Tuesday Dabo Swinney Media Day Update IV
CLEMSON — Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney just wrapped up his press conference to cap 2025 media day inside the football building.
Here are a few of the more notable items:
BECOME A TIGERILLUSTRATED.com SUBSCRIBER!
— Said Jay Haynes is doing great. He will be in camp, but he’ll be on a progression that fits where he is in his recovery from the torn ACL suffered last December.
— He’s looking most forward to having a complete team when camp starts, because they were so incomplete during the spring when they were missing so many guys.
— Punter update hot off the presses!
ALSO SEE: Tuesday Dabo Swinney Media Day Update III | Tuesday Dabo Swinney Media Day Update II | Tuesday Offensive Line Update | The bloom is back on the orange rose
He said they really believed in Jack Smith when they offered him a scholarship to come here.
The other guy competing is Will McCune, who Swinney said “has risen up and competed.”
“We got two guys. Really like the potential of both of those guys, but we’ve got to see the performance consistently.”
Smith came out of spring “a smidge ahead,” Swinney said.
“TBD. We will see. Long way to go between now and game day.”
Robert Gunn also has his hat in the ring, Swinney said.
Swinney was asked if he considered taking a punter out of the portal.
“No,” he said.
“So if we’re terrible y’all can all blame me.”
He did note that he went against calls to get a quarterback out of the portal a year ago.
— He was asked how Cade Klubnik will block out all the love he’s been getting this offseason.
“This time last year they said he was terrible. He had to block that out.
“You got to block out you suck. You got to block out Swinney should’ve gotten a portal guy over you. But you’ve also got to block out you’re the Heisman, literally 12 months later.
“There’s always external narratives and opinions. That’s just part of what we do. If you’re a coach or player that can’t be your motivation. It can be fuel for your fire but it can’t be your fire. If that’s your fire you’re really going to be inconsistent. It’s got to come from inside.”
“Cade has to take another step. He took a big one last year, taking care of the ball and not taking as many sacks and pushing the ball down the field a little bit, using his legs, creating more. Now it’s more precision, more detail, more awareness, all of those things. Just a little bit more. He’s a great human being who just happens to be a quarterback.”
— More on the lofty expectations facing this team:
“Headlines on potential don’t matter. The headlines that matter are written on performance. We’re going to earn the headlines that matter.”
— On tight end:
“I think it’s a very deep group. An exciting group. Olsen and Sapp, nobody really says much about Sapp but Sapp’s a good football player. Plays bigger than he is. Olsen is really talented and hopefully he’ll take that next step. Christian is special. There’s no question about it. I’ve seen enough out of him. Really looking forward to seeing Schieff in full pads. See if he’ll actually block somebody. I don’t know.”
— On running back:
“We’ve had a couple of dudes around here for a while in Shipley and Mafah.
It’s just kind of a new era, if you will. A lot of people forget we have some highly touted dudes around here. They just haven’t really had their opportunity yet. Adam Randall is the wild card. He’s the one senior in the room.
“I really think he’ll be one of the great college football stories this year. I really believe in Adam Randall. I love this kid. I think he’s reshaping his career and I think he’s going to be a lot of fun to coach. I just hope and pray he can stay healthy because if he does you’re going to see a lot of what we see. He’s a senior. He’s the leader. He’s dynamic. You can do a lot with him. He checks a lot of boxes for us.
“Jay Haynes and Jarvis Green were highly regarded guys. Eziomume, I think Wayne Gallman. A little faster and bigger than Wayne, but violent like Wayne.
“Gideon Davidson I thought was the best back in the county last year. And he just got here.”
— On Tristan Smith:
“We went into the spring with five dudes. We came out with six.
“We got six dudes that can play and start for anybody. We have six dudes. And it’s been a while since we’ve had that type of depth and experience.”
The seventh guy is Tink Kelley, who will play defense and cross-train to offense.
Adam Randall is always there (at receiver). He can do a lot of things.
He’s a pretty nice guy to have as a seventh or eighth guy if you had to have it.
BECOME A TIGERILLUSTRATED.com SUBSCRIBER!
— Says this defensive line is deeper than the 2018 defensive line. All they had then was Albert Huggins as a reserve.
DISCUSSION: Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone Forum
“We’ll see. They ain’t that group. Their headlines are based on performance. It’s just a bunch of potential with this group. I know people say we got a bunch of first-rounders but the tape don’t show that. … Potentially they could be really good. … Check back in December.”
DISCUSSION: Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on our off-topics forum
— Swinney says he has faith that the revenue-sharing cap will work. He strongly believes the current model is worlds better than what was in place a year ago.
Tigerillustrated.com will have continuing coverage of the 2025 Dabo Swinney Media Day later this afternoon.
