Buckle up, a busy summer is about to get even busier with Swinney outing this week

Swinney will be back in front of the microphone Tuesday.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Sunday, July 14 2024

There was an exciting finish to the close of last week, and next week will have an exciting beginning.

Let’s start with last week when I attended the court battle between Clemson University and the Atlantic Coast Conference. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was better than I thought. The assembled media were seated in the jury box – I took the seat of the jury foreman so I could stretch out – and we watched as the lawyers on both sides exchanged handshakes and smiles and Clemson athletic director Graham Neff talked with different people.

The judge arrived, laughed at his own tardiness, and the proceedings began. Both sides laid out their arguments, with the Honorable Perry H. Gravely peppering each side with questions.

We took a brief break, came back to finish the agenda, and Gravely let us know he would have a decision after another brief break. When he announced that the case would continue in Pickens County, Neff winked at his smiling lawyers.

But for those who think there will be a quick resolution to any of this, both sides have indicated that this will be a marathon, not a sprint.

And, just to make sure we clear this up, the rumors of Clemson to the Big 12 have dominated a few social media platforms without a lot of basis in fact. I’ve been told the claims are indeed baseless.

OK, now to next week. Tuesday is one of the most exciting days of the year for me, because it marks the beginning of the college football season for us in the media. We will assemble at 8 a.m. at the Reeves Football Complex early in the morning for head coach Dabo Swinney’s 2024 media outing and open house.

For those who want to follow along—and we will have five people in-house — we will speak with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and running backs coach CJ Spiller at 8:30 a.m., offensive line coach Matt Luke, wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham, and tight ends coach Kyle Richardson at 9 a.m.

We start with the defense at 9 a.m. with defensive tackles coach Nick Eason and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, and defensive ends coach Chris Rumph, safeties coach Mickey Conn, and corners coach Mike Reed at 9:30 am.

There will be an open house for the media and lunch, and Swinney will take over the microphone at 12:30 for what will likely be an hour of questioning.

The ACC Football Kickoff is in Charlotte on July 22-25. The first day is Commissioner Jim Phillips, SMU, Florida State, and Georgia Tech. The 23rd features California, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, and the 24th is Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Miami and Wake Forest. Clemson, UNC, NC State, and Syracuse are closing out the week.

The All-In Cookout is set for Friday, July 26th, and practice will start on either August 1st or 2nd (the exact date hasn’t been set, but those are the two dates I’ve been given).

Buckle up, it’s about to get busy.