CLEMSON – With Clemson’s slow start, head coach Dabo Swinney was asked on Tuesday about whether or not there will be changes to the depth chart this Saturday when the Tigers visit North Carolina.

In his weekly press conference, Swinney did not indicate there would be any consideration to sideline players who have underperformed. 

“Not at this point,” he said.  “We’re playing our best players and we’ve got good players. We lost one safety (from last year), one linebacker, one D-tackle, lost one tight end, one running back, one offensive lineman on offense. So we’ve got good players, they’re just not playing how they’re capable of playing.”

As Swinney mentioned, the Tigers (1-3, 0-2 ACC) lost only six starters combined on offense and defense from last season’s team that won an ACC Championship and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in four years. Clemson’s quarterback, receiver room, defensive line, and secondary are largely the same. 

Still, newcomers, like running back Adam Randall, safety Ronan Hanafin, and transfer defensive lineman Will Heldt have been some of the brightest spots for the Tigers, stepping in to fill in gaps of players that graduated or were taken in the NFL Draft, while many seasoned veterans have struggled.

Although Swinney feels confident in both seasoned and newer players, he believes that a general lack of confidence across all ages and backgrounds has played a large role in current struggles.

“You’re always evaluating personnel and that changes with each game,” he said. “We got to be better about getting these guys playing with confidence. Again, these guys lost their confidence, confidence has been affected, they’re hearing that everything stinks.”

This loss of confidence, according to Swinney, has led to “pressing” and “frustrations,” that no one on the roster has experienced in their tenure as a Tiger. Still, he wants to give his veterans and coaches a chance to work through it, without drastic changes.

“We have good people, we just have not done a good job,” Swinney said. “We’ve got some amazing young men that are wired really well.”

Any changes to the Tigers’ starters can be seen on Saturday, when Clemson heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the first time in six years to take on the Tar Heels.