Swinney finally talks, Tigers put wraps on big recruiting weekend

Dabo Swinney will address the media today.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Dec 13 22:37:05 GMT-04:00 2021

Today is the first time that head coach Dabo Swinney has spoken to the media since defensive coordinator Brent Venables left for Oklahoma and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott landed at Virginia. Since both of those moves, speculation has run wild in waiting for Swinney to officially announce his staff changes.

We fully expect Swinney to stay inside the program for the hires but don’t be shocked if a former head coach pops up as an offensive analyst.

The press conference takes place at 5:15 (or a little later) in the team room at the Reeves Complex and will occur after today’s bowl practice.

Speaking of the bowl game – I posted this on the board late last week but will also post it here. The Tigers will leave for Orlando on Dec. 23rd. There are no charter flights this time around – players, coaches and support staff will all make their own way to Orlando for the game. The thought process is that many of the players will want to head somewhere else after the game, and Florida is a likely destination. This way they don’t have to come back to Clemson just to return to Florida. There are 10 days between the bowl game and when everyone has to be back on campus.

And no, this is not new. Before the Playoffs, this was a common occurrence. The players and coaches and staff will be paid mileage.

*This past weekend was a recruiting weekend, but some of the bigger news is that Virginia center Olusegun Oluwatimi has been in contact with the Clemson coaches. Oluwatimi entered the transfer portal last week but has the chance to return to Charlottesville for his final season.

He played in 36 games in three seasons at the center position for Virginia. Oluwatimi was named one of three finalists for the Rimington Trophy, presented to the best center in college football. He became the first center at Virginia to be named a finalist for the award. Oluwatimi was also named to the All-ACC Second Team in 2021.

Oluwatimi, who started all 12 games for UVA in 2021 and 32 straight since the 2019 season, graded out at 79.4 by Pro Football Focus, allowing three sacks and a total of 20 QB pressures on a team-high 910 offensive line snaps in 2021. PFF had Oluwatimi as the number two center in the nation in run blocking, and tops in the ACC in that category. Oluwatimi was also a second-team All-ACC honoree chosen by a voting panel of 50 media members and each of the league’s head coaches.

It is notable that Oluwatimi was at Elliott’s introductory press conference Monday.

There are a lot of good players in the portal right now.

*As for that big recruiting weekend, Jennings (LA) 4-star running back Trevor Etienne was in town, along with his famous brother. Etienne is down to Clemson, LSU, and Florida. Clemson is in decent shape here, but he won’t make a decision until January.

Pike Road (AL) 4-star defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry also made it in for an unofficial visit. The Tigers are in desperate need of defensive linemen.

There were also several 2022 commits into town for their official visits. That list includes the newest commit in Irmo (SC) Dutch Fork 4-star wide receiver Antonio Williams. Williams was joined by East St. Louis (IL) 4-star cornerback Toriano Pride and Tampa (FL) Jesuit 3-star linebacker Wade Woodaz.

Some preferred walk-on commits in attendance were Greenville (SC) Christ Church Episcopal School OL Mason Johnstone and Central (SC) Daniel tight end Griffin Batt. Clemson punter commit Jackson Smith of Saraland (AL), in line to earn a scholarship, also made the trip.

Clay Swinney, the youngest of the Swinney brothers, was among the official visitors. His current teammate, defensive back Brodey Conn (son of Mickey Conn), was also on hand. Conn is currently committed to play baseball at TCU.