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Swinney previews Virginia Tech, blasts media

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CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Tuesday at his weekly news conference, this time to preview his team's upcoming opponent in this weekend's ACC Championship game.

The following is an edited transcript of Swinney's Tuesday presser:

Opening statements: “Happy I'm not on the road recruiting today. That means we're in the championship game. I'm really proud of our team and our staff for a great season. 11-1 following up a 12-0 season last year. I can't tell you how hard that is to do. Our team and staff continues to get themselves ready to play. Yesterday we had 18 guys honored on the All-ACC teams. Really happy for those guys, especially guys like Jadar Johnson, someone who's gotten better and better. Now he's made first-team all-conference.

“And then Coach Venables named as a Broyles finalist. He's on that list every single year. He's definitely deserving to win it every single year. I'm so proud of him and all those guys.

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“It's a privilege to compete for the ACC championship. If we can compete in our league and be in the hunt, we're going to have a chance to be a nationally relevant team. That's what has happened over the last eight years here. It's our fourth chance to play for the title. We have an outstanding challenge in front of us.

“Virginia Tech is very impressive. It's going to be weird not having Frank Beamer there. We haven't played them since Coach Beamer retired. A very, very physical, prideful team. They play with great effort. They play to the last echo of the whistle … every snap. They compete. I've been impressed with what I've seen. It all goes through No. 4, their quarterback. He's a big, strong, physical guy. They're a spread, power team with great tempo. They want to play really fast. They have a great system and understand what they're doing. They have excellent skill around their quarterback; a good running back, a good tight end, a 6-7 dude out there. They've thrown it up to him and he's made plays on everybody. It's a good team, a good offensive line. They're physical, built to run the ball well.

“Defensively, Bud Foster has been there forever. He's been there 22 years as their coordinator. He's forgotten more ball than I'll ever know. He's a great coach. I have a ton of respect for him and the job he does. To stay somewhere that long and to have that kind of success … those guys just take on his personality. They truly understand the nuances of his defense. They present so much from a coverage standpoint. They'll bring pressure. He's not afraid to get up there and challenge you and play cover-zero. A lot of movement. Very seldom do they just line up and play. Someone is always slanting, moving and looping. They understand what they're doing. They're big inside, their backers are big and impressive.

“This is the way a championship game ought to be. We're glad to have that opportunity.”

Q: You said you talked to your guys following last Saturday's game after some comments were allegedly made. Has anything come from that?

Swinney: “About what?”

Q: There was talk, accusations of racial slurs toward South Carolina's players. Dan Radakovich and Ray Tanner apparently spoke to one another as well.

Swinney: “No. It is what it is. It's a shame that there was such a diversion to take away from what happened on the field. I give young people some grace. They'll say some things from time to time. My problem is the media people. I don't give them much grace. They don't give me none either. I'm not necessarily talking about the people in this room. I'm talking about ... there's just no credibility anymore. It's like you don't confirm anything anymore. It's headlines. Shoot first, ask questions later. That's the mentality that we have now in the media. It's a shame. Because you're attacking people's character. But there will be no retraction or apology if you have the power of the pen. Back in the day, you had relationships and people would ask you. It's like now the guy is in the bathroom and in the third stall, he says something, something is overheard and it's headlines. There is zero accountability.

“Instead of the headline being 23-1 in the last two years, instead of the headline being the seniors winning their 46th game and instead of the headline being the largest margin of victory ever against an SEC team and one of the most dominant performances ever, the headline is what someone said? Give me a break. Again, I'll give grace to young people. But for the adults who will take anything and go and write and spin it and headline it the way they want it to get people to click on it? Man, that's sad. Those people should be fired. They should be fired. People with a microphone can say what they want to say.”

Q: You knew what VT was under Beamer. What are they now under Justin Fuente?

Swinney: “Biggest change is offensively. They're different there. They were trending that way anyway. Justin has come in and has solidified them offensively. They know exactly who they are and what they have to do to be successful. That's what good teams and good coaches do. This is year one. Watch them from the Tennessee game to the Virginia game. From my eyes, it's a real growth with their system and the understanding of what they're doing. They're confident in what they're doing, as well.”

Q: How much does it help in having three common opponents in helping identify tendencies?

Swinney: “You study everybody. People can look too much into that stuff. Okay, we lost to Pitt and they beat Pitt. We beat Syracuse but they lost to Syracuse. They lost to Georgia Tech and we beat Georgia Tech. It's really the totality of a season. Sometimes teams have better days, matchup issues, a monsoon, turnovers … a lot of factors. We're trying to evaluate who they are, their personnel, how they responded week in and week out. They've been very consistent. They've responded well. It's a good team.”

Q: Ben Boulware said he feels the defense is more fresh now versus this time a year ago.

Swinney: “I haven't done anything in particular with that. It's a product of our team and our schedule. We won last year in November and there's a lot to be said for finding a way to win, but we were an exhausted team this time a year ago. We didn't finish well last year. We were hanging on to get to the finish line. We played 10 straight. We had no competitive depth on defense. We have more functional guys on defense now versus last year. We don't hold our breath if a starter goes down. We've played more guys throughout the season, we've developed more guys and more confidence. We had an open date that came at a good time, too. We've also been fortunate with some injuries. We've got more guys, more competition at practice.”

Q: Did you have a plan coming back last January to get back mentally?

Swinney: “For us we start over every year regardless. We're going to self-evaluate from a staff standpoint, we're going to evaluate personnel. We'll evaluate schemes, what was good, what was bad. That's what we do every year. For me, the mentality, the psychological aspect and how we approach that … it's always different based on the team you have and the leaders you have back. You then formulate your plan for the new journey. You truly start over every year; a new team, new voices, more players, different challenges.

"Next year it'll be OK, who's the new quarterback? Kelly Bryant will be the guy for sure going into the spring? How will he do? We'll find out. It's a different storyline every year.”

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of the season for you?

Swinney: “A bunch of dropped balls in the first two games, about four dropped touchdowns. We had to win despite that. We had an enormous amount of turnovers we had to overcome. We overcame that except for Pitt. We had 630 yards against Pitt. We needed 631 yards. Other than that, we've been really good all year. We've played very well on both sides all year. We've been better in the red zone this year, more touchdowns in the red zone this year.”

Q: The change in venue this time for the title game, does that impact you at all?

Swinney: “I am hoping we have a great crowd. We'll play wherever. We're just happy to be there. These kids have worked their butts off to get in this game. They've earned it. And so has Virginia Tech. I can tell you this, Va. Tech will be excited to play. And we'll be excited to play. We both started 120 days ago and we were prepping for this moment. Everyone else is home and their coaches are recruiting. We're not. So it's a chance to reach another goal. I'm hopeful that the Clemson nation will show up. I hope that we don't take it for granted and take winning for granted. It's a big deal to win your conference.”

Q: Is this the most consistent road team you've ever been a part of?

Swinney: “We're undefeated. Yeah. Yeah. We were 5-0 last year on the road, too. I've never been a part of back-to-back undefeated road teams ever. To go to Auburn and win at night – and that was not a good win at the moment according to some people (in the media)– was big. We hadn't won in Atlanta in 13 years. They've turned out to have a solid team. The Yellow Jackets are 10-2 against the SEC over the last several years. We had to go to Tallahassee and had not won there in 10 years. We had a short week to go to BC. I'm proud of these guys. They've been consistent all year.”

Q: Scott Pagano's status?

Swinney: “He's probably ahead of schedule. He's doing well. He wants to play this week. I don't know that it's realistic. He probably could play but I don't know that he could play winning football. Same thing with Richard Yeargin. He'll be close. Probably same thing. Don't know he'll be ready by Saturday. Both will be ready to go by bowl prep. John Simpson looks really good. He's got a chance this weekend.”

Q: The status of Adrian Baker and Jake Fruhmorgen?

Swinney: “Baker is not going to play. He's just practicing. He's not in a position now to compete with where we are in the season. He's better. I don't have any update on Jake Fruhmorgen.”

Q: What's it like to see Jay Guillermo on the right path this year after everything he has gone through?

Swinney: “Great. And back-to-back all-conference years. I didn't know if he would play football again when he had some struggles last year. I didn't know if we'd see him again when he left school. He was a lost, broken person. He's been open about that. I'm sure he's an inspiration to a lot of people. He's used his struggles and used that platform to encourage others.

"It's a tough world out there. Depression doesn't show up with a sore throat. Depression, when it gets on you, it's a hopeless, helpless situation. It's a real issue. The No. 1 issue we deal with regarding students is mental health. Seriously. There is so much on young people, the world they live in now. It's tough. There are a lot of challenges out there, expectations. A lot. We don't have a better leader than Jay. It's scary to see that he was there at one time. I'm proud of him and happy for him and his family. Our infrastructure here, it's great. It makes your heart smile to see him have the success that he set out to have. We'll all have curves in the road. That's life.”

Q: Have you seen his impression of you?

Swinney: “Yes. I've seen all of them. Oh man he's talented. Friday nights, if you get on the bus from the movie, that's the Jay Guillermo comedy hour. Jay is something special. At the national championship game last year we were supposed to go to this comedy show. Everyone is there. They're late or something and we were getting anxious and were ready to move on, then Jay gets up and takes the stage. He put on the most unbelievable show you'd ever seen. It was kind of a letdown when the comedians showed up. Maybe he'll be like Larry the Cable guy.”

Q: How would you compare Mike Williams to Sammy and Nuk?

Swinney: “They're all different. He's just tremendous. He's awesome. He's the most complete that we've had. He's been here four years, too. He's the most complete guy. He's got similar attributes. Nuk was still developing physically and as a receiver. He's a great player. All those guys are first-rounders. Mike is the biggest challenge. He's so big, powerful, he can run, he can sink his hips, he's got Nuk's ball skills, he's intelligent, he's passionate about the ball, his technique and discipline. He's a load. He's going to be a great, great, great pro. I don't know who will win the Biletnikoff Award, but I know who will be picked first at that position in the draft next spring. It's the same thing I told Sammy.”

Q: Did what happened for you in 2011 set the stage for what's transpired over the last two years?

Swinney: “Yes. Everything we've done since 2009 has set the stage here, it's helped get us to where we are now, the losses, the wins. It's all a part of where we are.”

Q: How fun has it been to watch Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence contribute on offense?

Swinney: “They've done a great job outside of one play. They did a good job on that one play, too. We'll take advantage of it as long as we have them here. Why wouldn't you? Dexter is just an amazing young person. They're very similar in the type of people they are. Different backgrounds. They're good-natured guys who love people and love life. They're passionate about everything they do. Whatever you ask them to do, they do it with a smile on their faces. Christian has been a great mentor to Dexter. Christian was like a senior when he got here last year. That's how mature he is. Dexter is similar. It's been great watching them.”

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