Dabo Swinney Tuesday press conference with live updates

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Sep 02 11:08:09 GMT-04:00 2014

Highlights from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney Dabo Swinney
Head Coach
View Full Profile 's press conference Tuesday in the WestZone.

On Georgia

"We missed a great opportunity to steal one on the road. We obviously didn't get it done. But I am excited to get back in the Valley. It's our home opener. It's special when you get a chance to see this place come to life. I am excited about getting in the Valley and doing what we do with the Clemson faithful."

On SC State

"They have a really good team. They have a lot of veterans on offense. They are confident and scored a ton of points in the opener. Their quarterback is impressive. They will create some opportunities for him in the running game. I am impressed with their offensive line. Defensively, they have a defensive coordinator that came from Louisville and was with Coach Charlie Strong for a long time."

On refocusing

"We just have to get better. The teams that are in the top echelon respond to a loss. To be a great team you have to learn from those things. We would be 1-0 after beating a community college and made the same mistakes but we wouldn't have learned from them. Georgia deserved to win, and they will win a bunch of games. Clemson will, too. That is my challenge to the team is to correct the mistakes we saw. Looking forward to getting back on the field."

Injuries

"We are in good shape. The worst injury we had was in pregame. Sam (Cooper) thought someone had hit him with a football. His prognosis is good and we will get him back in the short term. Other than that, came through in good shape and we will have those suspended guys back this week and it will be good to have them back."

Crawford and Beasley returning

"They have done nothing to not be considered two of our best players. We prepared them all through fall camp. We will plug them in there and see how they do. Today and tomorrow are critical for us. I love both of those guys' energy and effort out on the field. They were ready to go. There are consequences for your actions, but they've done great."

On Ammon Lakip

"IT's still his job. It's one miss. If he goes 0 for a while then we have a problem. I wish he would have made it. It was a big kick. When you are playing against an equally talented team - especially at their place - special teams are the difference in the game. You just changed the kick return and that field goal, we are up seven in the fourth quarter. That is how important special teams are. We have some young guys we have to coach up. Sometimes the greatest growth comes from adversity. Ammon is an excellent kicker and he will have a great year. We will keep on plugging. Just one game."

Tight ends

"We didn't involve them the way we wanted to. We wanted to run the football and that kind of dictated how we used them. We were running it and I liked what we were doing. But we weren't really throwing the ball all over the park. The second half we were backed up. We just didn't do a lot in the passing game."

Playing young players

"The circumstances of the game in the second half changed drastically. We had a rash of mental errors. Field position, backed up behind the chains. But there is a rush to judgement and an over-reaction. But you will see those young guys as we go through - but that was a different stage and it was their first time to play. You don't know how they will respond. But Wayne Gallman is a guy you will see more of. Same thing with Adam Choice, But with the different looks they presented he wasn't quite ready for that. Those three young wideouts - I love the look in Demarre Kitt and Aravtis Scott's eyes. But we had limited opportunities in the second half. You will see a lot of guys mature and develop as we go through this year. I really like the young talent that we have."