CLEMSON -- Tuesday morning Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney met with members of the media at his weekly news conference to take questions as well as provide additional commentary on his team's performance through the first two weeks of the season, this week's preparation and of course Saturday night's opponent - Louisiana Tech.
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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Swinney's Tuesday news conference.
OPENING STATEMENTS: "We need a great crowd. We don't need to take for granted how hard it is to win. It's hard to win. We have won a bunch of games at home and have beaten a lot of people but our environment is one of the main reasons. Let's show up and have an unbelievable environment. We'll get our guys on our end to show up as well.
"I had an opportunity to go to Doc Hoover's funeral yesterday. His son did a great job. Doc truly is a legend. I'm thankful that I had a chance to know him.
"Also, I hope everyone will keep the Bresee family in their prayers. They are in a tough place right now."
Q: Is it easier to get your guys' attention when Notre Dame and A&M get beat at home by lesser opponents?
SWINNEY: "Absolutely. They're young people. They're told how great they are. That's one of the things I hate about the recruiting process, the rankings and all that mess. You have to show up and compete. Yeah, it helps, to answer your question. As fans, you get reminded that you cannot take anybody for granted. Marshall was plus 3 in the turnover margin. App State was plus 3. Next thing you know ... a tight game and you lose. Talent only gets you so far. Talent is just part of the equation."
Q: Will Bresee play this week?
SWINNEY: "Not sure. He will play if he wants to play. He has a lot more things that are more important than football to focus on."
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Q: Xavier Thomas?
SWINNEY: "He's close. Probably a game-time decision. Same thing with Tyler Davis. If he's not 100-percent, I will probably hold him."
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Q: Your reaction to Sergio Allen entering the transfer portal?
SWINNEY: "I mean there isn't really much of a reaction. It's 2022. Great kid. Love him. Wish him well."
Q: What specifically are you looking for in practice this week ... defensively?
SWINNEY: "Just disappointed in our effort. We weren't relentless. The name of the game is points. We give up 11 points a game, we'll win the whole dang thing. We're doing a good job in a lot of areas, but I didn't like the juice they played with. You have to give Furman some credit, too. They played harder and tougher than we did. They executed better than we did. We have to get off the field on third down. Guys weren't read to play. Period. We have to show up. That's the No. 1 thing and that's on me to make sure that happens. I'm just disappointed in our effort. We didn't have a player of the game. I'm disappointed in how we competed. Do your job with relentless effort.
"Offensively, just finish. We're really close on offense. We're encouraged. We went nine of 11 drives and scored, but we didn't complement each other. Good teams can compensate but great teams play complementary football. We're not close to it yet but we're working on it. I don't know that there are many great teams out there right now. We have to put it all together. We've had 24 drives offensively this year and we have scored on 12 of them. If we don't lose to Clemson, we'll walk away with some points. It's basic things ... ball security, penalties, execution. We're attacking, we've got confidence at quarterback. DJ took another step. We have to get better in the passing game. The backs have played well. We've been efficient running it but we have to get better.
"You can't win at the highest level if you don't throw the ball. You just can't. I know what that looks like the higher you get up that mountain. I am pleased with the progress we have made. We are still developing at receiver. There are some plays that we need to finish on. We're doing some good things."
Q: How do you get some of those older guys at receiver to break through?
SWINNEY: "We don't really have a lot of older guys. We have one guy - Ngata. He didn't play in 2020 after playing as a freshman. It's not like he's Tee Higgins on his third year here. He's an older guy but doesn't have a lot of experience. He's made some nice plays. Spector ... how much football has he played? He red-shirted, then he was out the next year. Last year, he couldn't even walk up the steps. He's just learning. Beaux Collins is a true sophomore. He's a great player in the making. Dacari Collins shouldn't have played last year but he had to play. He ended up starting some games for us. He's a true sophomore. Antonio Williams is a true freshman. Adam Randall is a true freshman.
"We don't really have old, proven, established receivers at this point. Hopefully we will have that next year. We're really talented but really young and experienced. E.J., same thing. He had a good freshman year but he was limited last year ... was out and had surgery. He's talented but also battling himself right now. I love our group and you will all look up in four or five years and say holy cow, all of those guys were at Clemson."
Q: What have you seen from your secondary to this point?
SWINNEY: "I thought we did a good job in week one but I thought we were terrible Saturday. We did a poor job playing leverage, the point of attack on man coverage stuff, poor job on slants and screens. We have to be more disciplined doing our job. One game good, one game bad. We're not giving up big plays, so that's a positive. We've been great in the red zone and on fourth down. Two of 16 on third down Monday was outstanding but 10-of-18 on third down Saturday was poor. "Everyone we had got beat inside ... just lost leverage.
"A lot we can improve on. I don't know anyone out there that's perfect. Those NFL guys aren't perfect. We didn't show up defensively Saturday. They all stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn ... immaturity, lack of focus. They better be ready this week. These boys (from La. Tech) can spin it. That ball will be in the air."
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Q: Have you ever not done players of the game?
SWINNEY: "Oh yeah. We've had times, but not often. There was no player Saturday, defensively. That's for sure. DJ and Shipley were our offensive players of the game. No one on defense, though."
Q: You've seen Wes Goodwin work behind the scenes for years. Having a down game like Saturday, what gives you confidence that he can get this corrected and turned around?
SWINNEY: "Wes doesn't get too high or too low. Pitch a shutout, five sacks and three picks and he'll be the same on Monday. We gave up 12 points and we have created four turnovers in two games, so we have done some good things. Wes is a savvy, veteran guy. He has seen it all. He has been in every situation you can be in. I'm not worried about Wes."
Q: How much has Jordan McFadden's recruitment fit into what your program is about overall? What convinced you to offer him in high school?
SWINNEY: "We try to recruit people first. We do that with everyone. He was a talented player at Dorman. He was developing. He was like Brandon Thomas in that regard. Great player. We have four or five in the NFL right now and he'll be there soon. He's a really smart kid and has a super high character. Great mom. A student of the game. He snaps on the side. He'll be a guy who can play all five positions at the next level. He's long enough to play tackle. He has a bright future ahead of him. He'll play for awhile. Who he is just accentuates the talent.
Q: What does it say to you in this transfer era that you're going to see some early departures (early-season defections)?
SWINNEY: "We had 109 guys go through spring and they all stayed. It's just where we are in college football. They put the four game rule in to be positive, but now ... You'll see other guys leave either here or elsewhere. That's the nature of college football these days."
Q: After the game, Wes Goodwin said in viewing the film, players would know. How do they take criticism, especially on a day like Monday where you're going over a lot of mistakes from the previous game?
SWINNEY: "Good. We celebrate the win and enjoy it. It's hard to win. It's always better to correct when you're coming off a win. Mondays are Mental Monday. Everyone takes ownership of that and we keep going. We have a lot of experience on the defensive side. And let me say, we played a lot of people on defense. And we did it purposely. We got guys in there early. We're trying to grow our team and develop our team. They responded well. They know. Myles Murphy knows when he's loafing. If he doesn't, he finds out when he comes to the meeting on Monday. If you have any fricking pride, you respond. If you don't, you end up on the sideline. That's just the way it is. We ain't going to change the standard. It's not just Myles. It's the whole group. As long as you're honest and transparent, you won't have any problems."
Q: D.J. seems to have great recall as he breaks down games and defenses. He seems to remember a lot of plays from the past ... years ago.
SWINNEY: "He's a great preparer. Danny Poole called me DJ's freshman year one morning to tell me Trevor had Covid. I'm like, 'What?' Trevor had been off with his girlfriend and got Covid. I walk into the offensive staff room to tell the coaches that Trevor is out. I was about to call D.J. and one of the grad assistants told me he was in the quarterback room watching tape. I walk down and peek in there. He was in the tight end room actually. He had his headphones on watching tape by himself. I open the door and I ask him, 'Well, you ready?'
"That's just who he is. He's always been that way. He's different than Trevor and Deshaun, but their aptitude of the game and ability to take it to the field from the meeting room, that's great. Not everyone can do that. He's very intelligent. The game has slowed down for him as far as where he is mentally. Part of that is what he went through last year. He's making strides. Great leadership and absolutely knows when he makes a mistake. I appreciate that about him."
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