Dabo Swinney shares optimism after opening days of Clemson camp: 'Hasn't been a lot of bullcrap going on'

Clemson isn’t entering the 2025 campaign lightly. On Wednesday, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney opened up on his team’s mindset ahead of the upcoming season.

“The biggest thing I would say is they’ve just been business-like,” Swinney said. “They’ve just been about their business. There’s been a lot of great energy. The guys have competed the way we need them to compete. They’re just practicing the right way.

“That’s been the most encouraging thing, as far as the type of habits that we need to have in practice. Just hasn’t been a lot of bullcrap going on. I mean, it’s just been a very focused group. And, we need to continue that.”

The Tigers have a chance to do something special this fall. Clemson is returning 16 starters from last season, eight on each side of the ball. It is the second-most returning starters of any Power Four team in the country, only trailing Arizona State.

Most notably, Clemson is returning quarterback Cade Klubnik, who exploded for 3,639 passing yards and 36 touchdowns last season, while only throwing six interceptions. His 36 touchdown passes were the third-most in the country, only trailing Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, both of whom moved on to the next level this offseason.

Klubnik won’t have a shortage of targets. Clemson is returning its top-three leading receivers from last season: Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore. The Tigers’ defense should be stellar, as well.

Clemson hired Tom Allen after firing defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin in January. Allen was Penn State‘s defensive coordinator last season.

In the 2024 campaign, Clemson’s defense allowed 374.1 yards per game, ranking No. 69 in the country. In comparison, Allen’s Penn State defense gave up just 294.8 yards per game, the seventh-least in the nation.

Clemson has all the pieces it needs to capture its first national championship since 2018. The Tigers’ success will come down to their preparation and focus.

“Headlines this time of year are always based on opinions and potential,” Swinney said. “The headlines that matter are the ones that are written on performance. And those are the ones that ultimately matter in the end… What does our performance say? What do we earn? We’re gonna earn the headlines that matter.”

On Aug. 30, Dabo Swinney and Co. will kick off its 2025 campaign with a showdown against LSU at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ABC.