Venables opens up about loss to Buckeyes and the gameplan: "Burn it all"

Venables said nothing about the loss to the Buckeyes was worth a flip

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Mar 31 19:10:35 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables started Wednesday’s post-practice availability by letting everyone know that he likes to take responsibility for his defenses, and the reason that he hasn’t spoken with the media since before the Sugar Bowl had nothing to do with conspiracies or ducking questions. That night against the Buckeyes was a bad night in every way.

The Buckeyes rolled up 639 total yards in the 49-28 victory in the College Football Playoff semifinal, and Venables hasn’t had a chance to speak with the media since a few days before the game. He was all smiles as he spoke following Wednesday’s practice, and made it clear it wasn’t his choice to wait so long to speak.

“The College Football Playoff, they didn't have any interviews set up for the coaches after the game. I am always the man to stand out in front and stand in the gap, but they didn't have a spot for us to visit after the game,” Venables said. “And then each coordinator was allowed one time to speak this spring. One was going to go at the beginning and then I am at the end, so it is what it is. No conspiracy theories going on around here.”

Venables didn’t hold back when discussing the loss to the Buckeyes and said burning the gameplan was the best thing that could happen.

“There wasn't anything worth a flip. The preparation, the gameplan, just burn it all,” Venables said. “We did a poor job of having our guys prepared. Both lines of scrimmage we got physically worked and they got after us, in every way, at all three levels of our defense. We were out-physicaled and I don't think we had the right mindset. I think that goes without saying. They established the run early and that set up play-action passes. We let guys run by us in 3-deep (coverage) and 2-deep and let guys run right through us. We didn't set the edge all day. We got knocked off the ball and it was a bad might, coaching and playing, to say the least. We have a lot of work to do.”

He added that there were a lot of positives to take away from last season, but the biggest takeaway is that the Tigers have to be more physical.

“I am not going to take anything from the season that we had. We had a great year and fought through a lot of adversity like a lot of teams did in college football and the NFL,” Venables said. “We had some great moments during the year going into the playoffs. You look at us compared to the other three playoff teams, we were number one in 15 of 26 statistical categories. There was a lot that was positive. We had an excellent year and a terrible ending and a lot to learn from. It was a humbling experience and a lot of self-evaluation.

“The most important area where we have to get better and an area we have emphasized during the offseason and spring ball and finish up and get into the summer is improving our physicality at all three levels. We had nine new starters last year, and sometimes young guys play a little bit more on their heels at times because they haven't been there and done that. I think at different times we had a lot of not only first-year starters but first-year guys, and I think they did remarkably well, too. But plenty of things from a fundamental, physical, and strength standpoint and we have to be able to improve our ability to dominate and stop the run.”

The middle of the defense should be better, and that is where Venables has seen the most improvement this spring.

“We didn't show against Ohio St. We have to live with that and learn from that,” Venables said. “I think improving our run fundamentals is where it all starts and I think we will be stronger up the middle of our defense this year. I've seen that improvement and probably the most improvement I've seen in any two guys in our defense are Tyler Davis and Bryan Bresee. They have had terrific springs, and if we are going to be what we hope we can be going into next year that is where it is all going to start. But again, overall just a humbling experience. We didn't coach them worth a dang and certainly didn't play well in any way, shape, or form, and didn't do a good job of getting ready for it.”