By Heath Bradley.

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney spoke with the media following practice Wednesday morning. The Tigers first practice of the day Wednesday was a situational scrimmage that took place inside of Death Valley. Following the scrimmage Swinney gave an honest assessment of the day as well as key storylines and position battles that are currently affecting fall camp.

According to Swinney the past couple of days have been a struggle from an intensity standpoint for the Tigers, but the offense bounced back and had one of its better days today, as did the entire team.

“Yesterday was I thought a really poor day offensively, the last couple of days I just do not think we have competed like we are capable of, like I have seen. I really challenged them to come out and have a better day today. I really think as the head coach you are never 100% happy when you walk off the field from a scrimmage. This is because if the offense does well, it is probably because your defense stunk, and vice versa. Today was one of those days I really feel like there was a lot of good on both sides. I was happy to see some guys respond and compete like I know they can, not feel sorry for themselves, but to go and really be accountable to their teammates,” said Swinney.

Following today’s scrimmage, Swinney also seemed to be impressed with the overall play of the defense, as well as how the offense playmakers played in comparison to the past few days of practice.

“Defensively, I continue to be impressed with what we are doing there. We created some turnovers today. Our playmakers also made some plays on the offensive side today. I thought we had some good things in the running game. All of the quarterbacks had some hot moments and some cold moments. Today was a situation scrimmage. We were really trying to teach those guys and create that awareness. A lot of times when you just spot the ball and go scrimmage you really do not get enough work at certain situations, that is what today was about,” said Swinney.

As part of today’s situation scrimmage, the team worked a lot on the two-minute drill. According to Swinney it is early on in camp and improving on how well the offense operates in the two-minute is key. “We worked a good bit on two-minute today, it is something that we really have to work and improve on offensively.” Swinney also stressed that the two-minute drill is something that the offense has just began to work on this fall camp and that a team can never work on it enough, and it is another one of those parts of the game that there is always room for improvement in. “We just started a couple days ago, we really worked it 3-4 times different situations today. You cannot get enough of that pressure, that situational thinking. Understanding your timeouts, the clock, that sense of urgency. We play fast all the time so it is not really an adjustment from a tempo standpoint, but from a management standpoint, coaches and players, you cannot get enough of that work. It is something that we will continue to do because we have to improve.”

Swinney was very impressed with the way that the defense forced turnovers in today’s scrimmage, but disappointed with the fact that the offense also turned the ball over in some key situations.

“The biggest thing is we created turnovers on defense, that is what you want to see. The flip side of that is that we turned it over on offense, a couple of them were a tipped ball, but we had a couple that I thought were poor decisions,” said Swinney.

While the offense did turn the ball over, a few players, especially offensive linemen caught the eye of Dabo Swinney.

“I was encouraged with some of the guys I saw inside. David Beasley looked like he stepped up. I think Brandon Thomas had a little better day today than what he has put in the last couple days in particular. I think he came out today with a little better attitude. I continue to be impressed with Shaq Anthony and Joe Gore; both of those guys are competing, I rolled both of them with the one’s today,” said Swinney.

One battle that is ongoing is the battle for backup quarterback. According to Chad Morris following yesterday, and Dabo Swinney today, Chad Kelly is making a statement to play early and avoid a redshirt.

“Chad Kelly has been here just a few weeks and he is operating the system at a pretty high level for a guy who has literally been here just a few weeks. It is very impressive to see him go out there and be able to function effectively and efficiently the way he is right now. It really doesn’t matter what group you put him with, he seems to find a way to move the ball. He makes plays with his legs, makes plays with his arms. I like his competitiveness, he has come to compete and a lot of that goes to how he prepared this summer. In there watching film on his own, and it shows,” said Swinney.

While Kelly continues to impress coaches, sophomore Cole Stoudt has also had a good camp, and was very impressive in today’s scrimmage according to Swinney. “Cole Stoudt was a guy that I thought really showed up today and did some really good things. Cole took his team down a couple times for touchdowns. He had a good two-minute drive to win the game. He had a nice long touchdown pass to Hopper.”

The third member of the backup quarterback race, Morgan Roberts did not have his best day in the scrimmage today. However, this is something that does not worry Swinney. “Morgan Roberts is a guy that I think has a ton of upside. He did not have a great day today, but he has had some very good days in fall camp. The thing I like about Morgan is when he doesn’t have a good day; he usually comes back the next day and makes up for it. That is who he is, in my opinion, a great competitor.”

While many people may worry about such a tight race for the backup quarterback, Swinney feels that it is what is best for this team, and having such a serious battle is making each of the players improve on a daily basis. The competition and pressure from coaches is turning these players into better leaders, a key for the quarterback position. “I think we have a lot of competitors at that position, and that is what you want. They are not afraid to fail, or to compete. I think all of them have a chance to be good leaders. It is a good healthy situation, right now we will just keep our feet to the fire, keep challenging them and hopefully it will separate and we will have a pecking order.”

Swinney was also impressed with the way the Tigers ran the ball today, especially Rod McDowell who rushed for over 100 yards including two long touchdown runs. “I thought Rod McDowell ran the ball very well today.”

The improvement of the defense is something Coach Swinney has spoke of this entire fall camp, and today was no different. According to Swinney the secondary had a very good day today in the scrimmage. According to statistics the defense totaled six interceptions today, including three from Rashard Hall. “Defensively, our secondary is very active. They are getting their hands on balls, breaking on balls. They are tackling better, I am impressed with that.” The defensive line, made up of primarily of very young players, has also continued to impress Swinney. “Probably the area that I am most encouraged with and I have said this a couple times is our defensive line. There is a ton of competition, hunger in that group and a ton of guys making plays at end and tackle.”

One quote from today sums up the overall outlook from spring practice. “Iron sharpens iron and that is what is going on our practice field right now.” This means that right now there are a lot of quality players battling each other for playing time this season. The more these players work and battle to be the best, the better the team will be as a whole.