Swinney on Muse's gesture: "Absolutely will not be tolerated here"

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Tue Oct 24 13:04:41 GMT-04:00 2017

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney held his weekly press conference and discussed several topics on his team including the unsportsmanlike penalty on Tanner Muse after his defensive score during the Syracuse loss.

"That was unacceptable and absolutely not be tolerated here," Swinney said. "I sat him for pretty much the rest of the half after the play. It's costly. It's costly. They went on to get a field goal after that. They got the ball on the 40-yard line or whatever. Just really disappointing. It's not who he is. He just got caught up in a moment and lost his mind. That's just not the way we do things here. As a result didn't play very well either. You make a play, ok, but someone else caused the fumble. I'm excited about the play but let's celebrate the right way. I was really disappointed in that, but he has responded the way I hoped he would. He's disappointed in himself and knows that he hurt the team. It's a selfish act. He put everybody in a bad situation - the kick off team, the kicker, the defense, the offense, everybody. So he's a young player that showed a lot of immaturity in that moment. We are going to score on defense some more. There are going to be more opportunities. We need to keep our composure. There is nothing wrong with celebrating, but let's celebrate the right way. Celebrate with your teammates and let's not have derogatory actions."

Swinney thinks that Muse will be a great player when it is all said and done at Clemson.

"He's a sophomore player," Swinney said. "He's done a lot of good things. He's had some big plays and just like any other young player he has had some bad ones too. So he is just a developing guy that has got a lot of football left in front of him. When it is all said and done when he leaves here, he is going to be a great player. He's not a great player right now, but he is a good young player that has the potential to be a great player."

"That was unacceptable and absolutely will not be tolerated here," Swinney reiterated.

Muse agreed with Swinney during his media session on Monday afternoon as he said that his celebration penalty was an "immature move" and "it won't happen again."

In 2017, Muse has 43 tackles and four pass deflections.