CLEMSON —Nothing has changed for Dabo Swinney on how he communicates with his team.

“I am always direct and transparent and brutally honest with every team,” the Clemson head coach said Monday. “I just don’t let a lot of clips of me in the team meeting room get out.”

The clip in question is from a YouTube video . In the clip, Swinney calls out the 2019 signing class, telling them they “are on the clock.” Swinney was referring to the fact that every recruiting class at Clemson from 2013-’18 won a national championship before leaving Clemson.

This season, which begins Monday when No. 9 Clemson visits Duke, is the last opportunity for those players who signed to play for Clemson in 2019 to win a national championship. Guys like defensive tackle Tyler Davis, defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, defensive end Justin Mascoll, cornerback Sheridan Jones and safety Jayln Phillips to name a few.

The comment was the first time in his 15-year tenure at Clemson where Swinney challenged his team to go win a national championship. However, Swinney says his approach with his team this year is no different than any other year.

“Nothing has changed. It is just a comment, kind of challenging some of these older guys,” he said. “That is why they came back. These guys all got degrees. A few of them got master’s degrees. They want an opportunity.

“So, if that is what you want to do, that is great, and you are on the clock for that. That Class of ’19, this is their last opportunity. So, if you want to really go after something like that, that really has no guarantees attached to it, you better lock in and have a great day today because everything is going to matter that day.”

Swinney admitted one of his season goals has changed. Since 2016, the Tigers’ goals have been to win the opener, win the division, win the state championship, win the conference championship, and win the closer.

However, with the ACC eliminating divisions this year, Swinney removed the “win the division” goal and replaced it with “win 10-plus games.”

“If we hit all of those goals, we will win a national championship. That is a fact,” Swinney said.

But to do that, in most cases, Clemson will have to be perfect.

“If everything is perfect, we get 15 (days) in our world,” Swinney said. “So, quit worrying about those 15 and let’s just have a great one today. So, nothing is different. Nothing has changed at all. That was just a clip of the moment.”

The Tigers will attempt to have their first perfect day Monday night at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. Kick is set for 8 p.m.

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