Swinney wants fans to show up for spring game so Clemson isn't internet laughingstock |
CLEMSON – Clemson’s facilities and talent will be on full display Saturday afternoon for the annual Orange and White Game, and head coach
Dabo Swinney is excited.
He also doesn’t want to look like the village idiot. Clemson’s annual spring game will be broadcast on ESPN, with a national television audience looking in on a team that is expected to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. “We’ll split the teams because this thing takes some time to get organized. It’s on ESPN so you don’t want to look like the village idiot running out there, so we’ve got to get organized,” Swinney told TigerNet Monday night. “It’s special teams and substitutions. The coaching staffs are split. We just have to get everybody in their right roles, so we can look like we know what we’re doing out there somewhat.” Swinney says this spring game holds more excitement than any in recent memory. “I’m excited about the game. I’m as excited about this spring game as I have been for any of them just because of the amount of numbers that we have,” he said. “We have a lot of guys. We’ll meet in the morning and I’m anxious to see how the coaches have split each of their segments. I split the staff tomorrow afternoon and they have no idea what team they’re going to get so they have to split their group very evenly. We’ll make sure we get that right and then we’ll get together on Wednesday and we’ll flip for it and name the head coaches and get the staffs all set. It should be a very good game.” He is hoping for a big crowd – small crowds at recent spring games have drawn snarky comments on the internet. “I know I’ve said it a few times but I really hope our crowd will show up. I think it’s important because when they don’t they put you all over the internet that you didn’t show up,” Swinney said. “I hope our crowd does show up and this will be a great environment. I think it’s always fun to come spend a day in Clemson. We’ve got a lot going on - the spring, golf, baseball against Miami, a regatta. We’re getting our rings. The team will get them Wednesday night at dinner and then our seniors are going to get their rings at halftime. It’s going to be a great day.” How will the quarterbacks be split? “We’ll put two on each team and let them go play.” Monday’s half scrimmage “Just more of what I saw today. As we mixed them up today, I saw some guys make a few plays today -2's-on-1's - but it didn’t look that way. I saw the second offense go right down the field on attack and score. The only touchdown given up was by our first defense to the second offense. I saw our second defense go three 3-and-outs, so that is very encouraging. Now, we’re going to split it all up. You’re going to have different guys beside each other. I just want to see guys continue to play with clean execution and demonstrate that they know what they’re doing.” Braden Galloway might play in spring game “I think we might be able to use him. He’s gotten in some skeleton, some team pass. We might have to yell at him a little bit, but he’s alright. He knows just enough to get a few things. We’ll cut him loose and try to get him some reps and a little bit of experience. He’s gotten all of the install but getting the live reps is a whole different deal.”
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