Swinney still upbeat as Tigers begin championship phase of season

Swinney says the Tigers are focused on beating Louisville.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Nov 03 19:30:00 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – November means the Championship Phase of Clemson’s season, and even though the Tigers are out of the running for a berth in the College Football Playoff, that doesn’t mean that November takes on any less importance, especially with arch-rival South Carolina waiting at the end of the month.

Head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media following Wednesday’s practice and covered a variety of topics, including injuries, and he was asked about how the team is handling the championship phase of the season.

“Every game is a best of one, that is the way it is and nothing has changed. But this is the championship phase of our journey, of our year,” Swinney told TigerNet. “We've been a good November team for a long time and we need to stand on the foundation of this program and go have a great November. And to do that, we need to find a way to go win this dadgum game in Louisville and that is where it starts. Hey, anything can happen. There is a lot of ball to be played. We aren't where we want to be in that we don't control our own destiny - we don't - but we have to focus on what we do control and that is taking care of the opportunity we do have and finding a way to win and just keep moving forward.”

Swinney said the Tigers have four days left in the regular season – four games – including South Carolina.

“We have four days left in our regular season and all four of those days are critical. We got better in October and hopefully, we can get better in November and find a way to finish really strong, because you never know what can happen,” Swinney said. “We have two conference games left and the best we can do is 6-2 in this league. We have to take care of the opportunities in front of us, and if we do that, we can live with whatever we get. And then obviously we finish our season with a state championship, which is very important to everyone. We are trying to have a great November and the best finish we can - that is our focus.”

Other notes

*In regard to injuries, Swinney won’t say who is going to play or not play. He said there are a couple of gametime decisions, but nobody he would rule out right now. The question was asked about Will Putnam, Phil Mafah, and Mason Trotter.

*Swinney says freshman center Ryan Linthicum will make the trip this week. He has three games left and they are trying to hold his redshirt. He has been grinding away with the other guys, like Tristan Leigh, in power hour (a Clemson strength program primarily for redshirts).

*He says that reserve offensive linemen Paul Tchio and Mitchell Mayes have been getting better. Tchio disappointed Swinney when he went in last week and got beat on a draw, which is OL-101. They like what they have seen out of those guys, including Trent Howard and Bryn Tucker, they are all still coming.

*He doesn’t think they would have redshirted left guard Marcus Tate without the injuries, he would have been on the Jackson Carman plan, just easing him into it. Playing OL is hard and he's at a tough position to play, but Tate has made a lot of improvement. Swinney mentions Justin Falcinelli, who was center on title team in 2018, and you hope that by junior or senior year you have a guy that turns into “a dude” and is ready to play. Having a freshman ready to do it early isn’t seen very often, it’s a developmental position in a developmental game. He does think that Dietrick Pennington (redshirting this year due to injury) would have been a starter this year. Tayquon Johnson is another guy Swinney thinks could have helped this year.

*On wide receiver Troy Stellato, Swinney says it’s a “little bit of everything” that keeps him off the field. He is making progress, and they have three games left where they are going to try and get something out of him. He missed Skills and Drills when he was hurt, and he missed the early part of camp, and it wasn’t easy for him because he was behind right out of the gate. The good thing is that Stellato has really responded and is improving. He has all the tools but you have to be able to put it all together. He will have the opportunity as the Tigers finish the season.

*On Will Brown, Swinney says Brown is a grinder, committed, loves Clemson. He is one of those guys that is taking advantage of his opportunity. He has hung in there and battled, especially after hamstring injuries early in his career. He is smart and tough and very dependable.

*Swinney says it’s time for the offense to stop scoring for the other team. That is a trend that needs to stop and you can’t do that heading into a game like this weekend.