Everything Clayton White said ahead of South Carolina-Clemson

South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White spoke to the media ahead of the Gamecocks’ season finale against rival Clemson.

Here’s everything he said.

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Opening Statement

“Good afternoon. I hope you guys are doing great. Very excited for this week. Rivalry Week across college football, been some really good ones throughout my career, NC State-UNC, Stanford-Cal, UConn-Rutgers, and I think this is one of the better ones.”

“Obviously, Clemson-South Carolina is a great one. Obviously, for us, opportunity for our guys to just get on the same page collectively, just make sure we understand the most important thing about this week is taking care of our business. And you know, some things that we got to make sure, reinforce our values, make sure we’re good to go, and try to win a football game on Saturday. It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be exciting, going against a very good offense and some good players.”

Clemson, likes to work the edges, you know, get the ball their playmakers and let them run, T.J. Moore, Antonio Williams, just how much of a challenge are those guys? And also with Adam Randall, the converted receiver now playing RB?

“Yes, they’ve done a really good job of just getting their best players on the football field. Obviously, Randall, backed up by Gideon Davidson, two really good backs. And then the receivers between Williams, who’s here from Dutch Fork, and TJ Moore from out in Tampa. Then they also had Tristan Smith. Does a really good job of getting those guys involved in space. Cole Turner as well, does a really good job all those guys. They’ve always done that for the past. You know, I watched games go all the way back to when we played them at NC State. They’ve always done a great job of getting the ball in space to all the athletes that they have.”

With Dylan Stewart out last week, what impressed you about Bryan Thomas Jr and Desmond Umeozulu?

“To me, those guys been here for a long time, I feel like. I think they just been working. I think their hard work has showed off just understanding how we do things here, just how we play football. And obviously, BT is having a really good season. Just want to keep them on that right track, keep trending up. I think that Dez has been waiting his turn, and I thought he did a really good job. He’s one of our leaders in regards of keeping the defense on the same page.”

You mentioned some rivalries. Clemson-NC State, always had that Textile Bowl. What are some plays that stick out from when you played against?

Tory Holt had 225 in ’98 and Travis Zachary was a running back. I have an unbelievable memory so I can go all the way back, man. So I had a concussion from Woody Dantzler, so I can go all the way back. Keep going. And Philip Rivers, my senior year. So Philip Rivers, I think we got the dub with Phillips. So, there’s really good ones that I can remember. Terrence Holt blocking some punts. I think NC State went to Clemson and beat on 41 to 0 one time. So we can go on and on and on. Those are the ones I remember off the top.”

What are your favorite memories from Carolina-Clemson games?

“Since I’ve been here, obviously, those have been some really, really historic ones. I feel like, in my mind, just play in ’22 on the punt return, just watching the sideline go crazy. Obviously, last year’s play was really good. From the two down there have been the most memorable. How about that? So try to keep it going.”

Last week, asked you about Fred Johnson and Justin Okoronkwo, what those guys have done, but in this game, Shawn Murphy was the one who kind of showed out. How would you evaluate the progress you’ve seen from this season?

“I like all three of those guys, but it was really nice to see Shawn kind of put together a game that we all kind of felt like he can do. He practiced very well every single week. I think that he’s probably one of our better practice players. Practice is very important. I think that Shawn understands the game very well. I think he does a good job of making sure we’re on the same page. He made some plays. He made tackles, he didn’t miss any. I thought that was the most important thing for him.”

Do you actually tackle Woody?

“Yes. I got a concussion from Woody Dantzler. It’s bad. It’s a long story, but he was a tough player. As you guys know that, he was one of the most dynamic football players, and he started this whole dual[-threat] quarterback thing. People kind of forget about Woody Dantzler, but he kind of got this thing rolling to put athletes at quarterback and make plays.”

Tomorrow’s the last practice, since there’s no bowl. What’s it like for you when you have that last practice of the season? What? What kind of goes through your mind?

“I mean, at this point with this size of a game, you really try to just focus on the next practice, the next play. We’re not gonna get into all the last of this, the last of that. Try to keep the emotion down so we can save all that stuff for Saturday and kind of have a really good game. So like we said earlier, the most important thing is that collectively, if we get on the same page on doing the things that it takes to play successful and play clean football.”

Third season now playing against Cade Klubnik. In today’s college football, there’s sometimes not a lot of continuity with opposing quarterbacks, but you’re seeing him again this year. What have you seen in terms of his game-changing evolving from the first time you saw him to studying up this year?

“I think that every year he’s gotten better. He has a really good o-line. You know, the tackles have been there. Think Blake [Miller] and [Tristian Leigh] have been there just as long as he has. Got some new guys inside, between Ryan [Linthicum], Collin [Sadler] and Harris [Sewell]. I think those guys are new. But who he’s playing behind is it doesn’t really matter. He’s just very consistent, and when it comes to just the way he plays, his style of play, his reads are clean. He knows when to run it, he knows when to throw it out. He sees pressure. You’ve got to do a great job in disguise. And he’s tough to tackle. He’s not a small dude. Third year in a row. He’s one of the better quarterbacks they’ve had in the Clemson system.”

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