Swinney updates injuries, says banged up Tigers face 'complete' Wake Forest team |
A banged up and beat up Clemson team is the early favorite to win its eighth game of the season next week when the Tigers host No. 12 Wake Forest, a team Clemson coach Dabo Swinney calls complete.
Clemson (7-3, 5-2) will host the Demon Deacons (9-1, 6-0) in a game set for a noon kickoff. The matchup will be televised by ESPN. The Tigers defeated UConn 44-7 on Military Appreciation Day Saturday. “A great day in the Valley and proud of our team. We did what we needed to do. We got a lot accomplished,” Swinney said during his Sunday evening teleconference. “Defensively we were tremendous the whole game, but very disappointed with the opening kickoff. We didn't leverage the ball well at all. They were 0-of-18 on third and fourth down and they had negative rushing yards and with us playing a lot of guys. We answered with a special teams touchdown. "Offensively, we certainly had some positives - 99 plays and 26 first downs. Just missed a lot of stuff, especially in the first quarter. We either put it on the money and dropped it or had someone wide open and didn't hit them. The OL didn't play well inside but Walker Parks and Jordan McFadden played well. We finished well in the first half and I love how we started the third quarter. Those were back to back touchdowns. I wish I could have played DJ Uiagalelei more because I thought he was getting in a rhythm there. We were able to hold some guys but had some guys get hurt, too.” Swinney said he is proud of what his team has accomplished. "These guys have won five out of the last six and three in a row. I'm proud of them,” he said. “We are growing and it'll pay off for us at some point. I am super excited about this weekend - senior day. It's the last game of the year in Death Valley. It's hard to believe. Here we are down to our last one. I love this senior group. They have had a wonderful career. They have a chance to walk out of here undefeated at home. We have to have a great week of practice and get our personnel situated as best as we can. "This is the most complete team we have seen outside of UGA. Wake is very experienced, a lot of confidence and cohesion. We look forward to seeing them." On injuries "We have a few guys where we need to see where they are tomorrow (Monday). We will go from there. Justyn (Ross) ... it's more of his foot. He's been pretty amazing. He has played with a very small stress fracture (in his foot) all year long and has not missed a beat. He rolled his ankle on his other foot last week. He just planted wrong, so it's something he has been battling all year long, since before Georgia. He was off to a great start - three nice plays and then got caught in a pile and tweaked it a little bit. We'll see where he is tomorrow and go from there." Swinney said they will know more on linebacker James Skalski and quarterback Taisun Phommachanh on Monday. He expects safety Jalyn Phillips back next week, and said that defensive tackle Tré Williams is expected to play but is banged every week and faces off-season surgery. Andrew Booth, Will Shipley, Kobe Pace, and Will Putnam are all expected to play against Wake Forest. On Wake Forest “A complete team, a well-coached team, guys who play hard, tough. Schematically and defensively, they do some similar things we have seen. They just do them very well. They shut NC State's rush down. They maximize their depth. They have been able to keep some of their key guys healthy. Their offense ... it is an unbelievable group. They have the best group of receivers we have seen all year, period. They are outstanding. Their quarterback is like Skalski playing linebacker. He is accurate and savvy. Defensively, they make critical plays at critical times. We have seen that from them all year." Swinney said Wake’s offense is unique. “They do what everyone else does, they just do it in slow motion. It's interesting to see how people play them. You see different philosophies defensively against them. It is unique to them. We've seen a few people from time to time with a slower ride but not to the extent they do it. It creates some stress on you. The bottom line is you have to win the line of scrimmage. You can't let them operate the way they want to operate. Man, their pass game is incredible. The amount of times the ball goes down the field is incredible. This quarterback is very confident. "This is an unbelievable, explosive offense. They're sound, physical, they're tough, they finish on plays, their quarterback is accurate and in total command. I have a lot of respect for what they do. We'll have to have a great day defensively. This is a great team. They can play with anybody." Inconsistency on Clemson offensive line “They did a few things where they popped a few guys who took advantage of our inexperience. They had some unblocked guys in there from the secondary. But yes, no question, we did not play as clean as we needed to inside. We have been doing better there but we had too many mistakes and had too many blocks we did not finish. We need to get better there this week. Our two tackles played well. It's always disappointing when you don't play like you expect to. You have a true freshman in there and two sophomores in there. Just not great continuity. Two guys do a good job and another doesn't. There were a couple of miscommunications in there as well. Just a combination of mental and physical errors. We did some good things, just not as efficient as we needed to be. We subbed some, too. Trent Howard did a heck of a job. He's athletic. He's going to be a good player for us. We got Bryn Tucker and Mitchell Mayes in there." Offensive freshmen who stood out "The biggest was Dacari Collins even though he dropped a touchdown. He had another drop on an out-cut, but he is a true freshman. I love what I am seeing out of him. He is growing, plays fast, plays with a high motor. Jake Briningstool is coming on and he's tough and physical. It was good to get Troy Stellato in there. He's improving. Hopefully he can have more opportunities down the stretch. Trent Howard, I was pretty encouraged with him." Defensive freshmen who stood out “I was super proud of them. We played a bunch of guys. It was good to get DeMonte Capehart in. He got 10 snaps. Greg Williams did a few good things. Cade Denhoff was in there and did well. Jeremiah Trotter and Barrett Carter were in there and we saw Keith Maguire in there a little bit. Ray Thornton got some good snaps. He got 20+ snaps. Nate Wiggins was in. Fred Davis got great reps. I'm just pleased with the way they played. Hopefully it'll be something that can give them a boost this week." On Uiagalelei’s inconsistencies "(On) a couple of them, the ball got tipped. A couple he still should have made the play. We gave up some pressure and he had a couple of guys in his face. Just some fundamental stuff. That's really it. He made the right decisions, so that's good. And we had guys open, but just some fundamental stuff he needs to clean up and work on. There are some plays there and you need to make them. You make them and you get into rhythm. When you miss one, you start pressing some. Certainly he had some plays there where we weren't as accurate as we needed to be."
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