Everything Clayton White said in his Wednesday press conference previewing SC State

South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White spoke to the media on Wednesday to preview the team’s Week 2 matchup with SC State. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Saturday and will stream on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

Here’s everything White had to say.

Opening statement

“First and foremost, thankful for just the energy and excitement that we had, that our fans had in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was awesome for our guys and for us as a coaching staff. The walk was remarkable. I remember having goosebumps. Been a long time since I had goosebumps, but that was pretty cool. Hard-fought game, well-respected program at Virginia Tech. Proud of our guys, how we fought for four quarters. Kind of ready to turn the page to South Carolina State, a well-respected football team, football Coach, tough team. So looking forward to it.”

With Judge Collier doubtful for this week, what are the plans at the other defensive back spot?

“This is the first year that we feel like we have multiple guys that we feel like were game-ready. It’s a luxury to have Myles Norwood and Vicari Swain and other guys that we’re training. We still have to Jalewis Solomon that we’re trying to train. We have (Brandon) Cisse. But it’s good. Between Myles and Vicari and Jalewis, we have a lot of guys that can step in and help us out right there. But it’s nice to be able to have some bodies.”

What did you see on tape and think of the way Fred Johnson played on Sunday?

“Obviously, he had some flash plays. It’s always good for someone that you’re coaching who’s on this football team to have a flash moment. He had a couple of those. And he flew around. Obviously, the details, but then when we get into our linebacker room, there are details that he can obviously improve on. But obviously, he had a really good football game. He got SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Just proud of how he played, and I love the fact how he approaches the game as a young player. I think that’s only signs of greatness, and just continue staying humble and continue down that process path. I think he’ll be great.”

How satisfying would you say it was for your defense to go out there and keep Virginia Tech out of the end zone for four quarters?

“I’m definitely proud. Obviously, our goal is about points. Obviously, the team with more points wins, and so as a defense to keep them out of the end zone as many times as we possibly can, I do feel like we did that. I think that gave us a great chance to win. Just keep getting the ball back to our offense is what I preach to the defense guys. As we’re going through the game, we’re not saying that, but we’re definitely just process-driven, trying to make sure every play that we’re trying to improve. Just handle our details and do our part and not try to do too much when we’re out there. But I think that was the main thing. It ended up just so happening that they didn’t score. So we talk about big plays and touchdowns, let’s not have those. It’s let’s keep that number down. And I thought, obviously, they didn’t have any big plays for touchdowns.”

How does your overall speed in the linebacker room compare from this year to last year?

“It just depends on how you look at it. There’s football speed and then there’s 40 speed. Not gonna put the guy’s numbers out there. But last year, those guys were a little bit more veteran. They played a little faster. These guys here look faster. And so we’re trying to make sure our guys can get to the point to where they feel like they’ve been playing for three or four years. But I do like how they flash with the speed-wise, but it’s very comparable, for sure.”

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How would you evaluate how the way the defensive tackles played throughout the game?

“I really thought they prepared well. Obviously, Coach (Travian) Robertson wasn’t here. Coach (Jordan) Dove and other guys helped us up front. I thought they did a really good job. And those guys are older, they’re not young, so I think that really helped a lot. They’ve been in the fire before, you know, here or other places, but I do think that they approached the game the right way, and just their mindset, they didn’t flinch. But I thought they did a really good stern job in the middle. There were no big, open gaps that were that (Virginia Tech) easily ran through, maybe one or two late in the game. But I thought they did very well. I thought they pushed the pocket, and kind of helped the defensive ends a little bit in regard to pushing the pocket. But I was proud of how they played. We obviously all can get better once we walk the tape, but I definitely thought they did very well.”

Justin Okoronkwo made some plays where he kind of flashed the freakish athleticism that you were talking about. What else makes him such an effective linebacker outside of just that athleticism?

“He’s super smart. He’s a very intelligent young man. So I think that’s an intangible that people don’t realize. But he’s very smart, so he understands a lot of different things. I do think he plays hard. He does have some trigger about him where he can kind of go downhill old school like Debo (Williams). He kind of reminds me of Debo, you know, he plays and does some things a bit differently than Debo, but I do think that he does bring that little aspect to our defense. He’s also tough and hard-nosed. He plays on special teams, and he can battle through some things. But I do think that’s highly respected throughout our football program.”

What were the origins of the “Put the ball down” phrase?

“It’s interesting because it started with Geoff Collins, actually, a long time ago. That’s one of his sayings. I just carried it along as long as I was coaching defense. Once I became a coordinator, I kind of brought it back in 2017, but it’s basically a mantra that we use. In football, it’s basically saying, you know, no matter where they start at on the minus five, on the 25 or the 50, the fringe or the goal line, or turnover after a special teams play, our mindset is to put the ball down, meaning, put fires out. Let’s do a great job of that. Let’s not panic. Let’s gather up and make sure we go try our best to force a field goal and to have the right mindset. In life, good things happen and bad things happen. You still have to move on to the next thing. You can’t dwell on things that are kind of off the field and on the field.”

I don’t think the defense went into a 3-3-5 at all on Sunday. Was that predicated on the personnel you have this year, or what Virginia Tech’s offense was doing?

“It’s a little bit of both. So right now we still have that in our little bag that we have where we work it every now and again to make sure that we’re solid and strong on it, and we use it at the end of games. But it’s one of those things where it depends on how the game is going, and obviously, the offense that we’re facing lets us know which plan to use.”

Looking to this weekend, what sticks out so far about South Carolina State?

“I would say first starting off with their coach, I think (Chennis Berry) is someone that’s obviously well respected in the game, in regards to just as a discipline coach, a very physical-minded coach. They have a winning program and a great tradition. I think that they run a two-quarterback system with (William) Atkins and (Ryan) Stubblefield. Those guys are, you know, one, they bring two different things. One came from JMU. The other guy is kind of very athletic. I do think that they do have three wide receivers that are 6-foot-3 and above, one’s 6-foot-4, the other’s 6-foot-5, so that can present problems for any defense. The offensive line is very strong, big dudes, all over 320, strong guys. And I think the tight end is a former converted wide receiver. So the running backs are good. They have a true freshman, number six, who’s kind of a scat back. So they have athletes who are fast. They’re big, but you definitely have to respect your opponent at all times. I do think they have the right mindset, and they play hard and win.”

What can Jalewis Solomon bring to the defense?

“It’s a combination of things there. He had a little nagging injury in the summer, so that kind of always sets you back whenever you’re in competition mode and other guys are healthy, and sometimes you’re not, but I think he’s good to go. He’s also a work in progress. We love Jalewis. He is a great player. Jalewis has the right mindset. I think Coach (Torrian) Gray is building him up. I think Jalewis understands that we like him as a player, but just continue to get him out there more.”

What determines if Brandon Cisse is at cornerback or at nickel? Is it a certain package? Is it just when Jalon Kilgore is like tired?

“It’s one of those things we feel like he hasn’t asked, but he gives us value there. Also, it gives us the opportunity to give Kilgore, who played 800 snaps last year. He and DQ (Smith) played 790 and 794 (snaps) or something like that. It was crazy. So we know it’s a long season. So we kind of have that plan ahead and are trying to make sure that we have our guys for the long road that’s ahead of us.”

What do you hope to learn or see from your defense from last week to this week?

“I think the most important thing is that we take it day to day, like yesterday and today, we’ve got to act like pros. We’ve got to come in here, and the routine does not change. We get better. I do believe that they’re going to be fired up to play at home, which I totally understand, but our job as coaches is to continue to push them to be great, push them to be the men who they are, who they say they want to be. And I do think they want to come out here and play fast against South Carolina State, do our job, be where we’re supposed to be at and take care of business in the right way, doing it the right way and play as a football team.”

How cognizant are you of snap counts this early in the season?

“We’re definitely locked in on it. I mean, we track them throughout the game. We have student assistants, we have guys who are analysts and QCs and interns, and they’re tracking. I like asking them in the game, ‘How many snaps do you play. How many snaps does JO play? How many snaps does Fred play? How many snaps does Kilgore play?’ So we try to keep track. We know that it’s an 80-play game, and some guys can go as long as they want to. So we keep track of it every series, and sometimes you can’t take them out. We are just keeping track. That’s all I’m told.”

There were a handful of 50-50 balls on Sunday. What did you see from the cornerbacks and those guys going up against the wide receivers? What teaching points have kind of come out of that game?

“I mean, that’s the life they chose first and foremost. You could have played wide receiver, could have been a kicker, you could have been a mailman, whatever you want to be. But when you choose to play corner, that’s the life that you live and that you chose. Obviously, as a coordinator, you don’t want to keep them out there all day long. But obviously, we saw some things that we can work on, and the encouraging thing is that they weren’t a step behind, right? And I thought Virginia Tech did a good job of ice on our guys, and we’ve got to play smart football and understand that we are in that situation, and we’ve got to protect ourselves. I can do a better job of making sure that they’re not always out there like that.”

How have you seen Dylan Stewart mature from last year to this year, just within the game?

“That’s a work in progress. I mean, everybody’s built different, right? Dylan Stewart is built differently in a lot of ways. And so Coach (Sterling) Lucas and all of us, Coach (Shane) Beamer, everybody in the building, we kind of preach that to him, understanding who you are, understanding what the value that you have, what other teams are going to try and do, and take it as a positive. And I think he’s done a great job of accepting all the coaching. He’s smart as well. He understands what’s going on. I do think that’s a big growth in him. I do think that he knows that if you keep playing hard and practice how you supposed to practice, it’s all going to work out in the correct way for all of us and yourself and your teammates, because Bryan Thomas had a lot of good rushes the other day, and he’s going to give us opportunities, because he’s has a skill set as well. So I think that’s fun for all of us to understand what’s going on, big picture-wise. And I think Dylan totally gets it.”

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