Dan Scott Interview: Dabo Swinney

by TigerNet Staff - Thu Aug 24 14:59:58 GMT-04:00 2006

Clemson wide receiver coach Dabo Swinney was a recent guest on SportsTalk with Dan Scott to discuss the Clemson receivers look in the preseason. SportsTalk can be heard from 9 a.m.-12, Monday-Friday, on WCCP-Fm, 104.9 in upstate South Carolina.

Listen to the full interview here: Windows Media

Selected Quotes

The biggest thing in camp is we are trying to find out who our best six guys are and trying to get those guys in position. We are primarily a three wide offense. We do a good bit of four wide, and we do a mixture of the two wide as well. We kind of base everything from that three receiver set. We have had a lot of competition. It’s been really good this year. This time last year it was all new for all these guys. Grisham had not played. Rendrick (Taylor) had not played. Aaron Kelly had not played. Chansi (Stuckey) and Curtis Baham were really the only two guys with any significant experience, and Chansi was still developing. He really took another step last year, and right now Chansi is just at another level. He has just been very dominating at practice. He’s just in a zone right now where he feels he can make any play, and that’s really good. So I have been really pleased him. His work ethic has been tremendous. He’s been a great leader, and he’s going to have an outstanding season once again I believe.

Tyler Grisham has solidified himself as a starter. He has really, really earned the right to be a starter in our three wide receiver set. La’Donte (Harris) has had an outstanding camp too. So we got two guys there at the Z (position) that are doing a good job and I’ve been very pleased.

Jacoby Ford has made a move and has really solidified himself as the number two guy behind Chansi. He has done a great job and has really, really made some great strides mentally. He is still a little robotic and mechanical on some technical things but he’s made some great improvements this camp. I’ve very pleased with him, and I think he is going to be poised and positioned to make a lot of plays for us in that role.

Over at X there has been a battle between Rendrick and Aaron. Rendrick was clearly number one and Aaron was clearly number two after that first week of practice. Aaron was absolutely still in Georgia, and just hadn’t shown up but moving Rendrick over there has changed everything. We didn’t have a lot of competition going on over there with Aaron and (Andrew) Diomande, but when we moved Rendrick over there it changed everything. Aaron has responded like all great players do. He’s battled back, and they are pretty much even right now. Depending on what personnel grouping is called one of them is going to run on the field. So I’ve been really pleased.

I think we got the six best guys in the right spots. Depending on personnel groupings those guys will change positions. There are certain groupings where three of them are on the field together or four of them on the field in different combinations. It just depends on what is called. In our base three wide receiver set right now we have Rendrick and Aaron at X and Stuckey and Ford at A and Grisham and Donte at Z.

Diomande has improved, and he is still in the role at X. Another kid is Nelson Faerber. He has really shown up at this camp and hopefully can be a good rotation guy for us. Those are the eight that guys that we are going to get ready to play a week from Saturday.

WR Depth Chart

WR-A 2 CHANSI STUCKEY 6-0 185 *Sr.

6 Jacoby Ford 5-9 175 Fr.

WR-X 5 RENDRICK TAYLOR 6-1 225 So.

Or 80 AARON KELLY 6-5 180 *So.

85 Andrew Diomande 6-1 200 *So.

WR-Z 13 TYLER GRISHAM 5-10 180 So.

26 La’Donte Harris 5-11 185 Jr.

Listen to the full interview here: Windows Media