Dabo Swinney reveals the keys to having success against Garrett Shrader, Sean Tucker

At the core of the undefeated start to Syracuse’s season are quarterback Garrett Shrader and running back Sean Tucker. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney knows there isn’t just any one way to try and halt the Orange offense.

Tucker is one of the best running backs in the country and Shrader’s combination of size, strength and a willingness to run provide Syracuse avenues to attack defenses in multiple ways — the emergence of receiver Oronde Gadsden II helps, too. While Clemson’s defensive front is easily the best Syracuse will face to date, and likely all season, Swinney still plans to give a multitude of defensive looks against the Orange.

“You gotta mix it up with them, is the best thing,” Swinney said on Tuesday.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Swinney specifically remembers the issues Clemson’s defense had getting Shrader to the ground consistently a year ago. In a 17-14 win at the then-Carrier Dome, the Tigers whiffed on a number of opportunities to take down the Syracuse signal caller for a negative play.

It’s something Swinney is harping over before the Orange visits Death Valley this Saturday.

“Well the perils are, that quarterback — we had six TFLs that we missed last year,” Swinney said. “Three sacks that we missed. That we had him. We got him. But we couldn’t tackle him. We couldn’t get him on the ground. He’s a problem. He’s not — he’s a big, strong man. So, you can load the box and play a lot of tight coverage, but, if 34 [Tucker] breaks through there, it’s a huge play. And the same thing with the quarterback. He’s an aggressive runner. He sees coverage well. You gotta mix it up.”

Tucker presents the other main threat for Syracuse. He tallied 22 carries for 157 yards plus two receptions for another 20 yards last season. The star tailback is on a strong pace again this year, currently ranking No. 14 in the country in rushing yards per game.

A week after Clemson struggled with missed tackles and cutbacks against Florida State, Swinney is on the alert fix those issues because Tucker can expose them in the same way.

“You’ve got to contain and leverage the football. We did a poor job of that last year. They just ran around us, twice. Once for a huge play, where we don’t set the edge. You have to set the edge on these guys. Regardless of where it’s coming from. Whether it’s coming from the perimeter or the second level, or its your d-linemen. There has to be an end-run force. If you don’t, they’re outside of you, you got problems. Then they get you running, next thing you know they cut back on you, too. And especially as poor as we were last week on the cutback stuff, how we played it technically, we gotta clean that up this week,” Swinney said.