Dabo Swinney reveals offensive line has caught his eye as best position group

As fall camp is underway for Clemson, head coach Dabo Swinney was asked what position group has caught his eye the most so far, and his answer was a very good sign for Tiger fans.

“Probably the OL, I’m not really disappointed in anybody I think all the groups have really done what I hoped they would do. We’ve got guys flashing here and there, but probably collectively a lot of eyes on that OL right now and it’s very obvious that we’re a deeper and better group,” Swinney said.

Injuries got the best of the Tigers last season, especially on the offensive line where in the first nine weeks of the season they used six different combinations of their starting five. Swinney was asked about the battle for the right guard position up front, and elaborated on how the overall depth up front is much improved from last season.

“They’re just all competing and going through assignments right now, nobody’s out here busting assignments but again, we put the pads on tomorrow. We’ve got a lot of physical work to do but it’s going to be fun to watch, it’ll be a battle. Not just spot, but who’s the best five, because we’ve got a lot of versatility as well as being able to move guys, whoever the best five is. This is one of those years where we’re gonna be deep, instead of six guys or seven guys I think we’re gonna have a really really good solid second group that I think would be ready to play, maybe even 11 or 12,” Swinney said.

Swinney also shined a light on two true freshman in Collin Sadler and Blake Miller that could be some key contributors not only in the future, but immediately.

“So I’m excited for that entire group, and it’s not often that your true freshman are capable of helping, but we’ve got two true freshman, we’ve got Sadler and Blake, they’re not normal. They are definitely not normal, they’ve been here since January so they’ve been a great addition for sure and then going along with the guys have redshirted in Tristan, it’s a good group for sure,” Swinney said.

Swinney is clearly optimistic about his offensive line, and hopefully the unit can continue to improve during camp under new offensive line coach Thomas Austin and stay healthier this season they did last year.