What Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said about 'really good' Notre Dame football

Dabo Swinney isn’t exactly a media darling at the moment. He’s said some things in the last couple weeks that have caused quite some hoopla around his Clemson Tigers. But four days before they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Swinney actually had a decent back and forth with local reporters.

About Halloween.

He asked one reporter if his kids are dressing up for the holiday. The gentleman said yes; they’re trick-or-treating as Mario and Luigi. Another reporter said he’s dressing up as “a coach who just broke his foot recently,” which was a jab at Clemson’s rival head coach, Shane Beamer of South Carolina. Swinney seemed surprised by that one.

“That’s what we’re dressing up as? OK. All right,” Swinney quipped, rubbing the outside of his mouth in amused puzzlement.

Another reporter said he’s going as “Tyler from Spartanburg,” alluding to the radio caller who caused Swinney to go on a bit of a tirade Monday night. Swinney got a kick out of that.

“Who’s going as Dabo from Pelham, Alabama?” he asked. “Who’s going to dress up for that? There might be a couple of them, I don’t know.”

All jokes aside, Dabo from Pelham, Alabama, is in some hot water. His Tigers have four losses in one season for the first time since 2011. They’re in danger of falling below .500, which is not commonplace at Clemson. Here’s what Swinney said about Saturday’s matchup.

General thoughts on Notre Dame

“This is a really good football team. I think they’re the most complete team we’ve played. I know they’re not undefeated, but I think this is the most complete team we’ve played. It’s a really, really experienced team. Very, very experienced. Veteran group. They really have all the pieces. Everything you need. They’re sound. They’re well-coached on both sides of the ball and special teams.

“It’s a game we really stunk in last year, honestly. It was our worst game of the year. We played awful. Started out with a blocked punt. We busted an assignment on a three-man shield there. Blocked punt, score. Really just played terrible. Thankful for another opportunity to go compete.

“But this is a really, really good football team. I think we’re a good football team as well. We just have not been able to do what we need to do. That’s the reality of where we are. But we got another opportunity this week. Going to be a big challenge.

“It will be a game if we turn the ball over, it’s going to be a long day. We lead the nation in fumbles. And if we didn’t lead the nation in fumbles, we’d be 8-0 if you didn’t change anything else on our team. We’ve had chances to overcome the fumbles. Even with that, we’ve had chances to still win. We haven’t been able to quite overcome it. We have to find a way, somehow, someway, to grow up, grow through it and put our best foot forward.

“Looking forward to the fight. Looking forward to the challenge. Hope everybody will show up in the Valley and get behind these guys. Season ain’t over. We have four more games. We’re going to fight our butt off to finish the very best we can and grow our team.”

On the Fighting Irish offense

“It starts with being able to stop the run. Being able to be gap-sound because what they do formationally with their bunch sets, their motions, they create gaps. So we go to be very disciplined. Our linebackers and secondary have to be able to tackle well.

“They’re going to challenge you. We got to be able to get some run game going. You got to make plays. They should have won the Ohio State game. That’s crazy how they lost that game. But it’s a tough football team. They’re fun to watch on tape because they do a lot of good things that you got to do well to give yourself in football.

“I think they’re outstanding at running back. [Audric Estimé], he averaged about 5.6 yards per carry on us last year. So he’s a tough, physical downhill runner. But they got three or four guys they’re playing in there.

“The receivers, that’s the most improved part of their team. They’ve gotten better and better throughout the year. They moved one of the running backs, [Chris] Tyree, they moved him to slot. And that’s been a good move for him. He’s an explosive guy. He’s got the second-most receptions. They obviously lost [Mitchell Evans], I think he was leading them in catches. But Tyree is a good player. [Jayden Thomas], [Rico Flores Jr.], [Holden Staes] — the kid that’s going to take [Evans’] place — is a good player.

“It all starts up front with them. Really good group up front. [Joe Alt] is probably going to be a first-round pick. He’s a very good player. But really, all of them. It’s a very experienced group. I think they’re all fourth-year players and graduates, etc. It will be a good matchup there.”

On the Fighting Irish defense

“Really physical. Veteran linebackers. Veteran guys up front. Got a lot of respect for how they play. Especially [Howard Cross III], his dad and I were at Alabama together. His dad was finishing up my freshman year at Alabama in ’88. And then his dad, Howard, was a tough, physical tight end. Went on to play for about 10 years for the Giants. Watching his son, he’s tough. He plays with his hands well. He’s physical. But all of those guys up front get after you. Got great linebackers. Really, really good at corner as well. Probably first-round type draft pick there at corner also. Really good front and good football team.”

On Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman

“And then obviously their quarterback, he’s a pro. He’s a pro. You watch him play, that guy shouldn’t be playing college football. He’s a pro. He’s smooth. He’s poised. He’s very confident. He don’t flinch. And I’ve seen him for 10 years now. So I got a real good understand for who he is. And a lot of respect for him. He’s a great kid. But he is a pro. This guy is a really, really good football player. The game is slow for him. He does a great job of managing the game. He knows where everybody is at. He can really, really run. He doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to run and extend plays.”

On how to match up against Hartman at Wake Forest vs. at Notre Dame

“It’s a different scheme. They’re still a run-based offense as far as that goes. It’s not a slow mesh or anything like that. He’s a little more clean in the pocket I guess I would say. Wake Forest, you got a lot of RPOs and a lot of meshing. There is a lot of shrapnel flying around all the time. I think that’s one of the reasons he doesn’t flinch. Nothing bothers him. That’s his norm with what they did at Wake Forest. He’s a very poised guy.

“He was obviously really well coached at Wake Forest. I think they do a great job of coaching and teaching. But probably just cleaner in the pocket. Just true play action as opposed to slow ride and stuff like that. A lot of boots. Really, really strong up front. Do a good job of taking shots down the field and giving you play action shots and stuff like that. Get him out of the pocket. He’s a good football player. It’s like watching a pro. It’s like watching an NFL guy playing college football. The game is really slow to him. Good player.”

On last year’s game vs. Notre Dame being as sticking point

“Yeah. It was all year. That was the easiest press conference I’ve had. There wasn’t much to say after that one. We got what we earned. We got our teeth kicked in.”

On if it surprises him to see the Irish wide receivers playing well guided by Clemson product Chansi Stuckey

“No. No. Chansi was one of my favorites here. He was the backup quarterback, and I recruited him for my first year and a half here. I stayed in his ear like, ‘Look, Charlie Whitehurst has three more years. C’mon. Look, Chansi, you’re not going to play in the NFL at quarterback. You’re 5’10” or whatever.’ And I’m like, ‘If you’ll give me two years, I’m telling you, you’re going to make the NFL.’ He finally relented. He made the move. I think he led this league a couple years in a row in receptions and ended up having about a five-year career in the NFL.

“He went on with his life. He was an actor and he was whatever. And he ended up getting called to the ministry. He’s an amazing story. He really is. But we’re playing in the national championship — just so you know, we have done that recently — it was January of ’19, it wasn’t 35 years ago, but January of ’19, we were out in California and Chansi reached out. He was in the ministry. I think he was 36 or 37 and he wanted to come meet with me at the hotel. I hadn’t seen him in a while. So he came over to the hotel the day before the game. He just said his heart was calling him to coaching. Never coached a day in his life.

“I said, ‘Well, it’s going to be hard.’ I said, ‘Well here’s the deal. If you want to come coach you need to figure out if you really want to do it.’ Everybody thinks they want to coach, but you need to figure it out. I said, ‘Here’s the only opportunity I got. I got a video [graduate assistant] spot.’ He was too old to be a GA. I said, ‘What that’ll do is, that will give you a year to figure out if you really want to do it and what it’s all about because you don’t know what you don’t know and it’s a lot more than what you see on Saturday.’

“He came in here, I watched him early. Chansi is Chansi. He was a captain here. Great player. I told him early on, ‘If you will give me two years and you will really commit two years to just learning the processes and all the things you need to equip yourself, you’re going to go fast in this business.’ He was a video GA. Two years, all the sudden I get a call from Dave Aranda out of the blue. He just says, ‘Look, I’m looking for a wideout guy. You got anybody? I said you know what, I do. I called Chansi. We talked about the interview process. He was scared to death. Guy has never run a room. Never recruited. Been in football for a year and a half, and he gets hired to go be the receiver coach at Baylor.

“One year later, I’m getting a call from Tommy Rees. He’s like, ‘Hey, can you talk to me about Chansi Stuckey?’ And I’m going, ‘What’s going on?’ We talk about Stuckey, and the next thing I know he’s at Notre Dame. He’s gone fast, and I’m proud of him. He’s already texted me this week. Really proud of him. He’s one of my favorites that I’ve had come through here. It was a blessing to coach him.”

FOR THE FULL BACKSTORY ON NOTRE DAME WIDE RECEIVES COACH CHANSI STUCKEY’S RISE IN COACHING, CLICK HERE: ‘A rocket ship’: How Clemson, Dabo Swinney helped Chansi Stuckey get to Notre Dame