Dabo Swinney provides final update before Pittsburgh

Swinney provided updates on several key players, addressed Pittsburgh’s strengths, and much more.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Wednesday, November 13 2024

Injury updates, last-minute Pittsburgh assessments, and bowing down to the “good Lord himself.”

Dabo Swinney had plenty to offer in his final update before Clemson hits the road for the final time this season, making the trek to face off against the seven-win Panthers.

Swinney provided updates on several key players, addressed Pittsburgh’s strengths, and much more.

Here’s what we learned.

On Injuries:

Dabo Swinney had updates on Marcus Tate and Tristan Leigh, who are progressing each day and continuing to get better.

He added Peter Woods is further along than the two, with him already in the recovery process having missed out last week as well.

Swinney had a note on Walker Parks hurting on Saturday but was proud of the way Parks pushed, playing 79 snaps against the Hokies.

On Field Goal Personnel:

Changes have been made to the field goal unit.

After six blocked kicks (five FG and one XP), one of which led to a Hokie touchdown, it appears the tide is changing in a positive way for Swinney’s special teams unit.

Adding Woods back into the mix certainly helps with the protection, with Swinney confirming Woods would slot right back into the protection unit on Saturday.

Swinney also had a good moment with his reaction to Clemson’s lone field goal make of the afternoon against Virginia Tech.

On the broadcast, it looked as if Swinney was bowing down to a staff member, but he clarified it was to the “good Lord himself.”

He might’ve not been the only one praising a higher power Saturday for the make.

Final Pittsburgh Assessments:

Clemson faces a unique challenge against Pittsburgh on Saturday, facing another talented front seven led by linebacker Kyle Louis.

Swinney gave his thoughts on the challenges they bring to any offense Wednesday evening.

"So they're just very committed to what they do, and they bring them from everywhere. It's corners, it's safeties, obviously backers. They're a heavy, heavy four-man team with old safeties, so they're just very aggressive in what they do. Yeah, we definitely played some other teams, but with the amount of hot pressure, they're a little unique in that it's a challenge. They create a lot of stress on you from a protection standpoint, communication, ID quarterback, everybody's got to be on the same page, not just pre-snap, but really they force you post-snap to be very, very disciplined.”

He also provided more comments on Pittsburgh’s star tailback, Desmond Reid. He compared Reid to Issac Brown, who gave the Tiger defense fits not too long ago.

Swinney referred to Reid as a powerful rocket who is also very explosive in space if you give him any room to run with.

On Playing Time For Potential Redshirts:

We may have the opportunity to see new faces to close the regular season.

Guys like Mason Wade, Hevin Brown-Shuler, and Champ Thompson haven’t seen the field much in the 2024 season, but have been under management to keep the redshirt.

With Peter Woods’ return, Swinney said that Brown-Shuler was not going to travel with the team, and that they are trying to manage Thompson’s remaining two games to keep the redshirt intact. Swinney referred to these situations as a case-by-case basis, hoping to get some guys in, but also keep their future plans as the priority.