Accountability seems to be theme of the spring session for the Clemson football team.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has asked his players and coaches to hold themselves accountable for their mistakes on the field, especially for what happened in their national championship game loss to Alabama back in January.

He also asked them to hold themselves accountable for what they do off the field, too. That’s why defensive back Kaleb Chalmers is no longer on the team after his arrest on drug possession charges earlier this month.

“(Accountability) has definitely been a high point for us,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said earlier this week.

Swinney spoke at length on Monday how he and his staff hold themselves accountable for what happened in the national championship game and how we wanted to make sure they get those things corrected.

Off the field, he is holding the players responsible for what’s going on with the team, and so far they are responding like no other team he has had.

As he mentioned earlier this month, when the Tigers got back from spring break, he puts in a few periods at the end of practice for which either his offensive or defensive units will have to participate in what he calls “accountability runs” for disciplinary reasons.

These runs are for minor infractions in which a member of a team did not do what he was supposed to do. Swinney says it is very common for these runs to occur when the team gets back from a break such as spring break.

However, for the first time since he has been the head coach at Clemson, the Tigers have not had any accountability runs.

“We get our conditioning in practice. None of us want to do that extra conditioning,” Boulware said. “That is extra motivation not to screw up outside of football.”

Though the Tigers have just had 10 practices in the spring, this year’s team is already showing a closeness and chemistry that is usually not found until a team goes through fall camp. But the fact that everyone is holding each other accountable in everything they do, it’s brought them all together.

“I think these guys have brought a sincere work ethic. The chemistry of this team has been really special,” Swinney said. “From opening day, from mat drills and starting over, it’s been really, really good. There is just a lot of ownership and camaraderie. I’m encouraged. I’m really encouraged.”

And so is Boulware.

“It speaks volumes about our leadership. It speaks volumes about our young guys and how focused they are and how mature they are for their age,” the senior said. “There are a lot of 18 and 19 year olds on this team, and this is the first time in Coach Swinney’s era no team has had accountability running. That speaks volumes about the leadership and the young guys on the team.”

Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports