Swinney updates Trevor Lawrence's status, previews Wake Forest

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CLEMSON -- Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Tuesday at his weekly news conference, this time to preview his team's upcoming matchup versus Wake Forest. The Tigers are a 17-point favorite over the Demon Deacons.

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The following is an edited transcript of Tuesday's presser.

OPENING STATEMENTS: "I thought we really grew as a team Saturday. It was special to be a part of it. I love where they were last night, getting focused on a division challenge, another road game for us coming up. Just have to do everything that we can possibly do to get better and improve but to also play our best game and create confidence and momentum entering the halfway point of our season. This week is really critical in a lot of ways.

"Wake is 3-2. Dave Clawson has done a great job. They lost a one-score game to a really good Boston College team. They also lost to Notre Dame, who is one of the best teams in the country. They put 27 points up on Notre Dame. For them, they have one division loss so they don't want another one. And we know we get everyone's best effort.

"Offensively they're scoring 38 points per game, second in the conference. They rush for 244 yards a game. They're up-tempo, such as Syracuse. I don't know how to describe Wake Forest because they are so fast. I don't know how they get their plays in. Their quarterback is a baller. He will be a problem for awhile. He is a tough competitor and has a good feel. They're very unique. It's like Georgia Tech, but with a different style. They're unique with how they run the action game. It's slow-developing. They have a million pop-passes. You have to have great discipline. They coach very well and their players understand where you're not fitting gaps properly. It's a big challenge.

"Defensively they've got Zeek Rodney from up in Rock Hill. He plays big. We remember him. There are some unknowns with them. They made a change at defensive coordinator a couple of weeks ago. Who knows what we'll see. Last week we didn't get to see a lot because they outmanned Rice. We'll have to make really good adjustments in this game.

"They're a good team. Dave has done a tremendous job. They have gotten better each year."

Q: Trevor Lawrence did pretty much everything you wanted him to last night in practice?

SWINNEY: "He did. He did."

Q: Have you talked to him more about how you want him to slide?

SWINNEY: "Absolutely. We run our quarterbacks. That's what we do. But yes, we coach them to be smart. He is a young player. He was out of control. I love the effort, but there is a time for that and a time to live for another play. Because he can run and navigate the pocket well. It's one of his best attributes. He can extend plays, but that was a breakdown in the play. We didn't set the edge the way we needed to. He'll learn from it."

Q: Was it more of a neck issue?

SWINNEY: "More of a neck issue. He got the crap knocked out of him. It was head and neck. He had some pain. They have a whole protocol on all of that stuff. You get put in concussion protocol for anything that creates a symptom. It's not something you mess with. And he wanted to come back in the second half and play. They did not feel comfortable putting him back in at that time. He came in and worked out Monday morning and looked good last night."

Q: How do you think he played before the injury?

SWINNEY: "He played well, like 60-percent passing. He had a good game. He missed a couple of throws, maybe amped up a bit. We had the one screw-up on the exchange, which was costly. But he got good experience in getting that first start out of the way. He's in a good spot. It worked out in the end."

Q: Biggest difference between this Wake team and previous ones?

SWINNEY: "Not much. Some unknowns on the defensive side. They have a new guy who's calling things. They just overmatched their opponent last week. They are who they are on offense. They believe in what they do. They have recruited well to what they do. They are built to run the ball. They're going to run and try to action you to death. You have to do a great job trying to be disruptive up front. They'll try to get outside of you as well. You have to be able to play man coverage, too."

Q: What do you have to see with Trevor in order for him to go Saturday?

SWINNEY: "Oh I definitely expect to see him play. That's why we put him back in practice last night. I don't see any reason why he wouldn't."

Q: Insight on the balance between an RPO mindset and going with what defenses give you and on the other end where regardless of what defenses do, you decide to slam the run?

SWINNEY: "Some of our best plays were RPOs last week. Even the touchdown where Travis Etienne broke, that was an RPO. Chase Brice was just ready. He went in and made the right decision and gave the ball. I thought we were going to get the pass on that, but they kept their safety high. Travis was able to bounce it and make a guy miss. We got in a situation Saturday where obviously Chase was a little wobbly early. We didn't want to put a lot on his plate. I just felt like we needed to find a way. Plus, I just felt we were better up front. If we could just get to the second level, I felt we could stay on schedule and get positive yards. We just forced the issue. They had guys there on some plays. They just couldn't tackle us.

"That's why you want to have balance in your offense. We had some really good blocks up front, tight end, wideout. I told our backs, 'Hey, y'all are going to have to get it done.' Once we settled in, when we had to have it, he delivered. He threw two strikes to Justyn Ross. We knew we had the full Chase Brice with us.

"Right now we're averaging over seven yards a play, which would be the all-time high in the history of Clemson football. We have been unbelievably explosive. Trevor is one of the reasons for that explosiveness and our backs. We've just got to clean up some stuff, errors, some technique things, especially some twists up front, recognition of some things. We're right there from being special on offense. We're not where we need to be on either side of the ball."

Q: Your thoughts on your offensive line Saturday.

SWINNEY: "I think we played eight players and six of the eight had a winning grade. Tremayne Anchrum is gone the second series. Sean Pollard is at tackle. Now we have Cade Stewart and Gage Cervenka. Gage really played well outside of jumping off-sides. Their confidence is growing. We have to improve some base, fundamental stuff. The guys are taking pride in that. They know. They want to improve and we will. I'm proud of those guys.

"I think John Simpson has taken off. He did not play well against Texas A&M, but has been steady and consistent since. Mitch Hyatt was ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week. Justin Falcinelli has come on and has played well. I think Matt Bockhorst played well on that last drive there. He didn't flinch. He's coming on. Our versatility came through for us. We make those guys cross-train. Jackson Carman's confidence is growing."

Q: What does balance on offense mean to you?

SWINNEY: "At the end of the season we need to have some semblance of balance. Some games, it'll be out of whack. We need to have the ability to take what they're going to give you. You have to be good enough to exploit their weaknesses. They can't defend everything. You need to also be good enough to run it when they know you're going to run it. When you can do that and win either way, you have pretty good balance."

Q: Where or when did the decision come on putting Xavier Thomas on the field with Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant?

SWINNEY: "Last week. Their style of play, watching our game against them last year. Watching the tape from last year, their quarterback hurt us. He hurt us the other day. We should have sacked him five times. He's just a really crafty player. There were times when he found the rush lane and we just couldn't go get him. We had a package for him, he was a rush guy and did a heck of a job for us. He's just taken off like a rocket ship. We did a poor job of rotating our guys last week. He played but he needs more reps. I thought Clelin and Austin got a little tired. I'm glad we were able to get him in the game. He's not a complete player yet, but he plays full speed and his first step is special. He's 260 pounds, a good tackler and he knows how to go get the quarterback. You'll see opportunities increase."

Q: How is Trayvon Mullen coming along?

SWINNEY: "He's coming along good. I expect everyone to be able to go this week."

Q: I understand the reasoning for your comment on growing as a team and certain moments, but you also have guys who are already playoff-seasoned. You have national champions on your roster. What is it that we don't see on the outside that you're starting to notice internally?

SWINNEY: "It wasn't just the quarterback. It was Tremayne out, Cervenka is in. Trayvon Mullen is out. Mark Fields is out. We have a true freshman out there who hasn't played a lick in passing situations. He's having to play a whole game basically at corner. There was a lot of that on our team. It was awesome. You had the distractions and drama of the week. Every team, there is this galvanizing moment usually.

"Every team has a different chemistry. The chemistry and leadership of your team are the two most underrated things in football. Chemistry and leadership and morale, those are very undervalued. They determine the type of season you have. You can't just be talented. Talented teams underachieve all the time. This team is a special group. I knew that. I've seen nothing to make me think any different. What I saw in them last week on Tuesday and beyond and then on Saturday, it was awesome. It's like you're physically able to watch them grow three inches."

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