Dabo Swinney previews challenging matchup against Drake Maye, UNC offense

Dabo Swinney knows that his Clemson Tigers will have their hands full on Saturday when they take on the high-powered offense of North Carolina. Ahead of the game, the Clemson headman previewed what challenges his defense will face in the ACC championship game against the Drake Maye-led UNC offense.

“Offensively, they’re the best we’ve seen by far,” said Swinney. “They are really, really very good, and they’re consistent. Their quarterback is a great, great football player. He’s a guy that was probably leading for the Heisman going into the Georgia Tech game… He’s a very good player, which is why we recruited him. He’s a winner, very accurate, puts the ball where guys have a chance to make a play, and just really impressive.”

Maye was named the ACC player of the year after a stellar performance. The redshirt freshman has thrown for 3,847 yards completing 298 of his 440 pass attempts with 35 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing and rushing yards with 161 attempts for 629 yards.

Swinney says Tar Heels have a herd of talent on offense

It’s not just Maye the Tigers’ defense has to worry about, as the Tar Heels have weapons all over the field. Two of them are in the backfield with Maye and running backs Elijah Green and Omarion Hampton. Both of which have caught Swinney’s attention.

“Good backs. 21 and 28 are very good players. They took the open snap against Georgia Tech to the house; 21 did. But the thing about Drake is he’s got 35 touchdowns and five picks. So he takes care of the ball, but he’s also the leading rusher on the team. He’s a very productive runner. A lot of yards on scrambles but a lot of design runs too.

“Good tempo team, a lot of shifts and motions,” said Swinney. “Pretty much an RPO built into everything they do… a lot of RPO stuff. And then they got the best player we’ve seen, and that’s 11. I mean, he is a great, great football player. He will have his name called early. He’s special. He’s really, really, really good; he can catch everything, quick as a cat. He’s got great football savvy. They get him the ball every which way. They’ll use him in a lot of different ways. So, you better know where he is.”

Josh Downs is having another solid year on the outside for North Carolina. Although there’s been a slight decrease in receptions and yards, he has been a more viable touchdown threat hauling in 11 on the season. And it is not just Downs causing problems on the outside. Receivers Antoine Green along with J.J Jones, and tight ends Bryson Nesbit and Kamari Morales have been hard to keep in line as a unit for opposing defenses.