On Tuesday, head coach Dabo Swinney held his usual weekly press conference. However, this one was special. Seven years ago on this date, Swinney was named the interim head coach at Clemson University. In Swinney’s Tuesday press conference, he also brought up the coincidence that South Carolina’s legendary head coach, Steve Spurrier, officially resigned on the same day.

Here is what we heard on Tuesday:

Swinney has a lot of respect for Spurrier and what he has done for college football. He even said he called him to catch up with him when he heard about the news of his resignation.

“He’s great for college football. I have a ton of respect for him and what he’s done for the game of college football,” Swinney said.

Defensive coordinator Brent Venables had a lot to say about Spurrier’s value as a coach as well.

“He’s just smart,” Venables said. “He puts his players at a competitive advantage. He has answers to what you’re doing, and his guys understand those answers. They play with an edge, kind of a go-for-broke attitude.”

Venables also commented that he loves the way that Spurrier is not afraid to say what is on his mind.

“He says what you’re thinking, and that’s refreshing,” Venables said. “He’s a winner. He’s a proven winner, obviously. Who doesn’t respect that?”

Although a lot of the day was spent talking about the breaking news and reflecting on the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry, the Tigers are also preparing for a game against Boston College.

“They’re number one in a lot of categories. It’s definitely going to be a task for us and a task for our offense. We want to go out there and show that we are the better defense on the field and our offense wants to go out there and show that they can do it against anybody,” safety Jayron Kearse said. “They’re a good defense, but we have a good offense.”

Boston College’s defense may be ranked as the best in the nation, but Kearse has confidence in his own abilities.

“I definitely feel like I’m one of the top safeties in the country. Put my numbers against anybody in the country and I guarantee that they will match up, no mater who it is. I’ve been making plays since I was a freshman. I’m still continuing to make plays. Nobody is playing better than me at my position, and I’m doing everything that I’ve got to do to go out there and show that. If the world takes notice then they do, but if they don’t, I’m still going to enjoy my time as a college football player,” Kearse said.

Venables was complimentary of Boston College’s defense but said that the best defense will win the game on Saturday. He also reflected back to the defense’s dominating performance against Georgia Tech.

“That was a special performance in the big picture. Yeah you had a couple of blown coverages there, kind of made it interesting, but overall you felt in complete and total control of that offense. Not very often, if ever, can you feel that way against a Paul Johnson offense,” Venables said.