Sunday teleconference: Xavier Thomas getting back in shape, Tigers improving

Nyles Pinckney rushes for a touchdown. (Photo courtesy ACC)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Oct 18 18:46:41 GMT-04:00 2020

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said the dominating effort against Georgia Tech was the best game his team has played all season, but it’s a young team that is still getting better. The game also provided another stepping stone for defensive end Xavier Thomas.

Top-ranked Clemson defeated Georgia Tech 73-7 Saturday in Atlanta. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns. Travis Etienne rushed just 11 times for 44 yards and a touchdown as the Tigers emptied their bench in the blowout. Ten different Tigers had rushing attempts, while 17 Clemson players caught passes.

Saturday opponent Syracuse is 1-4 after a 38-21 loss against Liberty. The game is scheduled for noon on the ACC Network.

Swinney spoke with the media Sunday evening to recap the win over the Yellow Jackets and look ahead to Syracuse, and here are a few notes from the call:

*Swinney said the Tigers had played well but had yet to put four quarters together. The Miami game was close, but the win over Tech was the most complete four quarters of the season. At halftime, he told his team that this was where they need to grow. The depth continues to grow and improve. He said he thinks this team is improving and learning every week. A great win at a place that has been tough to win, historically. Almost everybody that traveled had a chance to play a lot of quality snaps. In back-to-back weeks, the Tigers have dominated third down.

*Good to get Xavier Thomas back out there. He played about 20 snaps. He is getting back in football shape. Swinney said that Thomas was solid, especially for a guy who hasn’t played a lot of football. He is going to have to play himself back in a little bit. He got tired a few times and had a half tackle for loss and a couple of assists and got in on a couple of plays. He is easy to notice because he has so much natural ability. It was good to get Xavier breathing heavy and getting him back into football shape.

*Offensively it was a special and explosive day. Trevor Lawrence was amazing. The stat of the game was that Clemson played four quarterbacks and still threw for almost a 70 percent completion rate. That includes the punter lining up at QB and throwing a pass.

*Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh had surgery Sunday and had a few screws inserted in his left hand and is day-to-day.

*Proud of Hunter Helms and how he was able to get in there and get some snaps. He is a great kid to have and Swinney is really proud of him. He has some potential if he will develop and learn. Swinney said that Helms hasn’t gotten a lot of reps but has listened in meetings and it showed.

*Special teams were excellent. Punting was good, kickoff coverage was good. Got FG unit shored back up. Only had two penalties despite playing a lot of guys.

*On Frank Ladson’s drops, Swinney said it’s been the same play for him each time. Went through it with Mike Williams the year after his injury, dropped two or three TDs in the game at Auburn, and then settled back in. Came back and made some good plays yesterday. The ones he has problems are the easy ones where no one is around him. He has to finish with his eyes and coaches have to create repetition in practice.

*Swinney says it easy to notice Trenton Simpson because he is making all the tackles. He is easy to coach. The coaches noticed him a lot in camp. He has a lot to learn and they gave him a few things this week they thought he could go and execute. The 22 snaps were the most he has gotten and as the season goes you will see him mixed in there along the way. He is an explosive player with a lot of gifts and tools, and Swinney is super excited they have him. He will be a great one.

*On tight end Braden Galloway not playing a ton of snaps, they got a lot of the younger tight ends some good snaps.

*On Syracuse, they won three games a couple of years ago and one of the wins was over the Tigers. He is only worried about this week because Clemson has had some tough games against the Orange. He has respect for them and his focus is on getting his team a good week of practice. Having an early-game kickoff helps as they prepare.