Clemson. That's something that we haven't been able to do here. To finally get that done is a good feeling. Yeah, all the Clemson people quickly turn the next page when you know you have South Carolina coming. We had a lot of family in town for my birthday. Last night we stayed up late just having a good time spending time with them. We were able to eat together this morning before I had to get in here for work. Once you turn the film on and start grading, you quickly turn the page and start coaching again."

Question: Would you prefer playing this game earlier in the schedule?

Dabo: "No, I like it right where it's at. I like the rivalry game being the last week. That's the way it's been my entire life. When I was at Alabama for 13 years, we always payed Auburn the last week."

Question: Other than the bragging rights, what are some of the other advantages of winning this one?

Dabo: "It's important to both fan bases. It's a state rivalry. It's a little bit different here in that it's ACC versus SEC. That's what it's for. It's for bragging rights. That's really about it. It's not going to win us a championship or knock us out of a championship. It's for good ol fashion bragging rights."

Question: It's not significant for recruiting?

Dabo: "I guess it could be. They're going to get who they're going to get. We're going to get who we're going to get. I don't know that one game will make that big a deal. We won't really worry about it like that. We just want to win the game because it's important."

Question: Any other injuries?

Dabo: "No. We're actually pretty healthy. Danny Poole was in here a little while ago. Thomas Austin played outstanding, played the whole game, maybe one of his best games. He looked good. C.J. looks good. Nothing serious at all."

Question: Yesterday's game was pretty significant financially for yourself. You were able to reach a goal. It does some great things for your family down the road. That's got to be pretty special.

Dabo: "I've never really focused on those types of things. That's not how I'm wired. Sure, it's a great thing and you have contracts and you have to do things to put yourself in a position to take care of your family and to be rewarded for success. That's all part of the business, but it's never been the motivating factor for me. I think the best thing to do is to do what you feel is right for you. If you work hard and try to do the right thing, things work out. But it is a good opportunity for me and my family for sure."

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