Dabo Swinney reveals tough aspect of spring game, breaks down result

Head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers wrapped up spring practice on Saturday, having their annual spring game at Memorial Stadium. It was the first step in getting the program back on track, looking to get back to its winning ways inside of the ACC, and competing for national championships.

Swinney spoke to the media after the spring game, recapping the event and the past couple of months as a whole. Talking about big picture things to smaller injuries and even some of his former players back in town, Swinney covered a lot of bases.

He began with the positives, saying even though Clemson did not have a complete team, players still did a good job of letting the game happen. Swinney said the Tigers got better throughout the spring and thinks they have a really good chance of being a good football team during the 2022 season.

“Enjoyed the game,” Swinney said. “I think we got done what we needed to get done. Some of the guys we needed to see and really just get them some experience. Really appreciate our fans creating a good environment for us, that’s always important. We don’t get this opportunity very often. We don’t get a chance to create a preseason atmosphere, anything like that. To come out here and expose some of these kids. The best thing is to be exposed and gain experience. We had some guys get that. It was tough conditions but a lot of fun. A lot of fun to see them handle their business and finish spring in a good way. We got better this spring. We got a lot to do. First a foremost, get a lot of people healthy.

“Obviously didn’t have a lot of guys out there playing today but we made it work. Just put 11 out there so we could get everybody evaluated and could play. Very incomplete team today but when we get back going in August, we got a chance to be a really good football team if we do what we need to do this summer. Proud of the guys, proud of the work. We had one guy get banged up today in DaCari but nothing serious so he will be sore for a few days. He should be ready to roll when we get back training in the summer. Thankful for that. Adam Randle had to get surgery and he was out here today. Appreciate our fans, bunch of former players out here today. That was fun.”

Dabo Swinney on some of the negatives

Ater, Swinney moved to some of the things he did not like. While there was not much — just some botched snaps and a few miscues, the Clemson head coach is wanting to get better because of them. Swinney said the team will now move to the next phase of their season and working out in the summer.

“Obviously disappointed with the dropped punt snaps. Again, to put some pressure on these guys we got some work to do there. We jumped offsides a couple of times, had some penalties, and had some guys playing out of position maybe a little bit. Again, the guys that we think are going to be dominant players, they’ve been what we need all spring, and the guys that we really need to mature and grow and get better — we were able to do that this spring.

“We got a bunch of guys who aren’t where they need to be and we got to close that gap between now and August. That’s what we call the transformation stage. We’ll start that on Monday. Looking forward to getting back together, watching them grind through the summer. Getting all of these guys back fully healthy and when we put it together, I think we got a chance to be another good football team around here.”

Clemson will open their season on Sept. 5 with an ACC opponent, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Along with their usual conference schedule, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are on the schedule. Of course, the in-state rival, the South Carolina Gamecocks, will be the season finale before postseason play begins.

Dabo Swinney seems to be excited about his team moving forward, especially after the spring game. Time will tell but for now, there’s still room to improve for Clemson.