Prowl and Growl Notes: Swinney says only one possible academic concern

Swinney spoke with the media Tuesday in Greenville

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed May 02 18:31:14 GMT-04:00 2018

GREENVILLE – The Greenville Prowl and Growl was held Monday evening at Fluor Field and head football coach Dabo Swinney and head basketball coach Brad Brownell each took a few moments to “growl” at the media.

Both coaches were actually in a good mood, and while there wasn’t any breaking news there are a few notes we would like to pass along.

Dabo Swinney

*Swinney says he doesn’t expect any academic casualties this spring. The lone exception is transfer kicker Steven Sawicki. An NCAA transfer rule limits the number of hours you can transfer from another institution towards a degree and those hours are in question with Sawicki.

“The only guy I am worried about is Sawicki, and he is a great student,” Swinney said. “He is a walk-on that came out and made the team. You have the degree completion percentage thing, and we aren't sure if he is going to be eligible. He did a nice job for us this spring. It was nice having him out there. That is the only one I am concerned about.”

*Swinney said his thoughts haven’t changed about the spring game.

"It was a very competitive game for sure. The depth of our team showed,” he said. “It was just a play here or there. There were some big plays and I saw some guys finish some plays. The guys in the trenches did a really nice job. A guy like a Matt Bockhorst and a Blake Vinson. It was very competitive. It was a big part of the evaluation process.”

*Swinney said he wasn’t surprised by the NFL Draft.

“Not really surprised. Dorian (O’Daniel) came by just before I left and he came by to give me a hug. He was so excited to tell me his story,” he said. “He is fired up and he leaves tomorrow. It's great to see a guy like him go all the way up to the third round. He thinks they have a plan and a scheme for him. He is excited about that. I reached out to the guys and congratulated them all.”

Brad Brownell

*Brownell said there is nothing new with Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell. Both players declared for the NBA Draft.

Reed and Mitchell were a big part of Clemson’s first Sweet 16 appearance in 21 years as Reed led the Tigers in scoring at 15.8 points per game last season, while Mitchell added 12.2 points per game and a team-high 3.4 assists.

The two will not sign with agents and could opt to return to Clemson for their senior seasons.

"This is really when it is getting started for them, in terms of when they would go and meet with a pro team and sit down with them and talk,” Brownell said. “That will happen in the next few weeks.”

Brownell said both players were on the bubble for a Combine invite but he doesn’t think they got one.