By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

It’s almost April and the only thing Dabo Swinney has heard from Martavis Bryant are the two touchdowns he caught in Wednesday’s first scrimmage of the spring in Death Valley, and that is just the way the Clemson head coach wants it.

“It has been almost three months and I have not heard ‘BOO!’ from him,” Swinney said. “I have not heard one thing in any area so I’m proud of him. I’m proud of him because he has never been this consistent with his commitment and it is showing up on the field.”

On the field, Bryant caught three passes for 46 yards Wednesday, and scored two touchdowns for the offense. He caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Cole Stoudt and a five-yard one from Tajh Boyd. It was the second straight day one of Bryant’s coaches praised him. Following Tuesday’s practice, offensive coordinator Chad Morris was singing his praises.

“You hate to brag on him because as soon as you brag on him something will go wrong, but he is doing really well, and he has had a really good semester from an academic standpoint to everything,” Morris said. “It seems like he has good focus about himself, and it is about time.”

Bryant, who came to Clemson from nearby T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, SC, has been in his coaches’ dog house the last couple of years. Some of it has come from his lack of commitment in the program, but most of it has been from his lack of commitment in the classroom.

“He had slipped,” Swinney said. “There was one line hanging and he held on and he pulled himself up out of the hole. Listen, I give him the credit. He deserves the credit. I tell these guys all the time that it is never too late to do what is right. It is never too late to do what is right.

“He is not a bad guy. He is not at all. He has just been immature and has been an uncommitted guy off the field academically and in the meeting rooms. The way he practiced and prepared, and being dependable. Listen, accountability, responsibility, dependability and trust ability, all of those are the abilities that matter. It is way more than ability. He has plenty of ability. It was all of those other ones that kept him from being a complete player. He has had great moments but they have been inconsistent.”

Last year, Swinney suspended the star wide receiver for the Chick-fil-A Bowl after Bryant missed study hall one too many times.

“Him having to sit at home, not get bowl gifts, not get bowl money and have to watch his team win without him, you would hope that would kind of get his attention,” Swinney said. “That’s why I did it. If I was just interested in beating LSU, I would have said, ‘Don’t worry about those study halls you have been missing, Com’ on! I need you big boy!’

“He is 6-4, 6-5, can fly and can catch the football. But we are much more than that with this program. I have said this many times. I rather lose trying to do it right than win knowing I’m doing it wrong. To me, that’ what that is all about.”

To top it all off, Bryant missed the advantages of bowl practice, the trip and then he had to watch on television as his teammates beat LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. While everyone was celebrating one of the program’s biggest bowl victories in Atlanta, Bryant was back home in Anderson wishing he was a part of it.

“I had time to myself to think,” the junior said.

Bryant thought about how he had no one to blame but himself. It was a moment that changed the way he looked at playing football at Clemson and how he looked at his school work.

“I saw it slipping away,” he said. “I was depressed that I was not there to help my team out. I watched the game. I made sure I watched the whole game. It’ not going to happen, again.”

So far he has been a man of his word.

“I’m getting better each day, but I have to keep working,” Bryant said. “I have not made full progress yet, but I’m getting there. I want to gain their trust and let them know I’m going to be there for them.”

That’s the kind of news Swinney likes to hear and he hopes the only thing he will be asked about in the future when it comes to Bryant is the success he has become on the football field.

“I’m still skeptical, but hopefully he can continue to be committed,” Swinney said. “He has a smile on his face and is having fun. I love his body language and his demeanor.”