CLEMSON | Tuesday morning Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney met with members of the media as part of his weekly in-season news conference, this time to discuss his team's open date week as well as look ahead to Friday night's opponent - Syracuse.

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The Tigers (3-2, 1-1) will face the Orange (3-3, 0-2) in the Carrier Dome at 7:00 p.m. ET. The matchup will be televised by ESPN. Clemson is a 14-point favorite.

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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Swinney's Tuesday presser.

Q: How do you feel like you got better during the open date?

SWINNEY: "We're dang sure better than we were this time a week ago. We got better because we're healthier. We had more time to work on Clemson. From a staff standpoint, we had time to work hard on our crossover study. That's always a valuable tool of information for us. We just got some guys healthy and in a better place."

Q: What's the status of Darnell Jefferies? Also Demonte Capehart?

SWINNEY: "Capehart is back. It's his first week in practice. He had the knee surgery and was limited. He was on ice for a little while. Going to be a great player and does some natural things. Hopefully he can be a guy who will have some more opportunities in the second half. Darnell just hasn't had an opportunity yet. He knows what to do. It's just a coach's decision there.

"I'm pleased with what Ruke has done, too. Tre' has battled hard all year and has gotten better. Payton has made improvement. He's a big, huge body in there. Etinosa has come on. He is disruptive and has grown. A silver lining for Tyler and Bryan being out is that we are developing depth. It's exciting. We are going to have a lot of talented, functional, guys. That group has played well and has stepped up."

Q: Any important revelations that came from the crossover work you did during the open date?

SWINNEY: "No real revelations. It's always a good helpful tool. It's something you want to use to your advantage."

Q: Is this a game where you might see some opportunities to take some shots down the field?

SWINNEY: "I think we will have to run the ball first. Nobody wants to be run on. if we can run, we will have opportunities in the pass game. Hopefully that is kind of the next step. You have to win the line of scrimmage and run when people are giving you opportunities to run the ball. We have some dudes outside and a big-armed quarterback but opposing coordinators said hey let's see you run the ball and we didn't. Not a lot of opportunities downfield throwing the ball when there are eight people deep.

"Wake Forest was able to run the ball and did a lot of play-action, a lot of RPO stuff and they made some plays. Same thing with Syracuse. They were able to run the ball and that creates explosive opportunities. You have to commit. You can't just sit there and play coverage when you have a quarterback who can run like the guy Syracuse has. You have to stop the run, otherwise you're not winning."

Q: Do you feel like you're getting there? Do you feel like you're ready to explode offensively?

SWINNEY: "We have missed big opportunities. The best we've been was this past game. It was all there. We made some really good plays. We also moved the ball off the goal line several times. We settled for some field goals but made a lot of plays. We missed some, too. We had three or four big drops, three or four missed throws, plays we needed to make. We need to come out of games where we don't have seven or eight plays that we aren't making, plays that are there. We just have to put it all together. We were close this last game."

Q: What's the status of Justyn Ross, Frank Ladson and E.J. Williams?

SWINNEY: "Justyn is great. He's fine. He's doing great. The week off was good for him, for sure. Frank is still battling and E.J. is battling. E.J. hasn't been healthy in awhile. Frank has been a day-to-day guy battling a groin. Hopefully he will be in a better spot by Friday night. I'm pleased with Ajou Ajou and Beaux and Dacari. Grisham has done a good job of cross-training and creating some depth there."

Q: Any chance Shipley goes soon?

SWINNEY: "Not this week, no. He's amazing. He and Tyler Davis, they're amazing. They just respond differently. They're both grinders. They attack everything. Their focus is on rehab now. We thought Shipley might be done (for the year) initially but he'll be back sooner than later. Same with Tyler Davis. Will is off crutches and making great progress."

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Q: Syracuse isn't going as fast offensively as they used to, but they do eat up a lot of clock.

SWINNEY: "Ain't no doubt about that, man. We have to be efficient holding them. We have to be effective against the run. We lost up there in 2017. We were terrible defensively that night. We could not get off the field. We gave up 99 plays and ended up getting beat. Third down is critical. We have to get off the field. We have to win the line of scrimmage and we have to tackle. There will be some one-on-one tackles in a game like this. Their quarterback breaks tackles and gets away from people. Tackling will be at a premium Friday. We will have to be really disruptive up front."

Q: Any update on Mario Goodrich and Fred Davis?

SWINNEY: "Mario is good. Fred is not quite ready but he's close. He's much better. The week off was good for him. He had a pretty good ankle sprain. I don't think he'll be ready this week."

Q: How important is this two-game stretch coming up for you away from home?

SWINNEY: "If we were 5-0, this would be the biggest game of the year. Nothing has changed. Your record shouldn't have anything to do with how you should play. We have to win the game. If we were 5-0, we'd have to win the game. In order for us to have the best season we could possibly have, we need to win this one. I've been 8-0 and we didn't finish. Everybody forgot about the 8-0. This team? It'll be judged by how we finish. That's just college football. We've had two heartbreakers but we still need to win the game."

Q: You said Matt Bockhorst had his best game against Boston College. What does he mean to your team at this point in his career?

SWINNEY: "He is a heart-and-soul guy, a program guy, the epitome of what you want your program to be about. We have so many guys who fit that category on that team. He's getting his Masters degree. He has taken full advantage of his opportunities. He has given every ounce of everything he has in his body from his toe nails to his scalp. He has given everything to this program. He has taken what he has and has committed to being his best.

"He's a special kid. We might all work for Bockhorst one day. He's a great representative of everything that's good about college football. He has played hurt, he has fought, he has been a leader, he's been incredible academically. That's what coaching is all about. To see him where he is now is really cool. He has a bright future."

Q: D.J. Uiagalelei was asked yesterday about going back into the stadium after midnight. He said he knew each throw he missed against Boston College. Is that sort of what you've seen in practice ... that level of detail and commitment?

SWINNEY: "We see it everyday. That's why I know he is going to be awesome. He cares. He is committed. It's just a matter of time. It's not some theory. He's a special player. He's had a rough start but this will be great for him in the long run. This will be great for him in the future. A lot of people will eat their words over this guy's career. He is a big-time player and talent. Everyone can get in bad spots and miss some shots. The best of the best don't putt very well. It happens. You go back to the basics. He's got to be better but everyone has to be better around him. There's no one more committed and dedicated than that guy. He works his tail off. It's very important to him. Everything he is going through will serve him well."

Q: What did Sage Ennis show you in his 39 snaps last week?

SWINNEY: "Toughness, physicality. He's really a true freshman. He had Covid, he had surgery and the finger deal. I'm proud of him. He has been ready. He went in and did a heck of a job, he made his first catch and he's just a tough, tough kid. He's another one who has battled through some things. He showed what he is capable of doing. He has a good foundation. Hopefully he can take the next step for us."

Q: How has Will Putnam looked in practice this week?

SWINNEY: "A lot better. He has been able to get back into practice. I am hopeful and confident he will be ready to go."

Q: Anything mechanically you have picked up on with D.J. that he wasn't doing last year?

SWINNEY: "Just a few fundamental things in some of the misses that you can point out and coach up. That's why it's back to the basics there and at every position. It's not big things. It's little things. It's not just D.J. Same thing at linebacker, receiver, offensive line. Usually when you're not quite there, your effort may be good but you need effort with technique to have the right execution. It's not anything major at all. It's really not."

Q: Given the youth you talked about on offense, do you look back and think you could have been more aggressive with the transfer portal in the off-season? Would you have done anything differently?

SWINNEY: "The weekly transfer portal question. Who's got the short stick this week? Who's asking this question next week? I wouldn't do anything differently. To do something differently, it means we wouldn't have taken one of the players we took. I love the players we took. Injuries are part of the game. You can only sign so many players. We all get 85. If we were going to sign two running backs, we signed two. Should I have gone to the portal to take a veteran over Shipley or Mafah because Shipley got hurt? I'm not. I wouldn't do that.

"I am not opposed to the transfer portal. I'm not. If I were at another school, that might be all I sign, especially where I couldn't recruit some of the best kids. I'm at Clemson and we can sign those kids, great kids that we believe in. We're not even a year into this thing. I've said 100 times already ... if we need to use the portal, we'll use it. But I'm not going to do something different just to do something. I don't know why everyone keeps asking me about it. It's always been around. It's just been for grad guys (in the past). We'd rather take the high school kid. I think it's worked pretty good. I think we've done alright. We're not 3-2 because we haven't signed someone from the transfer portal. I mean give me a break.

"We lost to Joe Burrow who was a transfer. So should I have taken Joe Burrow instead of Trevor Lawrence? Now, we have freshmen, sophomores and juniors who can leave. So that's a game-changer for every coach out there. I don't see scenario for any school that they're not going to have to deal with the portal somewhere along the way, Clemson or wherever. When kids leave in May and all of a sudden you have gaps in your roster, there are no high school kids to recruit in May.

"As I have said 100 times, if we need it, we'll use it for our benefit. We'll get the best of the best and kids that fit our program. We have not needed it at this point. If we do a terrible job of evaluation, things could change. Anybody got anymore questions about the portal? I can't help guys getting hurt."

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