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CLEMSON -- Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Sunday evening during his weekly teleconference, this time to look back on the Tigers' 52-10 win over Charlotte and also look ahead to resuming conference play.

Clemson (4-0, 2-0) will face North Carolina (2-2, 1-0) in Chapel Hill on Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. game televised by ABC. The Tigers, which lost to the Tar Heels the last time these two teams met in Kenan Stadium, opened as a 28.5-point favorite on Sunday.

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The following is an edited, condensed transcript of Swinney's Sunday teleconference.

OPENING STATEMENTS: "Just another good win. It started with our crowd and our environment, a lot of energy in our stadium. Our players draw from that. It was just a great night, a fun game and fun to see so many guys get an opportunity to play.

"Offensively, a lot of big plays and a lot more efficient in this game. We had less penalties and were 100-percent in the red zone. We averaged six yards a carry and did what we needed to do. We did have one drop and one interception, a few details that we will coach from. We did have one sack but that was on Chase Brice ...

"Defensively, they were ready to play. They have shown so much maturity and focus for how they have to prepare every week. Charlotte did run the ball more than we wanted. But again, we played a lot of people. We had a pick six which was obviously a huge play in the game. Our effort was good. Assignment-wise, we were pretty sound. We were strong on special teams. We averaged 11 yards a return and kickoff coverage was good.

"We saw a lot of good things on tape. I'm excited about this week. When you get to play a lot of guys like that who play, you feel like you have a rested team. So we're in good shape physically. We'll get ready to head to Chapel Hill and hopefully build some more momentum."

Q: How does Tony Elliott help his backs grow not only as players but as people?

SWINNEY: "Just by being who he is. Same thing for every coach. You spend a lot of time with your players, especially your position group. That's our responsibility as coaches. We want to get them ready for the opponent but we want to prepare them for life while we have an opportunity to have such a great influence on their lives. Having that relationship, that trust, communication ... and he does a wonderful job with that. He serves those guys everyday, tells them the truth and he's tough on them when he needs to be and puts his arm around them when he needs to. These are young people who are growing and learning every single day."

Q: You mentioned yesterday how excited Lyn-J Dixon was to jump over the pile and go over the top. Why don't we see more of that?

SWINNEY: "The game has changed. In those days, it was a lot of I-formation and you had that big fullback leading the way. The game is a little different. That's probably one reason. Ball security ... it's probably best not to do it. It's probably not the safest way to get in the end zone. When I saw it the other day, it made me think back to the era when we did see more of it."

Q: Can you address the battle for playing time at running back with your newcomers?

SWINNEY: "They're all doing great. It's been good to get them some playing time. We've got them some significant time in a couple of games. Chez and Mikey got one carry up at Syracuse. Dukes came back and had a big one against Charlotte and Chez had a big one at Syracuse. The game is still fast for them. They're getting more comfortable the more they play. We're trying to get both ready. We'll probably need both down the road. Both are doing a great job. They're different in their styles, but very effective.

"I'd say they're about even. Dukes is probably more scatty, if you will. Chez is probably more power, but they're both fast and they're tough. They have good hands. They're two, good, young prospects."

Q: Talk about some of your depth players in the secondary and their development.

SWINNEY: "We've had some in here since January, so they've gotten better and better. They look comfortable and have physically matured and certainly mentally. They're not like typical freshmen. They've caught on. They're promising young players we're excited about. They're on special teams, too. When they've gotten in the game, they have shown up. They've shown why we recruited them. They're smart.

"Sheridan has put on about 15 pounds since he got here, actually 20. Booth got here in the summer and he's coming on. Ray Thornton was here in the spring but he had surgery. He's still recovering. And then Jayln Phillips is another guy who came in this summer who is making progress."

Q: Curious about what you have seen from North Carolina early.

SWINNEY: "Just kind of getting into them tonight. They're just a few plays away from being 4-0. They had a big win to open the season. They had a really close, tough loss against Wake. That one yesterday came down to the wire. They've gotten behind but they have come back, so they've shown resiliency. They've played tough. It's easy to see coach (Mack) Brown's influence and their effort. They're a team that will be super pumped and ready to play us on Saturday. We're going to have to do a good job preparing for them. They're going to be ready. We have to make sure we are ready."

Q: You offered and recruited Sam Howell during the recruiting process. Talk about what you've seen from him early.

SWINNEY: "He's a player. I'd say we were right about him. We offered him and Bo Nix. We were right on him. He's a heck of a player, a competitor and a lot of savvy and confidence. He can run and can make all the throws. He's just going to get better and better. They've gotten down and man they've come right back with him. He's a natural leader. He plays the game with a little edge to him. He's got a toughness that you see in a quarterback. He has a bright future in this league.

"He's going to be a handful. His style of play ... he's got good size, great toughness and a will to win. When he makes a mistake, he comes back and he has a lot of belief in what he's doing. I think he's going to be a really good player for several years there in Chapel Hill."

Q: You and Mack are friends. Have you already reached out to him or will you at some point this week? Secondly, what do you think he will accomplish at UNC?

SWINNEY: "I have not talked to him yet. I'm sure we will touch base some time this week. He'll probably shoot me a text or I will shoot him a text. He was on television for several years and would often shoot me a text the night before the game. He'd say, 'Hey, give me your top keys (to the game).' I'd always send him two or three things. He was doing his preparation for television. Maybe I'll send him one this week and ask him what his keys are.

"He's going to bring some stability to North Carolina. He's going to put a foundation in place. He's going to recruit. He's going to create a belief. He's already done that when you watch them through these first four games. They could easily be 4-0 right now. He will create a vision there and I don't have any doubt that it'll materialize. I think he's having a ball. I think he's going to make them a winner. He'll make them a consistent winner again.

"At the end of the day we're all competitors. I enjoy competing against anybody. At the end of the day it's about your teams and how they play. You can still be friends with people on the other team and have respect for them. What makes it hard is who you have to prepare for week in and week out. It is fun when you compete against someone you know and respect. I've never had a chance to coach against him. I didn't think I'd ever have that opportunity. It's a pretty neat opportunity for me to compete against one of the best to ever do it, a Hall of Famer, a guy that I think has been great for the profession. He has done things the right way."

Q: Last year at this time Kelly Bryant ended up going to the transfer portal. How do y'all handle that? Is there a set plan for those things? Do you have anyone who may be entering the transfer portal?

SWINNEY: "I don't really try to handle that. I just run the team and do what's best for the team. If someone decides to leave - I never thought about it last year. People gave me credit and said I was just a nice guy. I hadn't thought about Kelly leaving until he came in here and said he was leaving. I just did what I thought was right for the team. Certainly some schools say let's make sure we play these guys (for four games), but I don't think that way. Sometimes doing what's right isn't the easiest thing to do. I just want to play the guys who deserve to play. So I don't really have a plan (to handle that). If someone wants to leave, you just deal with it and you keep moving forward.

"I don't have anyone that I know of. I guess someone could walk in here tomorrow or at any time. Who knows."

Q: Talk about Mack Brown's influence on you

SWINNEY: "He was a huge influence for me early. When I had just gotten the job, I got our first recruiting class in and I wanted to go meet with a couple of head coaches. Mack was the only one who would let me come. I didn't know Mack Brown, but he had followed us during the interim time and called me back. He welcomed me and my whole staff out there. It was great. I didn't know him but I had a lot of respect for him from afar. I just always liked how he handled himself. I just thought he'd be a good guy to go sit down and talk and observe how they did things. I wanted to watch a practice.

"I was hoping that I might get an hour of his time over a two or three day period. He gave me four hours and took us to eat. I had a lot of questions that I had written down, some questions about how to handle things and he was so accommodating to me. Just super, super nice. Sometimes I couldn't get the question out of my mouth and he was like reading my mind. He was open and honest and very helpful. We became friends. When he got out of coaching, we spent some time together at different events.

"He had a huge impact on me early on. Some of it gave me confidence in what I was doing and gave me some ideas on some things that would fit our program. Texas was in a different spot than we were in 2009 but I had a very clear vision of what I wanted us to look like. Sitting down with a guy like Mack Brown in 2009 was a big deal for me."

Tigerillustrated.com will have the latest on Clemson football recruiting in our Monday morning Insider.

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