Swinney on Klubnik, Vizzina, Jacobs, improving defense

CLEMSON — Sunday evening Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney again addressed members of the media, this time to take a closer look at his team’s 41-10 win over Boston College following his staff’s film review earlier in the day.

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The Tigers (3-3, 2-2) are turning the page to prepare for next Saturday’s opponent – SMU (4-2, 2-0).

The following is an abbreviated transcript of Sunday evening’s teleconference.

Opening Statements

“I’m proud of our team. That’s back to back weeks where we have really played well. It’s fun to see them get the results they have worked for. We’ve played complementary football at a high level the last two weeks. It’s never easy to win on the road. Still, things we can do better.

“The two kicks were huge by Nolan Hauser. It was good to see him get on track.

“Defensively, we wanted to stop the run and we did that. We got some stops on downs. They had not given up any sacks all year. It was great to see us get five sacks and a bunch of negative yards. We did a much better job with the completion percentage. I like how they responded. I just like how the defense responded all night. The name of the game is points. Back to back weeks we’ve held the opposition to 10 points. A lot of guys played well.

“Offensively, six consecutive scoring drives. That’s three games in a row offensively where we were good. Good things in the run and pass game. 5.3 yards a carry. We had no sacks by the offensive line. The one we had was on Cade. We had four red zone touchdowns. Antonio was awesome. He and Wesco were over 100 yards. We missed a couple of big play opportunities and a couple turnovers we needed to eliminate.

“Health-wise, the biggest thing was Cade. I think he’ll be OK. He’ll probably be limited today and tomorrow and ramp up as the week goes.

“I’m proud of the guys. Another big challenge this week. We’ll reset and refocus. They’ve earned the right to win because they’ve done what winning requires. This is a really good team we’re about to play next weekend.”

Question: Looking back on the film, what did you think of Vizzina last night?

SWINNEY: “We didn’t ask him to do a whole lot, given where the game was. We put him in a bad spot on the pick. We really should have called a timeout. He did his job and did some good things in the run game. Good drive to come away with the touchdown at the end.”

Question: How much more appreciation do you have of Brayden Jacobs after last night?

SWINNEY: “He played great. It was good to see him … and we’ve seen it in practice. He’s a giant but he’s just a kid. They have to adjust to the speed and flow of the games. He got in a couple of games earlier in the season and had to settle in a little bit and let it slow down, but last night he was ready. He’s big. He covers people up. He moves them. I just thought he played with a ton of confidence. As he played throughout the game, he got more and more confident and did a lot of good things, his pulls, protections and his play at the point of attack. He stepped up in a big way. Tristan did fine when he was in there but he just didn’t feel 100-percent. Brayden just continued to play well once we put him in there. And it was good for Tristan, too. I’m proud of Brayden. He played well.”

Question: These past two weeks you said you played complementary football. Have you learned something new about this team?

SWINNEY: “I mean they’re a high character bunch. That’s not something new. It’s what I’ve seen. But you never really know until you get put into highly stressful situations. It’s been good to see and it’s been good for them to see. I said last week, we beat Troy but we played terrible. These last two games they’ve played with a lot of confidence and a lot of joy. They’ve responded.

“We have a long way to go, but all you can do is deal with what’s in front of you. I’ve seen their character shine through and they’ve focused on what they can control. The leadership has been awesome. It’s fun to go to work with them. They know what they’re capable of. We have a little momentum and that’s been a big goal. A little confidence comes with momentum. You see a team that believes in itself again.”

Question: I’m sure you saw the news that Penn State fired James Franklin. And you know him. Any reaction to that?

SWINNEY: “It’s sad to see. In this business we understand that it’s a part of the business. We all understand that, but that doesn’t make it easy. I know everyone will say he’s getting a big buyout. Coach Franklin didn’t get into the profession to make money, I promise you. This was a calling. It’s never good to see something not work out. He’ll bounce back. He did a lot of great things at Penn State for sure. I have a lot of respect for James, his wife and his two daughters. I know there is an expectation and all that type of stuff but that doesn’t take away from the personal side of it. Prayers for him and his family as they transition to what God has next for him.”

Question: What was your assessment of the second and third levels of your defense?

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SWINNEY: “Much better. We had a couple of MAs. Sammy busted on a man to man one time and turned a guy loose. The pick was well-executed. It was in a man look but we were really playing cover-2. Ashton did a good job of getting his hands on him. Ricardo was playing over the top.

“It was a lot cleaner. We did a lot of good things defensively. Still some room for improvement for sure. They had an over-route and I think it was drop-back and Wade didn’t quite process it as quick as he needed to. There are still some little things but we’re getting better. This week we played a lot cleaner.”

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Question: Was Cade’s pick just short-armed?

SWINNEY: “I think the ball just slipped out of his hand. Adam was wide open. I think it just kind of slipped out of his hand a little bit and he couldn’t get it over the top. Well-designed play. We had Adam wide open but we had some quick pressure that messed up the timing of the play.”

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