Dave Canales, who is entering his second season as head coach of the Carolina Panthers, thinks a lot of Dabo Swinney, who’s going into his 18th season (and 17th full season) as Clemson’s head coach.
Canales had the chance to chat with and learn a little bit from Swinney on Monday, when Swinney went to Panthers training camp in order to watch Clemson legend Hunter Renfrow in action with his new NFL team.
“It was awesome. I’m so glad he came to join us our first day of pads,” Canales said of Swinney. “I really admire Coach Swinney, just over the years, just watching the programs that he’s built, the type of football that they play. I don’t get to hang out with him enough, so when things like this work out where I can steal three to five minutes and pick his brain, just on building culture and pushing the guys and all the things that I know he’s done so well for so long.”
Renfrow, who signed a one-year deal with the Panthers in April, sees similarities between his old head coach at Clemson and his new one in Charlotte.
“They’re very similar,” Renfrow said of Swinney and Canales. “They’re very optimistic. They believe in you before you believe in yourself. They try to speak life into people, speak good into people. …
“They’re both awesome people. Unbelievable human beings, first, right. I think y’all know Coach Canales well enough, and being around Clemson as well, I think they’re both the epitome of just good people and they want the best for the people they do life with. They love people. They care about people first, and then football takes cares of itself. And you want to do well for people like that. … Whatever industry it is, I think you just want to see good people succeed, and so that gives you a little extra when you wake up in the morning.”
Of course, Renfrow is making his NFL comeback after missing all of the 2024 season as he dealt with health challenges stemming from a diagnosis of the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis.
Now healthy again, Renfrow has quickly acclimated himself well with his new team and was impressive when the Panthers opened training camp on July 23, with Renfrow hauling in multiple nice catches, including a diving grab. He continued to impress with another diving catch on Monday.
Renfrow is now embarking on his sixth NFL season, after recording 269 receptions for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns across his five seasons with the Raiders from 2019-23.
He was drafted by the Raiders in the fifth round (149th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft following a legendary Clemson career during which he won two national titles while racking up 186 receptions for 2,133 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Swinney says Renfrow looks like a normal guy in street clothes, but transforms into “Superman” when he puts a helmet on, and Canales agrees with Swinney’s sentiment about the 5-foot-10, 185-pound receiver.
“It’s a special competitive brain that Hunter has,” Canales said. “I think some guys, they get better and better the more it feels like real ball, where they continue to play with an awareness. Eyes and feet, that’s kind of the name of the game at receiver, and you don’t see a dropoff. Whether we’re going in seven-on-seven or one-on-ones, you get to the team periods, and it’s the same speed of play that he’s done for a really long time.”
–Photo courtesy of Scott Kinser-Imagn Images