Tigers embrace lofty expectations
With veterans at key positions, Clemson chases another playoff semifinal bid
Nearly two months removed from being rudely dispatched from the College Football Playoffs semifinals, Clemson has turned the page on last season.
The 2017 Tigers were a team of overachievers picked to finish second in the ACC Coastal Division by the media in the preseason. Last year’s Clemson roster sorely lacked experience, with just six scholarship seniors returning from a squad that won the program’s first national championship in more than three decades.
A challenge Dabo Swinney recognized right from the start.
“I remember my first team meeting walking in there and going, ‘OK, deep breath, we got a lot of work to do,’ ” said Swinney while visiting a recent Nike coaches clinic in Orlando. “It's the reality of it. It's exciting, it's fun and it's a different challenge.”
It easy to see just what a daunting task it could become, unlike the previous season.
“You're walking in there, you're looking at Deshaun [Watson] and you go, ‘Woo, let's go. Can we play next week?’ ” Swinney said with a laugh. “Whereas last year, I’m like, ‘Thank God we don't play until September, we got a lot of work to do.’ ”
Despite those reservations, Clemson would go on to win 12 games, including critical victories against nationally ranked opponents Auburn, Virginia Tech, NC State and Miami.
“It was a fun year, we overachieved compared to all the expectations if you will, especially from where we started, but this team is more like that team before and just have so much experience and we got so many seniors. And so ... our starting points differ,” he said.
The Tigers kicked off spring football Wednesday with one of the more experienced rosters in college football. While players like Ray-Ray McCloud and Deon Cain chose to leave early for the NFL, others like All-American defensive ends Christian Wilkins, Clelin Farrell and Austin Bryant surprised many by deciding to return to school.
“There is a lot of hunger to this group. You have a lot of guys that came back, and they didn't come back to be nonchalant and tiptoe through the deal. These guys got 10 months left in their careers and they're like, ‘We came back, number one, to get better, number two, to go have a great year,’” Swinney said.
One of the most-talkedabout positions this spring will be at quarterback, where senior Kelly Bryant looks to build on an impressive first season as the Tigers starter. While Bryant put up some strong numbers last season, there’s plenty of room for growth — especially coming off a disappointing performance during the Tigers’ loss to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
“You don't have a lot of room for error against those guys and when you get opportunities to make some of those plays, you gotta make them and we just didn't do it,” Swinney said.
There won’t be much room for error for Bryant, not with players like redshirt freshman Hunter Johnson and Trevor Lawrence, the top prospect in this year’s recruiting class, also vying for the job.
“Hunter Johnson is a great young talent; he got much better as the season went. He had a lot learn mentally, he had to kinda catch up, but he's in a good spot now and Chase Brice is I think a great young prospect and he's eager to get out there and get in the mix,” Swinney said. “Trevor just got here; obviously he's a highly touted and talented young player.
“At the end of the day, you practice for a reason and you evaluate everything from practice, we don't go on potential. Potential gets you beat, performance is what wins.”
One position group that won’t feature a lot of uncertainty is the defensive line, where Clemson returns every starter from last season.
“It'll be fun. It’s gonna be a tough spring going against them guys every single day. They're relentless and everybody wants to play and we function. We just have so many guys that can play,” Swinney said of his defensive line.
With so much talent and experience returning this season, it’s easy to see why Clemson could be the favorite to win the ACC.
“There have been years we been picked to win the league and didn't do it. There have been years where we haven't been picked to win it, and we win it,” Swinney said of contending for the ACC title.
“You gotta prove it on the field but on paper, there is no question we got a team that knows what it takes, has the right leadership, now can we put the tight chemistry that we need together, can we develop the proper depth that we need, because all of those things are factors and then create the momentum early.”