Swinney on injuries, players turning pro, graduating, Gamecocks

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CLEMSON | Sunday evening Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media in his weekly teleconference, this time to further discuss his team's blowout win over Wake Forest, injuries and look ahead to a full week of preparation ahead of Saturday night's rivalry matchup with South Carolina.

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The Tigers (8-3, 6-2) opened Sunday as a 14-point favorite over the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5). At the time of Swinney's Sunday evening teleconference, the line was holding at 11-11.5.

The two teams will meet in Columbia on Saturday in a game set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, televised by the SEC Network.

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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Swinney's teleconference.

OPENING STATEMENTS: "I'm proud of our team and how it performed yesterday. I appreciate our crowd. They let their presence be known early. They definitely affected Wake Forest.

"Defensively we set the tone. That's not a team that punts often. We came out of the gate with a sack. We had eight sacks, our most on the season. We had seven three-and-outs. We had a lot of guys show up and make contributions. We had some critical moments and red zone stops. Our D-line won the line of scrimmage. We played the ball well for the most part. We got a little sloppy there at the end as far as leveraging and spacing.

"Offensively, certainly it was our best game of the year. We averaged 6.2 yards per rush and 7.3 yards per play. We had big plays in both the pass and run game. We were 8-of-12 on third down. We were even in turnover margin but got 14 points off turnovers and they got none. I'm just proud of how we finished the game in the fourth quarter. It was a physical, clean, well-executed game across the board.

"All in all I was pleased with the overall performance and how these seniors finished their careers. The punt return was a tough break for us. That was very well blocked. I hate that it didn't get to stand. It was the right call, though. For sure. Will Spiers only punted once and another great day by B.T. Potter.

"We're building some momentum ... four in a row and we have won six out of seven. We are excited about this week. We are getting ready for a good South Carolina team.

"Injury-wise, Tre' WIlliams is done for the season. He has to have shoulder surgery, foot surgery and he wanted to play as long as he could. But he's definitely done now. I am really proud of him. Both shoulders have been strapped in all year long. We'll have to finish out with him. We'll get him well. What a great player he is going to be. He got in 11 games of experience this year. We'll see where some of these other guys are tomorrow."

Q: Do you have a sense on whether some of your older guys have made a decision on coming back?

SWINNEY: "Jaleyn Lay will graduate in May, so he wants to finish up. He will try and get a masters somewhere else. The same with Darnell Jefferies. He is graduating in December. K.J. Henry, I don't think he has made a decision yet. He is not sure. Tayquon Johnson declared himself as a senior back in the summer. He has a job lined up already. He's graduating in May and he's going into law enforcement. I think he's going to stay in the state of South Carolina. He's super excited about it. Jake Venables is graduating in December. He has torn his hamstring eight times. He's just trying to get to the finish line. This week is the first time he has been healthy. He missed all of camp and has been hurt all year. He's just at a point where he is ready to move on to the next stage of his career. His body is just not holding up for him."

Q: You controlled time of possession yesterday, which hasn't happened often. Talk about the impact it has on your defense when you are able to do that.

SWINNEY: "It's great. The biggest part of that was the fourth quarter. I've never been too concerned about time of possession as long as you're scoring. If you're not scoring and having a bunch of three-and-outs, that's a bad recipe. We had some explosive plays. The 10-minute drive late, holding the ball and putting the game away was a great job by our offense."

Q: Do you know if E.J. Williams or Joe Ngata will be able to go on Saturday? Any idea tonight?

SWINNEY: "I do not. Not tonight."

Q: You're going against a new coach in Columbia and a team that looks quite different than the last time you faced them. Any early thoughts on them?

SWINNEY: "You start over on Sunday and get ready for the next opponent. It is our last game, the regular season and it is your rival game. It's always fun to prepare for this one for sure. Definitely, there is a lot of different personnel since we last saw them. They had a huge win last night. Shane has done an awesome job in building that team and they have overcome some adversity."

Q: How impressive is it that Trenton Simpson is able to be an inside-the-box guy but also work on the back end for you as well?

SWINNEY: "He can do anything. He really can. One year I was at Alabama with a guy named Derrick Thomas. You hate to compare people but Trenton reminds me of Derrick. Just the versatility ... all the things he can do, rushing the passer, his speed, range, his physicality. You name it. He is a really good player who will just continue to get better. He is a weapon. He can do a little bit of everything. He's very similar to Isaiah Simmons in that regard. He is a little bit ahead of Isaiah as a sophomore in terms of where he is in our scheme."

Q: With Dan Mullen being fired today at Florida, do you think that the emphasis on making the playoffs for these higher profile programs has kind of set up coaches in that 9/10 win seasons are no longer going to be good enough for administrators and fans?

SWINNEY: "I don't think there's any question about that. It'll just get worse as the playoffs expand. Everything is about the playoffs now. It becomes all about that. There are 130 teams and only one team that can win it all. A lot of teams can have great seasons and a lot to be proud of."

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Q: D.J. had a splint on his finger yesterday. How is he working through that?

SWINNEY: "He's got a little tape on it. He had to practice with it all week. It's a tendon thing in there that he has to tape up. He did fine all week. He's battling. Nobody truly healthy this time of year. He led us well yesterday, kept us honest in the run game, made some big plays for us and did well."

Q: What can you say about your play in the secondary yesterday - 10 pass-breakups and and it seemed like the refs let both teams play?

SWINNEY: "I thought we made some really good plays on the ball. We had the interception and should have had two more. We got our hands on some balls. So that was good. I still think we got a little sloppy down the stretch with our eyes, some fundamental stuff in our zone coverage. But I love how they competed. They set the tone early. Definitely some things we need to clean up. We didn't get exposed for it but you best believe coaches will see it on tape."

Q: How close is D.J. to being fully healthy?

SWINNEY: "He won't be fully healthy the rest of the year. He's better this week than he was last week. Hopefully that'll continue but it'll take a while before we can say he's 100-percent."

Q: You have a bunch of guys who have never played in Columbia. How do you address the rivalry with them?

SWINNEY: "Turn on the tape. Y'all will help us out in that for sure. This will be a talked-about game. They will get that vibe from everywhere. Everyone talks about it throughout the state. Turn on the tape and see that they have done well and have good players. They run it well, they have some good skill guys outside, a big offensive line, a good defensive line, so our players will see that. We have to go back to work. We have to have good meetings, good practices and get ready.

"This game is a stand-alone goal on our goal board. Everyone knows that this is a very important game to a lot of people. You're playing for a trophy. We're excited about it. Always a special week for both teams."

Q: When you say K.J. Henry isn't yet ready to make a decision, are you talking about leaving for the NFL or transferring?

SWINNEY: "I think he's trying to see what his NFL evaluation is. He's got his degree. He's got a chance to play at the next level. He wants to see what he is projected as."

Q: Is Mario Goodrich considering coming back for a fifth year?

SWINNEY: "I think his intention right now is to go pro. He's had a great year. He's another guy who has a decision to make. He's got an invite to the Senior Bowl. Some of these guys may not make a decision until later. Right now, that's where he is leaning. We'll see."

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