Swinney talks about N.C. State

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Nov 13 12:38:15 GMT-04:00 2012

CLEMSON – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney knows the key to beating N.C. State is stopping senior quarterback Mike Glennon.

Swinney, speaking during his weekly press conference, said the Tigers will have their hands full with the Wolfpack (6-4, 3-3 ACC) and it all starts with Glennon, who has completed 239-of-417 passes for 2,910 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

“Really tough challenge this week in N.C. State. Very talented team. Very dangerous team,” Swinney said. “Capable of playing with anybody. These guys match up very well. Defensively for us it starts with their quarterback. Glennon is a very very good football player. Very capable passer. He can make every single throw. He's a gutsy player. Obviously he's a fifth-year senior guy who has a lot of experience in their system. They want to throw the football to setup the run.

“He has 22 touchdown passes just behind Tajh [Boyd]. Their running backs are very capable. Talented group. Their wide receivers -Underwood has like 10 touchdowns. Their offensive line is huge. The thing about N.C. State is they do a great job with their tight ends. You better know where they are -especially in the crossing routes. They do a great job with their hands. We have to try to disrupt their rhythm. We have to tackle well and create some matchups outside that we win.”

He said one of the keys to the game will be which team does the best job of protecting the quarterback.

“It starts with protecting their quarterback. That's a real key for us. Just like it was last week,” Swinney said. “We've played pretty good all year on the offensive line but we need to improve our consistency. We need good performances from all five guys. N.C. State has a lot of movement and a lot of pressure with Coach [Mike] Archer and Coach [John] Tenuta. They do a lot of slanting and disguising coverages.”

N.C. State leads the ACC in sacks with 30, and Swinney said the Wolfpack are athletic up front.

“Defensively, they are probably as good as anybody as we've played from an athletic standpoint,” Swinney said. “They are 300-pounders up front. Very talented. They lead the ACC in sacks. They are third in the nation in sacks. Eleven interceptions. Bunch of experience in the secondary. That was an area we lost in this game. [David] Amerson is as good a player you are going to see in the country. Their corners are perhaps the biggest in the country.”

Swinney then said that Clemson’s focus has to be inward.

“Our focus is on Clemson, like it has been all year. Have a good Tuesday practice and then go from there. There's still a lot of good opportunity for this team. I know we are at the end of the season. But we have to finish. It's also an opportunity to share the Atlantic Division title this week. To be able to be a division champion three out of four years is a big step.

“To be able to have back to back 10 win seasons is another big step. That's something we have talked a lot about. But none of that matters if we don't take care of our business today. This football has continued to improve all year long. I like where we are right now. I like their demeanor.”

On being concerned about the turnovers

“I was disappointed in the two fumbles. One was an exchange issue. The other one was football. Tajh has great ball security. Fundamentally we don't want him turning his back. Most fumbles happen from behind. So that's a little coaching point. He's giving great effort. And I told him that. That was a great play by them. The other one was a poor play by Tajh and our back. But we also got turnovers too. We were even. We are much better than where we were last year. That's a key for us going forward. The turnover margin is huge.”

On Martavis Bryant and why he is being targeted more

“Combination of all of those things. Missed a little time and that set him back. Mostly just trust. He's earned more trust with the coaches. He's been much more consistent with his preparation. He's as talented as anybody we got or anybody in the country. But it's not just talent. There has to be a lot more than that. That's where he's struggled- with his consistency as his focus. He's just a sophomore. That's the bad thing about Sammy Watkins- he's the exception. That's what I hate about recruiting and star ratings. Like with Spencer Shuey- he's worked his butt off and he's gotten better. That's called development. That's just the way it is. For some reason when a guy isn't a great player as a freshman everybody starts saying well "we missed on that guy." Andre Branch was here on Saturday - he wasn't very good at all. As a redshirt freshman or as a sophomore. Martavis Bryant - it's not talent. It's consistency and commitment. Great kid. Great young man. He just gets distracted. Football has always come easy to him and he's had to learn to really work here. And it's not going to come easy.”

On worrying about complacency setting in

“It better set in quick because we are about to be done here. We've got nine, 10, 11 days or so. If that were to happen it would have already done it. Last year's team learned how to win. They've bought in. We prepare for every opponent. We prepare for what they do. But we try to keep the focus on Clemson. We feel like we have good players here. And if we execute our plan to win we will. Our guys have bought into that. We haven't gotten caught up in external things. Anybody can beat us. There's nobody we have played that is not capable of beating Clemson. But here's the level we expect. And we've focused on that. As we've improved as a team, especially defensively. We've played pretty well defensively. Last four games or so we are playing about as well as anybody in the top 20 defensively. We don't really sit around worry about that stuff- hey here's what we have to do win. Go to the meetings with purpose. Let's give great effort but let's focus on our technique. Then - all-in commitment. It doesn't change, no matter who you play. Then when the game is over, the season starts tomorrow. This is the biggest game of the year. Period. The end. When you don't have that mentality, that's when you get your butt beat. Especially with young people.”