Swinney likes energy, intensity in scrimmage

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CLEMSON, S.C. -- As is the case with most spring scrimmages, Saturday's saw the Clemson defense hold the upper hand over an offense that was without its starting quarterback.

But head coach Dabo Swinney said afterward he was still pleased with "several things that were accomplished" in the two-hour closed session in Death Valley.

"We took (Chris) Hairston out fairly early and worked David Smith in (at left tackle) a couple of places, just trying to continue to develop our depth there (second-team OL)," he said. "I thought Tajh (Boyd) got better as the day went. And I was pleased to see Xavier Dye step up and make a couple of big plays."

Swinney said what disappointed him the most about the offense was its continuing propensity to shoot itself in the foot with costly mistakes.

"We killed some drives, fumbling the ball. We've got to eliminate some things that cause you to lose," he said. "We're trying to get better. You'll have a pass interference call from time to time or some aggressive penalty, but we need to take care of the ball."

There were few off-sides calls in the scrimmage, which Swinney pointed out as a sign of more discipline.

Defensively, the coach says that side of the ball showed more toughness and executed better than the offense for much of the scrimmage.

"It was our attack group and our swarm group," he said. "They created some fumbles and the energy was good.

"A lot of guys caught my eye over there - Rennie Moore Jr., Quandon (Christian), Andre (Branch), DeAndre (McDaniel), Marcus (Gilchrist) and I also see (Jonathan) Meeks and Carlton Lewis improving."

Swinney says he likes the competition that's brewing across the board on defense.

"We're starting to see that depth on that side of the ball where we want it to be."

Boyd, who was running the show obviously in the absence of Parker, completed seven of 15 passes for 52 yards.

Swinney said for a first time in that particular environment, the red-shirt freshman did well, ultimately "settling in" to a rhythm at the tail end of the workout.

"I'm not worried about Tajh. We have a lot to do. A lot to teach. A lot to coach. But you have to start somewhere," said Swinney. "He's at a good place. He's just going to get better and better. I'm glad we've got him for four more years."

-- Swinney again dished out kudos to sophomore tight end Dwayne Allen, calling the former highly regarded recruit a "real weapon" in his offense.

"He's a big ole target out there. He works hard to get the ball. I've been real pleased with him. You can pretty much count on No. 83 getting plenty of touches as the season goes on. He is going to be a factor. I think we proved last year that we want the tight ends in our pass game. That's not going to change."

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