Dabo Swinney credits Clemson for mental toughness through struggles

Dabo Swinney saw a lot of mental toughness in Clemson this past season, especially when the team looked like it could fall apart.

At one point, the Tigers were 4-4 on the season, but ripped off five wins in a row. It wasn’t the playoff push they hoped for, but they ended on the right note.

Despite the struggles through the first half of the season and then some, Swinney knew Clemson could bounce back.

“All I can say is that’s just who we are,” Swinney said following his team’s bowl game. “I mean, these guys have — I mean, they’ve just — they love who they’re with. They love where they’re at. We talk about it all the time. The foundation of this program is effort, attitude, belief, unshakeable belief. It’s discipline, and it’s mental and physical toughness. It’s putting your heart into what you do. Again, it’s believing no matter what.”

Swinney heard the noise, criticism, doubt and discussions about what the future might hold. Heck, Clemson was a regular competitor for the national title and this season was certainly not the case.

“They did that. I mean, they epitomized that,” Swinney said. “At 4-4 at a place like Clemson, that creates a lot of noise, a lot of narratives, a lot of doubt, leadership challenges, all those things. These guys, they chose to continue to believe, chose to continue to kind of keep that windshield mentality to just stay in the moment and to stay together. That’s what they chose to do. That’s the decision they made, and that will be here — it’s very easy for them to buy into stuff, but they just kept working.

“Man, these are the lessons that they carry with them for the rest of their life that come through this game of football.”

The development of quarterback Cade Klubnik will be key for the 2024 season and Swinney. Swinney’s been one of the best coaches over the last decade-plus, but there was reason to question his direction after 2023.
The reluctance to use the transfer portal unlike other schools, at least in bulk, certainly raised eyebrows. However, a return trip to the ACC Championship or beyond could certainly turn things around, at least in perception.

The 12-team playoff could also help Clemson’s national title hopes. Swinney talked about mental toughness in his team. Well, if that carries over, 2024 could see plenty of success.