Swinney on Florida State, Klubnik, Uiagalelei, Bobby Bowden
CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney again addressed members of the media Tuesday at his weekly news conference, this time to discuss his team's upcoming matchup with Florida State.
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The Tigers, a 16-point favorite over the Seminoles, will square off against FSU in Tallahassee on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Tuesday's presser.
OPENING STATEMENTS: "Good morning again everybody. We're excited to have another opportunity this week as we move into October.
"I do want to give our thoughts and prayers to the people who are still battling this storm out there. It's awesome to see so many people rallying together to help ... volunteers, citizens and power personnel who are working so hard to restore things. It's easy to lose sight of those things. We want all those people to know we're praying for them.
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"We had a good month at home. Good teams win at home but great teams win on the road. You have to execute when they're not all cheering for you. Florida State is a really tough place to play. Their fans do a great job and this is a game with a lot of history. None of the records matter. There are good players on both sides. Florida State has a bunch of players who will play on Sunday.
"We have a lot of guys who are just getting better and better every rep, through good and bad plays. So we're excited about this opportunity. I know they've got questions about quarterback in terms of who will play but regardless they do a lot of things that will challenge you. There are a million ways that they screen you. They're very aggressive that way. Good players across the board. We have to be ready regardless of who plays at quarterback.
"Defensively ... all those guys up front are going to play on Sunday. They're a great looking football team when you look at the personnel that they have on tape.
"For us, we want to continue to improve and develop our team on the road. We have to overcome adversity on the road."
Q: What do you see from Brock Glenn so far on tape?
SWINNEY: "Not much. He played the last part of the SMU game and you got a chance to see him against Louisville in the ACC Championship game. They had some wildcat as well in that ACC Championship game. I would expect some of that as well if they're down a guy at quarterback. He's a good player, but we don't have a lot of tape on him."
Q: Is there a part of you that's pleased to not have to play D.J. Uiagalelei given the potential distractions?
SWINNEY: "None of that stuff matters. It's not Clemson versus DJ. It's Clemson versus Florida State. I don't get caught up on the narratives. It's whomever they put out there, we try to attack it."
Q: You haven't had a loss against a team with a losing record since 2010. What does that say to your team's ability to not play down to the level of opponents?
SWINNEY: "Bring that one back up after the game. It's not just that. We're a consistent program and have been for a long time. We're not perfect. Year in and year out we are very consistent. In totality, you don't have stats like that if you don't have a great program and great consistency in what you do. We just try to show up every week and do the best we can regardless of what time we play, who we play and when we play."
Q: How astonished are you with regard to where Florida State is right now, their record, given what they had coming back?
SWINNEY: "Football is hard. It's a hard game. A few plays here or there can affect the confidence of a team. A couple of plays go your way or against you, next thing you know it's different. Kids today are growing up with a lot of noise and pressure ... more than any other time in history with straight up negativity and criticism. And that's hard. That can affect a team. Then you have injuries and other things. Look at a couple of those games, though, and they're right there. If you do this long enough, you'll have a year along the way where crazy things can happen. You just have to keep going.
"Everyone is surprised with where their record is. You also have to give the other teams credit. Georgia Tech is a really good team. Boston College is a good team. Look at their quarterback. Man, he's a great player. That was a tough, physical, football game. Memphis? They're a really good team. Any time you play good teams especially if you're not playing with the type of confidence you need, it can go the other way. Cal is good. SMU is good. They've played good teams.
"Let's not just attack Florida State. We lose a game around here and it's like we're just awful. Let's give other teams credit. This is a really, really, talented team. Just watch the NFL every Sunday. A couple of plays here and there and you're 0-4."
Q: The success Cade has had the last three games, he has delivered some when facing pressure. How much of that is the offensive line? How much of it is Cade?
SWINNEY: "It's a part of it but the majority of the credit belongs to him and his growth from last year. He's a really talented football player. Sometimes you have to be patient with some guys. Not every guy will show up and no assembly required. He put a ton of work in during the off-season and in every area.
"Collectively it all matters. We're so much more experienced and better up front than at any point last year. We have more depth. We're better outside. We're also healthier. We've added a couple of guys - Wesco and T.J. have given us a lift. Briningstool is more experienced and Mafah is an established guy. But Cade, to this point, has taken a good, solid step. And there is still more for him. When we grade him, we grade him tough.
"The game has just slowed down for Cade and that has led to him making some great decisions. Some of the things you're seeing this year, we were expecting those things last year. Garrett has done an awesome job with him. And our offensive line has given up one sack in four games. I love Cade's mindset. He can't wait to get in here everyday."
Q: Has it been hard for you to stay as patient with him as you needed to be? And how rewarding has it been to see him have the success he's enjoying?
SWINNEY: "That's our job as coaches. You can hurt kids if you put them out there before they're ready. He wasn't ready as a freshman. D.J. gave us the best chance to win then. He really did. We don't go to the ACC Championship game without D.J. that year. Obviously Cade kept coming and had a chance in the Notre Dame game. D.J. had two bad games here - Pitt and Notre Dame. D.J. kind of settled back in. You're trying to win every week. You're not trying to win narrative awards.
"The change happened in the ACC Championship game and we went from there. Last year we had a tough start and he was a first-year starter. Prior to last year, he had never really had any football adversity. You just keep going and keep teaching. Guys develop. We have this world now where if you don't have this great year out of the gate, you stink. It's a terrible mentality that's woven into our world now. If we made a change because every player wasn't a good player as a freshman, we'd have missed out on a lot of great players here."
Q: How do you evaluate the pass-rush so far this year with your front four?
SWINNEY: "At times really good. We had four sacks last week. We've had situations where we didn't create pressure. Back to back games we've had three turnovers and then the three stops on downs. We've mixed our coverages up, but still an area where we can be better. Sometimes it doesn't show up in the stats but it shows up in other places ... PBU's, turnovers and a lot of that is because of pressure. Still a long way to go and more to do."
Q: Is Wes pressuring about normal for him?
SWINNEY: "You have to look at how some of our games have gone. We've had two games where our starters have played just a half. We played our starters three quarters in this last game."
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Q: Will Peter go this week?
SWINNEY: "He's right there. We're hopeful. Today is a big day. We'll put the pads on today."
Q: As for the depth behind him, what's impressed you?
SWINNEY: "Denhoff has been really solid. I didn't think he played as well last week. He kind of lost the ball on some of that stuff they were doing. He has been steady for us. Jaheim is another guy that nobody was going to talk about. He got in that crock pot his freshman year and got better. Now he's 250 as opposed to 210. Now he can be a complete player. Last year he was just a situational player. He has always had a high motor. He's got strong hands and plays fast. He has good instincts. He has physically put himself in a position to play and he's taking a step for us.
"It stinks we haven't had Peter Woods out there but it has allowed us to accelerate the growth in Jaheim and Denhoff. Jaheim took a step forward last week. He's a young player, too."
Q: You said Sunday night that T.J. Moore reverted to some habits he had in high school. What were they?
SWINNEY: "Just very basic release technique and he can get away with some of that stuff because he's so talented but he has to apply some of the techniques we are equipping him with. And he gets that. The game is fast. We have to get to a point where we're not worried about the play but instead how to execute on the play. We're in the process of creating a monster. He's going to be a monster. We just need him to be more technically, fundamentally, savvy. He's going to be a real problem."
Q: Is he in that mix now? That top tier?
SWINNEY: "Absolutely. We've got some good depth. All of those guys could run out there first. I'd sleep good with any of them running out there first. I hope we get Stellato out there soon as well. Tyler is coming. He was a little sore on Sunday. You know at some point Tyler Brown is going to go off. We haven't had him much this year. At some point you'll go, 'Oh yeah, I forgot about him.' It's a long season."
Q: How is Antonio Williams?
SWINNEY: "Good. He's good. He's back practicing. He's back."
Q: What has to go right to generate an explosive play?
SWINNEY: "Protection. You have to have the right decision making and then an ability to finish the plays. It all comes down to execution. That's just the passing game. Straining on the back end ... the second and third level, that's what you need in the running game. And then obviously you need to win at the point of attack. And obviously you have to have explosive players."
Q: What has the film shown you on FSU's run defense?
SWINNEY: "Guys who have been in position and maybe haven't made the play or maybe they've had some guys who haven't had their eyes on the right things. Teams have just been able to win up front ... some of the things that have created some big plays against us. But again, you look at the tape and you see their talent. Stanford played hard and has good players but they didn't look like Florida State. That No. 5 and that No. 6 at FSU, No. 11 and No. 7, those guys are elite, talented guys. I'm not trying to evaluate FSU. I'll let Coach Norvell worry about that. I just know they're going to be hard to block."
Q: You have a chance now to break Bobby Bowden's record on a field named after him. How does that make you feel?
SWINNEY: "If he could come back now, he'd probably smile. We're both from Birmingham. If God blesses us and that happens, I think he would be fine. In fact he kind of claims me as one of his own. I've got one of those letters from him where he claimed me as one of his own. I've got voicemails from him long after he retired. I've got a couple of his letters framed. He took the time to encourage me. I may get the record but Bobby Bowden is still the best."
Q: What have you seen from R.J. Mickens?
SWINNEY: "Played his best game Saturday. He and Barrett Carter were our MVPs of the game. He's a very good player. He's very instinctive. He could be a captain for us this week."
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Q: There has been some criticism nationally of Clemson's decision to play the game vs. Stanford. Have you seen any of that?
SWINNEY: "Call President Clements. I trust our leadership here. At the end of the day you can't please everybody. If he decided otherwise, you'd probably be asking the same question. You'll get criticized for whatever you do. We have great leadership in President Clements and Graham Neff. That's it. Call them."
Q: Have you heard anything from FSU about any logistical issues due to the storm?
SWINNEY: "No issues that I know of. I think everything is a go."
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