ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made a special appearance on ACC Network’s ACC Huddle pregame show at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday prior to Miami’s game against Georgia Tech.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney also joined the show for a postgame interview from Death Valley following the Tigers’ 17-12 win over Wake Forest.

Smith asked Swinney the question, “As you look at your program right now, Clemson as we speak compared to what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing, how difficult is it for you, even in winning, to go through some of the things that you’ve been going through in order to continue to elevate this program again?”

Swinney had the following response, including telling Smith that the Tigers are building their way “back to the top” and are “going to be back.”

“Listen, we’ve had 12 10-plus win seasons in a row,” Swinney said. “Our goal was to build a consistent competitor. We’ve been able to do that. We’re not perfect. We’ve obviously had a couple tough games – really three plays away from probably being undefeated. The guys have played hard. It’s tough.

“But listen, we get everybody’s best shot, and these guys are learning and they’re growing, and we’re building our way back to the top. We’re going to be back. We’ll have a chance to – I know you only show up for the big games – but we’ll be back together with you one of these days down the road.”

“So hang in there with me, man, hang in there with me!” Swinney added with a smile. “We’re on our way.”

You can check out more of Swinney’s interview with Smith and the ACC Huddle crew below:

We don't know if Dabo was more excited about his 165th win at @ClemsonFB or catching up with @stephenasmith 😅 pic.twitter.com/0ki7dWiIGp

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 7, 2023