CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Clemson Press Conference Quotes on Monday

Clemson Press Conference Quotes on Monday


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Shaq Lawson: I wasn't really thinking about a championship. I know I didn't win any championships in high school and I played with a couple teammates that went to Clemson so our goal was to come back and play with each other and try to win a National Championship at Clemson, so that was the reason why I came to Clemson.

Q. Has it been kind of surreal to you to get to this

point?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, yes, sir. It's been a special

season for us, me just enjoying the journey and all the

hard work paying off for us.

Q. What was different about this season for you?

Obviously you were more productive this season.

Did something click or did they use you differently

or more pressure to be the guy more?

SHAQ LAWSON: I'd say playing more. I played behind

Vic Beasley last year so my snaps was limited. But

after I did what I had to do this year, I just stepped my

leadership role up and just got better every week, and

my game got better. That's pretty much what I learned

from them guys like Vic and guys that's been in the

program longer than me, how they had to sit there and

wait their time, so that's pretty much what I had to do.

Q. You guys obviously have a lot of talent but there

was also a lack of experience. At what point along

the process, whether it's spring, fall, X number of

games in, at what point did you say, wow, we're up

to this task?

SHAQ LAWSON: I'd say after the Notre Dame game,

after we got the two point conversion stop, and that

really defined where our team was at and how good we

really was after that game. The games before that I

couldn't really tell where we was at because we hadn't

played nobody good like that, but after that Notre Dame

game, I knew our team was where we needed to be.

Q. What do you like about this defense?

SHAQ LAWSON: We're hungry. We like getting better

every day. We're all brothers off the field, so that just

makes us play better on the field together with each

other.

Q. What has Brent Venables done for you just as an

influence in your life to help you develop?

SHAQ LAWSON: He helped me develop a lot. If you

see him every day as a coach, he's just excited about

defense, and he just helps put us in the right position to

make plays. Our defense is so good, and our scheme

the scheme he's got for us makes the players that

much better.

Q. What did you learn from Beasley and those guys

in terms of your off the field work? Did they show

you how to practice?

SHAQ LAWSON: No, sir. Really I always liked to

practice starting in high school. They just told me how

to lead on the field and off the field. They were just

giving me examples how to lead, and you don't always

got to lead by always saying something, so stuff like

that.

Q. Why do you love practice? I think most people

would probably say I don't like practice, I just like

the games?

SHAQ LAWSON: Because you've got a chance to get

better every day, just waking up knowing you can go do

what you love to do and practice, that makes us better.

Q. Where else were you looking in high school?

SHAQ LAWSON: Tennessee, University of Tennessee.

I was about to go there, but I'm glad I stayed at home

and everything.

Q. What changed, because you are a local guy, so

was that difficult to potentially leave the state?

SHAQ LAWSON: I'd say my family reason, after my

pops died, I just wanted to be closer with my brothers

and little sister, so that pretty much changed my

decision.

Q. You guys have played some mobile

quarterbacks. What do you have to do differently

against Baker because he's run so much and

scrambled and taken off?

SHAQ LAWSON: We can't let him hit us with the ball

fade. We've just got to make sure we contain the ball

at all times. The kid is fast, unbelievable when you

watch him on film. We've got to be on edge every time.

Q. You mentioned a minute ago that it takes a

certain kind of patience to play here. Did you know

that going in or was it a bit of a shock that you

were going to have to wait your turn?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, I knew that going in I'd have to

wait my turn, coming in late because I had went to

Hargrave and all that, and I knew Vic was there, and I

knew I had to wait, and I knew I had to just be patient

and my time was going to come.

Q. Was waiting difficult for you?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, no. I had to wait I didn't qualify

out of high school coming into Clemson. I had to go to

Hargrave for a semester, so I'm used to waiting and

that kind of stuff. So that really helped me in that

process from going to Hargrave to Clemson and

waiting to get my chance to play.

Q. Hargrave is kind of a humbling experience, isn't

it?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, yes, sir, it is. It makes you a

better person, a better man, just gives you instruction

in life and everything. I'm really glad I experienced it,

to get to go to Hargrave. It's part of the change in me,

and I'm really kind of glad I went to Hargrave. At first I

didn't want to go, but I got used to what I had to do and

stuff, and it wasn't that bad at all.

Q. I heard you had to walk like a mile or a half a

mile to practice. What was that like?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, that was bad. You had to walk

up a dirt hill, rocks, past a graveyard. That's why they

called it The Grave, all the way to practice, pushed

sleds 500 yards during practice. It was a tough

experience for us. It just made me better and made it

more easier when I got to Clemson.

Q. When did you lose your dad?

SHAQ LAWSON: I'd say going into my senior year, my

junior year, as a matter of fact, during spring football,

high school, I had lost him to a car accident.

Q. That made you want to stay in South Carolina?

SHAQ LAWSON: Yeah, that situation, I always wanted

to be away from home, so I probably wouldn't have

changed things, but God had a plan for me, and it all

played out.

Q. You were looking at Texas early on?

SHAQ LAWSON: Tennessee.

Q. Your mom and sisters want you to stick around?

SHAQ LAWSON: That didn't really matter. It was just

the best fit for me and best fit for the school, what they

bring to the program.

Q. Generally what's it been like to be a part of this

defense? You've seen it go from getting 70 points

four years ago to what it is now.

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, it's a crazy change. I remember

seeing then in junior year of high school watching

giving up 70 points to West Virginia, and the change

over the years came, just different players developed

for us and started it for us like Branch and all those

guys, Brandon Thomas, they started it for us and made

the defense that much better and we've just been

following up with it.

Q. Did you grow up a Clemson fan?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, yes, I used to work at a

concession stand when I was younger, used to sit in

and watch the games and jump over the stands and try

to get some gloves from anybody. That was pretty

much what I did growing up as a Clemson fan. I used

to watch back when Kevin Youngblood and all those

guys played and Charlie Whitehurst and all them. So

I've been looking at Clemson since I was younger.

Q. Could you see the field from the concession

stand?

SHAQ LAWSON: Oh, no, not really. I used to try to get

a break, sneak down there and try to get the coach's

attention. I used to play video games and act like I was

when I was playing with Clemson, I used to

commentate like I was a commentator out there and

everything. It was just crazy that now I'm playing for

Clemson.

Q. Just describe the season that you've had, how

much the team was going to be relying on you this

year.

Kevin Dodd: Just the team, I was losing two great

defensive pass rushers, and just knowing that I had to

fill the spots and basically get the job done, and in the

locker room a lot was going to be expected out of me

because a lot was expected out of the guys ahead of

me, so they left a lot on the line. Just knowing that I

have to fill those shoes and need to do better, so I

trained the hardest I ever did this off season, just

putting myself in a position to make plays.

Q. What did that entail, your training?

KEVIN DODD: Just the normal things that we did at

Clemson with the regular with the team, and at home

I probably ran like three miles. I ran my whole

neighborhood, which was like a total of three miles. I

tried to stay in shape because anybody can play at a

high level for the first three quarters, but if you can play

at a high level in the fourth quarter, that says a lot

about you.

Q. What do you think about the match ups that's

been build as Baker against Deshaun? Just what

do you think about the challenge of going up

against Baker and what's the approach you guys

take?

KEVIN DODD: He's a great player just like Deshaun.

We're just going to keep him in the pocket and come

after him and do what we do against all great

quarterbacks.

Q. Is that what the game comes down to, each

team trying to keep the guy in the pocket?

KEVIN DODD: Pretty much. They have a great

quarterback and we have a great quarterback. The

games come down to players making plays, and their

players got to make plays and our players got to make

plays. Simple as that.

Q. When you first came to Clemson was your

primary thought winning championships or did you

like the fact that it was kind of like a family

atmosphere that would help you grow as a player

and a person?

KEVIN DODD: I saw a team on the come up with all

these great players. Freshmen were coming in and

doing unbelievable stuff such as Sammy Watkins and

stuff like that, all that, just starting as a freshman, and

just the environment around Clemson. That's why I

came.

Q. Can you take anything from last year or is it

completely different?

KEVIN DODD: It's going to be the same approach,

same approach as last year. We have to execute the

game plan and pretty much get after their players. It's

pretty much the same thing as last year. We've got to

make our plays and they've got to make their plays,

and whoever executes the best, it's simple.

Q. Do they look different to you?

KEVIN DODD: The quarterback, he's something

serious, something that we've really got to take into

consideration. He's a great player. He has all the skill

sets to dominate this game, and if we take him for

granted, this game could get out of hand early, so

we've definitely got to handle this quarterback, and

their backs. They have great backs, two great backs.

So yeah, we've got to respect those guys, as well.

Q. No one is really talking about the backs because

everyone is focusing on the quarterbacks.

Obviously you played D line last year, but what

have you seen about the combo of Perine and

Mixon that presents a challenge?

KEVIN DODD: One is more elusive. Perine, he's a

hard one, and that's going to be the talk of the game,

who tackles the best. These guys are going to be hard

to get down. It's going to be tough to get these guys

down so we're going to have to wrap them up.

Q. How has the week gone so far?

D.J. Reader: The week has gone good. Got that first

practice out of the way yesterday. So it's been good.

It's good to be down here, good weather. I mean, we

feel good. Yesterday playing, just knocking off the rust

off and finally getting back to contact after that long

break that we had.

Q. What does this defense think about Baker

Mayfield and the way he can what kind of

pressure does that put on you guys?

D.J. READER: You know, it's a hard game plan. He's a

great player. Reminds us a lot of what we play against

in practice. He's a pretty good player. He's a

competitor. That's what we've seen from him on film.

He really likes to compete, and he's a leader, and his

team feeds off his energy, so yeah, it's good to go

against a player like that, and we're excited to get out

there and play against him.

Q. What do you do what he's scrambling in the

pocket and trying to find somewhere to go? How

do you keep him there, contain him?

D.J. READER: You just try to fill your lane, your rush

lanes, man, and really just try to get him on the ground.

I watch a lot of film and watch him escape tackles and

it's amazing to watch because it's not like he's the

biggest guy, but he's crafty with his feet, he's got good

balance. He, like I said, competes and wants to make

every play. Really just got to have control of the rush

lanes, can't get out of the gap or he's going to expose

you. He does a great job at what he does. So we've

just got to really get him on the ground and make sure

we have controlled rushes.

Q. Do you see any of Watson's tendencies in him,

Deshaun's?

D.J. READER: I think he's a great player. Deshaun is a

great player. They're different in their own aspects. So

I mean, I think both of them are really competitors and

both leaders. That's really the comparison I can tell

you. Other than that, you know, they're both really

good. Baker has got 35 touchdowns on five picks this

year. He's having a great year, so you can't argue with

what he's done. He's done a great job for them.

Q. Does he remind you of Johnny Manziel at all?

D.J. READER: Yeah, like the way he competes, wants

to extend plays. He does a great job at taking care of

the ball, obviously, with only five picks. He's very

productive, and he's a leader. He feeds off that energy.

He's not afraid to sometimes put his head down,

maybe fight for those extra yards. Yeah, you definitely

see those characteristics out of him.

Q. Do you have a favorite story about Coach

Venables?

D.J. READER: Do I have a favorite story about Coach

Venables? Probably my funniest story is probably last

year playing South Carolina, Coach V, Vic has a strip

sack, and the ball is just on the ground, and Coach V

there's almost two yards on the field floating at the ball,

and our strength coach has to grab him and pull him

back and then finally recovered it, but he's that intense.

That's the funniest part about Coach V. There's always

intensity, and it's kind of cool to see him flip that switch

and be one of the guys whenever practice is over, and

he goes right back to being one of the guys. He's just

a normal guy, so it's pretty cool.

Q. What are some of the hallmarks of his intensity?

I can think of the eyes.

D.J. READER: He chews five different flavors of gum at

practice, and when you just see him like it's like the

end of practice. During the game, middle the game,

he'll start chewing so hard. That gets me every time,

like he's really chomping down. He's so intense right

now. I think that's like the part that gets me. Maybe his

spasms of yelling. He'll go from such a high yell to

calm right in the next second, so it's just like those

parts really get me about Coach Venables. He can tell

he's into those moments.

Q. You obviously had a lack of experience. At what

point, whether it was spring or fall or the Notre

Dame game did you say we're up for this?

BRENT VENABLES: Yeah, you know, I know we were

replacing both lines. We had one starter returning on

the offensive and defensive lines. To say we would be

in a College Playoff, I would have checked into an

insane asylum. I remember thinking back to the

Louisville game, there's no way in heck we're going to

be able to win how are we going to find a way to win

that game, four days' preparation, going on the road at

their place. That's how I kind of think let alone get to

Notre Dame. I never passed Louisville, and how are

you going to stop the last time we played Wofford

they should have beat us. That's kind of the world I

lived in when you're asking me to go back and reflect,

let alone losing all those monsters we had on defense

a year ago.

My thing is leadership, toughness, and then we had no

depth, so more snaps, durability. But leadership and

play making, there's really three positions that I was

really concerned. Linebacker was one, particularly B.J.

Goodson, our middle linebacker, and then our

defensive end, Kevin Dodd, had no real track record,

B.J. had no real track record, and then Cordrea

Tankersley had no real track record. Those three guys

that we were going to be counting on was really big,

and then their maturation, all three of them, had far

exceeded my expectations. Those three have played

outstanding this year, and have been to me that's not

to downplay anybody else, but those three guys

because I know we had enough guys that had played

at the other positions, would be huge.

So again, I knew we were going to be good.

Everybody else doubted us, but I never did (laughter),

I'm usually not that guy, and I'm not Debbie Downer

and I'm not a negative person. I'm a perpetuator of the

positive, high energy, confidence, let's go, but I was

worried about beating Wofford and stopping the option.

That's really it's just one game at a time.

Q. Shaq said that he thought the Notre Dame game

was incredibly important for their confidence.

Would you agree?

BRENT VENABLES: Confidence?

Q. He said that the way the Notre Dame game

ended, he said you said something about, okay, we

can trust ourselves, we know what we're doing.

BRENT VENABLES: Yeah, we can screw it up and

then find a way to get out of our own way, yeah. That

was a great stop and that was a great play in our

season. I was talking on the other side, and watching

Oklahoma, and I tweeted Boomer, and of course I don't

really tweet impulsively. I'm usually calculated for

recruits. That's all I ever do. And then I'm like, yeah,

that was a great win. Man, what a season defining win

that can be for Oklahoma, when they beat Tennessee

after being 17 down, and as a fan of Coach Stoops,

Joe Castiglione, President Ford, the Sooners, I was so

pumped. Wow, I can't remember that was before or

after our Notre Dame, but that was a wow stop. I'm

like, what just happened? I was so peeved still about

that little pick route they ran for the touchdown, the

fade route, because we were in a good coverage and

we had one player wave off the coverage and he was

going to run his own coverage, so I was still mad about

that, and we just won that game and we got that stop.

That was a heck of a play. But they had scored on that

earlier.

Q. Have you watched last year's Oklahoma game?

BRENT VENABLES: Yeah, we haven't watched it at all

on defense. We haven't watched it at all.

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Q. Why is that?

BRENT VENABLES: Well, they've got all new coaches

coaching different positions and a completely new

scheme. You know, I could tell you right now, I think

Ronnie popped one, and I could tell you the defensive

call and formation. I don't need to really watch it. He's

a great player. Sterling is probably a shell of himself

even though he's cleared and healthy, because it really

has nothing to do with this year for us. It's just a

different animal. But it's really the schemes as much

as anything.

Q. (Inaudible) the result of that game.

BRENT VENABLES: Yeah, that doesn't matter. That's

living in la la land. Every year you play, you've got to

start over and you have to earn everything again.

You've got to tear everything down from week to week,

season to season. You look at Oklahoma and look at

where they feel like they are mentally from their last

game from a year ago, and now all of a sudden they

lost their bowl game, they have no momentum, and

they're going to get rid of everybody, and it's time for

Coach Stoops to go and everything else. I know that

animal, whether it's at Oklahoma or whether it's at

Clemson or it's at Bowling Green. It doesn't matter,

whether it's at Texas. You're always a week away from

humility. It's a very fragile game, and a lot of times, win

or lose, it comes down to having really good players,

and then having really good players play well, and then

you've got to coach them well, too, don't get me wrong.

But look where they are one year later, or even less

than that. They went from that last game to then look

at the run that they've had.

Q. Is it an advantage now for Oklahoma since you

were coaching there?

BRENT VENABLES: I don't really believe in that.

Q. You don't?

BRENT VENABLES: Yeah, I just don't. I think going

into last year, they had a very good offense, and they

said, well, Trevor Knight killed Alabama in their last

bowl game, and Clemson hadn't seen a Big 12 offense,

so there's always that story line, and then you've just

got to kind of go in and find that game. We weren't 46

better. Everybody knows that. Turnovers are always a

big part of the game and momentum, and things went

our way, and some things didn't go their way, a few

plays, and next thing you know it gets out of hand. But

that was last year. I really think it has zero to do they

might think different. I don't really care, and it doesn't

affect me and it doesn't affect us what they think. It

really affects what affects this game is how we think

and our preparation and how we practice today. It

really is that simple. I think when you get ahead of

yourself I don't know, I have too much consumption

on today's third downs, you know, and I think when you

get your players to buy into that, I think ultimately you

have more success than failure.

Q. When you break away and go out on your own

and you're involved in putting together a defense

with the up tempo, high explosive offense, what

have you learned just out on your own about being

a defensive coordinator in this kind of era? It

started obviously in the Big 12.

BRENT VENABLES: Yeah, I think it helps to have good

players. I think being long, being athletic and physical

in the back end, I don't think that you can just have a

bunch of cover guys. I'm not listening to myself as I'm

talking. I'm thinking out loud here. But you want the

biggest, strongest, fastest guys that you can.

I know from the ACC, it isn't just all four wides. I really

have grown to appreciate about the ACC is you kind of

see everything from the Boston College and nine tight

ends and 15 offensive linemen and all these crazy

formations, very Stanford like, to Georgia Tech and the

triple option, to North Carolina, which is one of the

closest versions probably to the Big 12 and what you

see week in and week out in the Big 12.

But I don't know what all I've learned. It was hard, I

know that. It was really hard teaching a new system,

starting over. It's one thing for me to start over and

learn somebody else's, but when you've having to

teach it to all new players and new coaches, it's hard.

It was hard trying to simplify some things from a

verbiage standpoint and communicative standpoint,

and then really instead of making the new players

adapt to you and your coaches as you establish

yourself over a period of time, you really had to okay,

how are they looking at it and how are they thinking,

and now how can I get them to be confident and sure

of themselves and all those things. But adapting to a

new culture, a new philosophy from a coaching staff

wise, and I've got to plug into them, not the other way

around, and that's always a transition. I say always like

I've done it nine, ten times. That was a transition. That

was very hard emotionally.

Those are all things that help you. You grow and you

kind of stretch, get out of your comfort zone. I think for

all of us, sometimes as hard as that is, it really just

helps you, whether you view things differently or things

like that.

Q. I'm sure you haven't felt like sort of the second

in command there of the cornerbacks, but

Mackensie obviously gets a lot of attention

nationally. You've had a tremendous year. Have

you kind of felt like you've flown under the radar at

all or do you like that role?

Cordrea Tankersley: I do embrace that role. I

just want to go out there and compete and help my

team. I knew all along that I'd have to go about my

business, but it really wasn't about that, it was just

going out there and helping my team, just going out

and making sure I'm making the team better.

Q. Obviously you look at just the target numbers

and quarterbacks all tend to throw his way a ton.

Have you enjoyed

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: I welcome it. I love it,

actually. He had so much stress put on him his

freshman year, so I'm out there to take up the slack.

He's done a great job, he's a great player, so who

wouldn't want to go his way. I would pick on me, too.

But it's something I embrace. It's something that

Coach V prepares me for, something my teammates

challenge me, and I just want to go out there and help

the team.

Q. Is the entertaining thing about Mackensie is he

does not shy away from talking about how good he

is, but on those occasions in which he does talk to

us

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: He has no filter. He at

times got the game, and that's something he's great at.

He backs it up pretty well. I'm the opposite. I just want

to go out there and just play ball. But he's done so

much for this program, you have to respect him. So

him being a great player, I just want to join him. I'm not

going to do the trash talking, though.

Q. As a secondary or as a team, how much are you

guys focused on stopping Sterling Shepard?

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: I mean, he's one of the big

keys to their offense, but we want to stop their entire

offense. We have great players, have a great

quarterback, great running back, so we just want to go

out there and pretty much stop all they can do,

including Sterling Shepard, but he's such an explosive

player that you cannot he can't go unnoticed on film.

Q. Have you seen anything on film that you think

you can exploit?

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: I mean, I think there's a lot

of things I think we can try to slow down. Like I said,

they have a great, explosive offense. You're not going

to be able to try to stop everything, but you can just try

your best to slow them down. They're just so good.

Q. How much can you take away from last year's

game or does Baker Mayfield make them a

completely different team than we saw last year?

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: I believe he does. That

was a really good team last year, but I think he adds

that extra heightness to him. He's a great competitor.

He runs really well, throws the ball really well, so he

just has the overall package that you look for in a

quarterback, and he's made the people around him

better.

Q. Is there a quarterback that you've seen this year

or last year that's similar in style or athleticism to

him? Is it Deshaun maybe?

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: I think Deshaun is really

the only one that compares to each other. Both of

them are explosive, great players. You can pick your

poison with either one of them. You can't go wrong. I

just feel like Deshaun makes our team better, and he

makes their team better, and you can win with either

one of them.

Q. How gratifying has it been for the defense this

year that there was so much turnover from last

year and everybody kind of said, oh, well, they're

going to be rebuilding? I'm sure you guys didn't

ever look at it that way, but has it been fun

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: We lost a lot of starters

from last year to the NFL, coming from the No. 1

defense in the country, so I feel like we prepared well.

Coach Swinney always wants to prepare his backups.

He don't want to have no drop off. So I feel like coming

into this year, just moving from last year to this year just

with different faces. But we had a lot of good

leadership on that team, as we do now. I think he

prepared us really well.

Q. That's one of those things that Coach V has

talked about is I've got to have trust and faith in my

No. 2s because they're going to be my No. 1s

eventually.

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: Exactly. He stressed that a

lot, so when we go to second string, he installs it as if

he's coaching the first team. There's no drop off. He

spends the second team corner just like the first team

corner. There's no excuses.

Q. Which one of the No. 2s on your team do you

think in a year or two is going to be a star?

CORDREA TANKERSLEY: We have like Mark Fields,

Adrian Baker. Those two are ones that stand out in my

mind that are going to be really good football players.

Then we have some up like Kaleb Chalmers. He's

going to be really, really good, as well. We have a lot

of people that can step up and help us in the near

future.

Q. Talk about Baker Mayfield and his

competitiveness.

Ben Boulware: That's one thing you definitely can

see on film. After plays he's getting in guys' face. He's

pulling down, running to the mouth. As a competitor

like myself, you love seeing that. You love getting to

play against that, so I'm looking forward to getting to

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play against him. We've got to play there's a new

quarterback last year, so we're definitely looking

forward to playing against him and just seeing all the

things he can do.

Q. It seems obvious, but is that the biggest

difference in this team from a year ago?

BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, the quarterback. Baker

Mayfield brings a lot to the table. He's probably one of

the best quarterbacks we've faced all year. He's a

Heisman contender. You can see by his stats he's a

great player. He's probably one of the top best players

in the nation. You definitely can see that on film.

Q. Can you take anything away from last year's

game because he changed that team so much?

BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, he completely changes that

team 100 percent. It's a complete 180 turnaround. He

was a great player, but it just shows how much better of

a player Baker Mayfield is.

Q. When you first came to Clemson, were you

thinking more championships or were you thinking

how it could help you grow as a person and you

just liked the atmosphere and the coaching staff?

BEN BOULWARE: Probably a little bit of both, but I

mean, I wasn't I just wanted to come to Clemson

because I've been a Clemson fan my whole life. I grew

up 30 minutes away from here, and then going to the

games. So I never thought about that, I just wanted to

come to Clemson and hope for the best really, and it's

definitely exceeded my expectations.

Q. Shaq said a little bit ago, I really love practice. It

seemed like a strange thing to say. What's that say

about his personality?

BEN BOULWARE: We've probably got a lot of guys on

our team that feel that way. It's why we've been so

successful the past couple years because Coach

Swinney has done such a good job of making practices

as fun as possible, and it's definitely grueling, it's

definitely tiresome every day. But I think they've done

a great job of making it as enjoyable as possible these

18 weeks. It speaks volumes to them that we're this far

in the season, he's out there just having a good time,

joking around, and you want that attitude out there. It

just brings a lot to practice because it does get

tiresome.

Q. What about Shaq Lawson and all the attention

he receives?

BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, I don't think he lets that get to

his head. He's still the same old kid from Daniel, South

Carolina, or Central South Carolina, so it's cool to see

him grow as a person and see why he's growing and

staying so humble after receiving every award in the

country

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