It may be fall break for Clemson, but the fifth-ranked Tigers are still hard at work in preparation for hosting Boston College this Saturday.
Following Clemson’s dominating performance over Georgia Tech, many players came to the West Zone to discuss their win over Georgia Tech, their reaction to head coach Dabo Swinney’s rant, and their preparation for the Eagles.
Here is what we heard on Monday:
On Saturday, Swinney gave quite a passionate response to a question that contained the highly despised term, “Clemsoning.” When players were asked about his answer, they unanimously stated that it motivates them to have a coach that cares so much about them to always have their back.
“I definitely wish we could have been there,” tight end Jordan Leggett said. “The players would have given him a round of applause. I felt kind of bad for the dude who asked the question.”
“He fights for us and he gets us everything. The biggest thing we can do for him is win a football game,” Center Jay Guillermo said. “He is a guy we enjoy playing for. He is a guy we do not mind going out and battling for. He is a great leader. He is a great coach and he is someone who really cares about us and obviously that was pretty evident.”
“People needed to hear that. I think with him saying that for us was a real good thing. Knowing our coach has our back,” wide receiver Artavis Scott said.
“It got me fired up,” corner back Cordrea Tankersley said. “I just feel sorry for the next team because we feel like we have to go out and blow everybody out.”
Running back Zac Brooks had a productive game on Saturday, and he says he is happy with the way Clemson is running the ball this year.
“It’s pretty self-explanatory to see what we have in the backfield, knowing the type of coach we have and what we can do. It’s pretty self-explanatory. Why wouldn’t you run the ball heavy? Why wouldn’t you have a great running game? Especially with the O-Line. We have an awesome offensive line and all of those guys take pride in their job,” Brooks said.
Brooks was complimentary of his offensive lineman, but ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week, Guillermo, threw the compliments right back to the running backs.
“It’s awesome. Give credit to all of our skill players too because they’re running the ball and making us look good,” Guillermo said.
Although the coaches and players alike are pleased with their success in the running game, co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliot was thrilled to finally be able to show off Clemson’s passing game against the Yellow Jackets.
“It was good this past week to show everybody we still have the ability to throw the ball. As we continue to develop in both of those areas, and we can come out and do both on a game-by-game basis, that is going to make us even more explosive,” Elliot said.
Elliot knows he has a big task this week, preparing an offensive scheme for Boston College’s defense.
“Just looking at them statistically you have to just look at what they have done,” Elliott said. “I think they have given up just one offensive touchdown in ACC play. They are physical. They have a lot of experience, especially in the front seven.”