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ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: CLEMSON VS VIRGINIA

December 6, 2019

Dabo Swinney

Charlotte, North Carolina

DABO SWINNEY: All right. Appreciate everybody being here. We're excited to be back. This is a blast, man. This is so much fun.

I was telling our guys this morning just how much fun it is to be a part of championship football. I don't care if it is the 95-pound peewee league, your middle school team.

I asked how many of you won a state championship? Some raised their hands, others. It is just when you know that you're going to be ready to go play a game and there is finality to it like you have 14 teams that have been battling all year for the privilege to play in this game, its special.

I know we have been here several times now. Let me just tell you, it is such a blessing. We're just grateful to have the opportunity. It is a privilege to be here and just so proud of our team and our staff for all the have work that's been put in to get back to this point.

You know, we're super excited to represent the Atlantic, and a great venue, Charlotte, just doing an amazing job up here. Got a chance to walk out on the field. The field looks great. I know it will be an awesome crowd.

Good to see Bronco. I mean, he's as good as it gets. I did not know him at all prior to him joining the league. Just being around him, being in meetings with him, very easy to see why he and his team is here. He just has done a fantastic job building a culture the right way, building a team based on belief and effort and obviously just well coached, but having a group of guys that have a special will to win. They're a champion as well, representing the Coastal.

There will be two champions on the field tomorrow night and one team holding up the trophy, and that's what it is all about. We're just really -- for us again, honored to be here, and this is a combination of a lot of work.

There's not many games -- if you play this particular weekend, that means you had a really special season, and that's certainly the case for us. Our guys are traveling up here, we'll walk through in a little bit, kind of get on with our Friday routine. We look forward to a great day here in Charlotte tomorrow night.

Q. Dabo, are there any kind of last-minute injuries, anybody left off the roster, anything like that coming in?
DABO SWINNEY: Not unless something happened since I left this morning.

No, everything is good.

We get to travel more. I appreciate that, I'm not sure how that all -- I know it is something that we lobbied for a while -- but we travel 85 for this game which I think is great. It is great to be able to bring extra guys for both teams to be able to get this experience. And we'll have 85 coming up, and will be a great, memorable experience for both teams.

Q. Dabo, Bronco made the remark earlier that his team is ranked 11th in the league in pass defense and you may as well put next to it because we don't have Bryce Hall anymore. In watching Virginia on tape this year, what impact have you seen that Bryce Hall's absence has made?
DABO SWINNEY: I think the biggest thing is just consistency. They have had to be creative. They have had to move some people around. You know, they still are getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback though.

They've got 43 sacks I believe to our 35. They have done a good job. They have had different people wearing different hats, and they have taken 11 and 14, they have had to ask them to cover and do some different things. I think they have done an awesome job. I mean, they're one of the best teams in the country, and they have given up some things in the passing game but I think it is just some adjustments that they have had to make, but they get off the field. They get off the field. They bend a little bit, but they don't break a lot. They have given up some yards but they have done a great job on third down, and they have done a great job on third down offensively so they stay on the field and they get off the field.

And then when you look at them, 12 games, they have only had two teams with over 400 yards on them. They have had one team rush for 200. There's strengths and weaknesses and things that have happened, but they have still been very good defensively.

Q. Let's talk about you're two wins away from tying Florida State back in 2014, 27 overall wins. What's that mean for you if you tie that, and what Florida State established back then?
DABO SWINNEY: I would like to break it because that means we would be 30 in a row, and that's probably what it will take for us to achieve the ultimate goal I guess.

I mean, it is just to be where we are right now. I don't even really think about it to be honest with you. It is just a border.

You just get so busy, you know, working and just on to the next game and starting over every week and it is just hard for me to even think back 27 games. You know, we just have a process we believe in and our guys, you know, and our culture I think helps cultivate and nurture that mindset of man. Just being excited to have a chance to go win again and not getting bored.

You know, it is -- every week is the biggest game of the year for us. That's really a mindset that we have, and it is just kind of a function of how we go about our business I believe. It has been an incredible run, no doubt about it. You know, to win -- what's tomorrow? 28? So if we can win 28 then we would get the opportunity to play I think on December 28th.

28 would be the one that I'm focused on, not 29. You can't win 29 until you win 28. That's all we're worried about, right now. It has been special and so much consistency and hard work put in by a lot of people.

Q. Dabo, Bronco tells us what went through his mind when walking out there at Bank of America Stadium. I wonder what goes through your mind when you go back out there?
DABO SWINNEY: As I said earlier, just joy. I'm happy. Just thankful to be able to be here. I'm excited to be able to walk out on the field and know that we're in this thing.

I get to see the Commissioner in the bridgeway, that means that we're here. It is just a great moment. It really is. It is just a lot of fun.

There's nothing better than championship football and to know that somebody is going to be the ACC champion tomorrow night and it is down to two teams and we're one of them.

Q. Dabo, Trevor mentioned this week that the 80 freshmen and sophomores, and said that he thinks that's actually enabled this team to be more focused because these are kids who are taking this ride, some of them really for the first time and that it has been able to keep them -- help them keep that focus, do you see that? Has that helped the team with all the youth?
DABO SWINNEY: I think so.

Last year's team, the polar opposite. Incredible experience, the most veteran team I have ever coached, most seniors I have ever had and we literally could have spotted the ball in spring practice of that year and played anybody. We were just that far along, that experienced. There's a challenge to coach that type of team too.

This team has been so much fun. We have this incredible leadership, a really strong group of seniors -- not a big class of seniors, but a really strong group of seniors and juniors and a few really strong sophomores like a Trevor, Justin, some of those guys.

But then you throw in the fact that you have got a little over 40 guys that were not even on the roster last year, every day is a new day to them. Then you have 80 freshman, sophomores, red shirt guys, so forth, there's just been this brand of leadership, experience, really good understanding of what it takes blended with a great energy and youthfulness. So bringing that together and creating -- that was one of the big challenges to me coming in, and what I challenge our team, I knew we were going to be talented, I knew they would put the work in, but could we develop the chemistry? You know, to me, that's one of the most underrated things on any team. It just has come together beautifully. This is a super fun team.

I think definitely the youth has brought a lot of energy to those older guys. It has been pretty cool to see that.

Q. I think Trevor had mentioned earlier that maybe some of the early season ups and downs were a product of him perhaps pressing a little bit in the wake of all of the attention he got following last year's championship. Is that something that you saw? How would you analyze how he handled the aftermath of a championship, and how he's kind of blossomed as the season progressed again this year?
DABO SWINNEY: He's been great. He really had just said, folks, it was all sugar for him last year, hardly made a mistake. You know, he won every game by 21 plus points, whatever, even the national -- all the way through the national championship game. He just -- I mean, I never had been in a fourth quarter with him. until we won 20 in a row, whatever it was. Then you're playing North Carolina and they're playing well, you haven't had as great of a day, you turned it over.

It was kind of good for me to see him in the fourth quarter have to make a meaningful pass to win a game and to see how he responded. Really, that's the only game a -- he played great. He's played great all year.

Even the games that he was portrayed as playing terrible, he made a couple of bad plays, but he made a lot of good ones. He made I think early on he just -- sometimes you can be too confident and sometimes you can be too knowledgeable to where you can take a few of the little things for granted. I think he was just trying to do too much and trying to make every play he and I think he just kind of settled in because he got burned.

You know, like you tell your kids, that stove is hot, sometimes they touch it anyway! You know, when they get burned, they usually learn. They don't usually go back that was great! Man! Let's do it again!

You know. I got my dog, we have dog fences, I hold up that little flag and he doesn't like that electric fence or whatever going around the yard.

I just think you have to experience things, and so he made a few bad plays. And the other thing, he hasn't had any criticism. It had all been sugar since he got here. Now all of a sudden, he's hearing on ESPN, he just played great, completed 65%, threw three touchdown passes, but he threw a dumb interception and so that's what gets talked about. In that role, that comes with the territory, and so him having to deal with that, it has been one of the best things for him because of how he's responded and learning that it doesn't matter either way and then really having that balance at that position and understanding what comes with it. It has been great for his growth.

He's so much better as a quarterback this year than he was last year. It is not even really close. I think that a lot of people have missed a beautiful season from this guy. He's amazing. He really is. I'm super proud of him.

What he's done with his legs has been special. That's probably the biggest improvement that he's made. He's a winner. He's become a great leader for us. We needed that from him and he's really become a great leader on both sides of ball.

Q. Is there a quarterback that you prepared for or coached in recent years that you would compare to Perkins?
DABO SWINNEY: I mean, we have seen a lot of really good athletic quarterbacks. You know, I hate to throw them all up -- I hate to throw Lamar up there. Lamar throws the ball a little bit better but they both create, and this guy can run the football. He can throw the ball too. Lamar, first round draft pick thrower, there is a little difference there. I think just his will to win that you saw with Lamar, his creativity, what he means to his team, you know, how inspirational he is to the team, his toughness when he runs, he's -- he's a handful. You know, I don't want to really compare him to anybody but I just think he's his own guy. He's a super, super player and a humid factor in them getting here.

Q. You've played so many games here at this point. I know every stadium has idiosyncrasies. What are some of them at Bank of America Stadium either on the field, locker rooms, whatever? .
DABO SWINNEY: Pro locker room, it is a nice locker room that we get to be in. It is always a great crowd every time we have been here. Itï¿½s been great for us.

Obviously, you know, this is a geographically a good spot for ACC, but also great for Clemson. When we have been here, our fan base, we have a lot of fans up here in North Carolina, and certainly not a far drive from South Carolina. So as far as just the stadium itself really nothing that jumps out at me.

You know, they have a new field this year. Last year the field was a challenge and it rained the whole time. Looks great, man. It is a beautiful stadium. It is beautiful.

Probably coming in this day, every time, I always. come in, I get to the part where I see the pro player cars. It is always interesting to see what cars these guys are driving, trucks, whatever.

That's it. Just a pro stadium. I think it is unique that way.

Q. Bronco talked a little bit about what he wanted to build at Virginia starting with a sustainable model that he could continue to win, not just win here and there. This is obviously your fourth different coastal team played in this game in four years, seventh overall coastal game in seven years, there's not been as much consistency around the rest of the league. What, have you done with Clemson, what have been your priorities to allow your program to be not just good but sustainably good over time?
DABO SWINNEY: Keeping the main thing the main thing.

I know who we are. I know what my purpose as a man is. I know what the purpose of our program is. Just stay focused on that and be program driven, not team driven.

I think sometimes we make decisions on what's best for this particular team, but it is not so much what's best for the program. That's not good.

From day one, I have always been program driven. I think Bronco is the same way. When that's your focus, sometimes you have to make tough decisions and you'll have challenges along the way but you'll be better for if in the long run as opposed to looking for shortcuts, quick fixes, things like that.

We have a philosophy that we believe in. Again, we just keep the main thing the main thing. And you know, I focus on the relationships and the culture of everything that we do and always trying to get better. Always learning, always growing, always starting over. We don't carry anything over. We start over every single year. You know, that's where it starts for us.

There's the people. Obviously, whose coming in the door? Who are you recruiting? Whose on your staff? What's the discipline? What's the accountability? How do you respond to problems?

Everybody has problems sometimes, it is how you respond that separates you. It is not whether you have a problem or not, it is how you respond. Those are probably the main things for us.

Anyone really nurturing, developing leadership. That's a critical, critical factor in sustaining success. We could talk all day on that.

Q. This is your seventh time here in Charlotte -- I guess one was down in Orlando --
DABO SWINNEY: Tampa. Tampa. Then the other was in Orlando.

Q. They have all been prime time games for you. Curious on what your routine is like tomorrow? Do you try to watch some of the other championship games?
DABO SWINNEY: Yeah.

No different than any other gameday. Like I said, we have a had routine, we have a night game routine, we have a 3:30 routine, we have a had noon game routine. We don't really change that up regardless of who we play. I mean, we can be playing in the national championship, we still have a routine, what we do on Monday, what we do on Tuesday, that doesn't change regardless of who we play or where we play or the magnitude of the game. You know, we just stay focused on what we do, how we do it each week.

Q. Coach, you mentioned that the biggest progress that Trevor has made this season has been with his legs. Was that very intentional with you and the staff with him during the offseason? How much more difficult does that make you to defend?
DABO SWINNEY: Well, yes. Very intentional.

You know, every coach, we self-scout, evaluate, break ourselves down and try to chart a plan going into spring, what you want to do to get better, and you come out out of spring and you kind of give the guys individually a charge on what they need to do for the summer.

The biggest thing for Trevor from last year, he had to get bigger. He played as a freshman. He didn't get the opportunity to really grind in the weight room like he needed to, and he did. I mean, he's somewhere between 218, 2020, so he put on some really good weight. He got a lot stronger. Upper body and lower body. That was the first challenge to him.

The second thing was, okay, it is time for you to assert yourself as leader. Last year he was just in line trying to go do a job, prove himself, and different deal going into the spring last year when what we needed from him from a leadership standpoint.

The other thing, really studying him, he's so gifted, his arm talent, unbelievable, his mind, his mental capacity, ability to process things, how he thinks, it is off the charts.

One of the things that jumped out last year, he took a couple of sacks that he shouldn't have taken. There was numerous times where false start and 10, people playing coverage, you know he's very so confident in the arm, he would sit in there, sit in there, he's waiting to just rip it into that lens right there because he believes he can do that and he believes in his receivers that much or 2nd and 10, now it becomes 3rd and 10. We needed him on some of those plays to take those 5 yards with his legs and let's make it 3rd and 5. Be a little more efficient with his legs, and we needed him to create a little more, extend some plays, because some of our biggest explosives came off of plays that he's extended and managed the pocket well and got outside of the pocket and created scramble drills and things like that. He's done an unbelievable job.

We wanted to be purposeful in running him. So I just think that what has transpired this year, made us so much more tougher to defend because he's as confident now in his legs as he is in his arm and that's made him dangerous.

You know, even last week, first 3 and one he ran 15 yards, they played coverage. Last year, be he would sit in there and he would try to make a tight throw. Now he's just very confident in running the ball whether it is design run or scramble. He just has a good feel for it. That's been the biggest growth in him. Obviously, his strength and his leadership and just his knowledge and experience from last year. I mean, those are all huge areas that he's grown in. His legs have been the difference.

I think if you talk to coaches about -- who study us, break him down, you know, they all see their own talent but it is frustrating when you see this guy run. He can move. I know he looks like Ichabod Crane, a long, gangly guy running down there, this guy can move, man. He can run. He really can.

Q. You said earlier that you made decisions over the years not for the team but for the program. What is that distinction exactly and what are some examples of those types of decisions you have made?
DABO SWINNEY: Well, junior college player, 11 years as head coach. That's just -- there's nothing wrong with that. Just for me, having the coaches that I wanted to have, I want to -- I just wanted to try to focus on getting guys out of high school and develop them. You know, that's been an intentional thing for us. Discipline, how you discipline your team, how you respond. There's been some moments where I have had to make some discipline decisions that weren't necessarily the best for that team, for that moment but they were best for the long-term of our program so we just -- lots of things, staff, et cetera. We can go on and on.

Q. Dabo, as a fellow coach, do you have an appreciation for what Bronco has been able to do, bringing staff clear across the country, no roots, no ties to the East Coast and taking over a program that hadn't won in forever, and being here in only four years?
DABO SWINNEY: Unbelievable appreciation for that.

I mean, itï¿½s so hard to win. It really is. It is so hard to win. You know, he came in with a very clear plan. I mean, just -- he wasn't afraid to lose, he wasn't afraid to fail. He knew what he wanted to do. He had a very clear vision of what he wanted. He was able to articulate that. Then build it, create that mindset, that belief. Get the right people in place. Put the work in.

He's done it step by step. I think whatever failure that they have had along the way, it has been great for him. It has helped him. I'm sure he would tell you the same thing. I have an unbelievable appreciation for what he's done and how hard it is to do that.

You know, especially nowadays, our appreciation for who they are at Virginia too, who the administration is, now they'll fire you after two years, some people, you don't even get a year and a half. I mean, you can take over a dumpster fire and you're supposed to wave the wand and they'll fire you in two years. I have a great appreciation for the people at Virginia too. How many did they win the first year? How many the second year? You know, I mean, you win eight games in two years, a lot of people wouldn't hang on to you.

I think you give them a great appreciation for their administration too because I think they believed in him and they supported him. I'm sure there was criticism and whatever when you win six games in the first two seasons. To see they made momentum last year, win the bowl game, it is just great. I mean, he's been just steadily building it and he's done it the right way. I'm sure he's had to make some difficult decisions along the way that were best for his program, maybe not best for the team but that's what it takes. I'm really happy for Virginia and I'm really happy for Bronco for the season that they have had and have great respect for who they are, their team, how we're going to have to play to have a chance to win the game.

Q. Dabo, back in '11, your first time, can you describe what that feeling was like for you then and winning your first championship and then comparing it to what maybe Bronco and guys will kind of go through tomorrow night as they try to get ready to do something they haven't done in a had long time?
DABO SWINNEY: It was amazing. It really was.

My first year in '09 we won the division and got to go down to Tampa and play and that was a tough night. Neither team punted. It is the only game I have ever been a part of where not one team punted. We couldn't stop them, they couldn't stop us. We lose down there. It was a tough night. It cost us the chance at the Orange Bowl. My first year, I'm like we're going to win the ACC, this is the greatest thing ever! We got beat. Then in '10 we didn't have a great season, my second year.

To come back in '11 and to be able to win ten games, to win the league, to beat a top ten Virginia Tech was amazing, it really was. Especially, again it had been 20 years since that time since Clemson had won an ACC championship. It was a magical moment. I talked to Eric MacLaine about it earlier today on the field. It was a special, special moment to celebrate with our team. We got back that night. Probably 5,000 fans were out there waiting on us. It was just -- there was this hunger and we didn't play well in the bowl game that year. I didn't let that distract us from what we had accomplished. I mean, we had accomplished some landmark things, ten wins and winning the ACC in just our third year playing for the second time. It was -- and having lost in Tampa to get there and win was really, really special. It was a special, special moment, something I'll never forget. In fact, I showed video of that to the team before I came up here. You know, I think it is always good to remember how you got here.

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