By William Qualkinbush.

By William Qualkinbush.

Have I mentioned how much I loathe spring practice coverage?

In case you’re just joining us, it has nothing to do with football. I love football. I love football news and football stats and football rumors.

To me, spring practice coverage is nothing but a masquerade ball—dressing up every statement anyone makes as a vitally important development within the big picture of the program. We give you news because you want it. That’s the reality.

Just because the coverage is overblown, however, doesn’t mean each spring isn’t significant within the program. It just means we don’t know how or why it matters.

In his opening statement to reporters on Monday night, Dabo Swinney spoke to this reality by revealing exactly how he feels about his team at the moment. With one measly week of practice in the books, here is his assessment:

“I think, after five days, this is a team that is going to be fun to coach. They want to be good. We’re not very good right now, but they want to be good.”

If you could sum up spring practice in one quote, this would probably be a good option. It says everything we need to know.

First, Swinney speaks to the small sample size he has to consider. There have only been five practices. Rarely do any definitive conclusions come out of camp this early, and the ones that do were probably predicted beforehand.

Next, he gives the vibe of his team from his perspective. He compliments them by describing them as “fun to coach” because of the innate desire they have to improve and achieve.

Then, Swinney speaks to the very issue I have with spring practice coverage: “We’re not very good right now…”

Nobody is. Heck, most teams don’t have nearly the people power Clemson does, considering there are early enrollees numbering in double digits getting valuable experience. That’s a major advantage, as well as a major outlier.

See, here’s my principle beef: Most of the time, nobody really knows how good a team is in March or April. It’s more about individual development and making tiny strides in intricate areas.

In other words, the only people who know how good a team is are the players and coaches. We have to pretty much take the word of anyone who wears a jersey or a whistle and opens his mouth. There’s nothing we can utilize to test the claims of a coach or player.

Undoubtedly, some will make quantum leaps all over the place to draw conclusions based upon spring practice and the subsequent spring game. I prefer the Dabo Swinney response, though, which could be read like this:

“We stink, but it won’t last. When we’re actually looking good, we’ll make sure to let you know because it’s coming. I can feel it.”

Essentially, that was his message, and I’m okay with it. It doesn’t pretend fans and media have any idea what’s happening behind closed doors right now, and it puts the entire process in proper perspective in terms of what it means to those within the program.

Finally, somebody gave the answer I’ve been looking for all this time.

God Bless!

WQ