CHEEZ-IT BOWL: CLEMSON VS IOWA STATE

December 5, 2021

Dabo Swinney

Camping World Stadium

Clemson Tigers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: With that, we'll move on to Coach Dabo Swinney, who's joining us from the tunnel at Allegiant Stadium, I think I hear. Checking out the Raiders game. Coach, thank you for making some time.

DABO SWINNEY: Yeah, I apologize, but I'm in a tunnel. Hope you can hear me. Out here at the Raiders game and here for the College Football Hall of Fame with C.J. Spiller.

Let me just say, [we're] super excited to be part of the Cheez-It Bowl. Orlando is an incredible destination and experience. Having been a part of bowl experiences down there in the past, it's just a place that I know our guys will certainly enjoy and then have the opportunity to compete against a great and well-coached Iowa State team in a great matchup.

I've got a lot of respect for Coach Campbell. Had a chance to meet him. They actually came down here to Clemson. I had him speak at our clinic and had a chance to visit with him on a personal level, just to collaborate with him over the years. What an unbelievable job he has done at Iowa State.

Going to be a great matchup. Again, something we're really looking forward to and just honored to be chosen to be a part of it. A great opportunity for our team to continue to build momentum into next year, continue to improve, and hopefully finish our season in a very positive way.

With that, I'll take your questions.

Q. Dabo, good to see you. I wanted to ask, you talked about your relationship with Matt. You said he kind of reached out to you, and he kind of got a chance to see your program at work. What stood out to you about the job that Matt has done, and what makes him one of the young elite coaches out there right now?

DABO SWINNEY: The first time I met him, we were actually crossing paths at an airport. I don't know if he remembers that, but I do. Just was immediately kind of struck with his authenticity, who he is, and I've admired what he's done at a place where it's not easy to go do what he's done. He's built an incredible culture there.

So we just kind of swapped numbers, and then again, they came out to Clemson. Really from that time on, we've talked and swapped text messages and all that. Just an incredibly bright coach, a guy that I think really loves the players and is very serious about certainly winning, but winning in a way that really builds great men through the process.

Q. Just wondering if you can comment on the Brent Venables situation and what's going on with him and how it relates to what his status will be for the bowl game if he does leave.

DABO SWINNEY: I certainly appreciate your question, Trevor. Definitely not something we're going to talk about right now. This is about our team. It's about this opportunity and this matchup and all those types of things. If there's something to be talked about there, we'll discuss that at the appropriate time.

Q. If I could, you haven't had to deal with the potentiality of opt-outs over the last six years, having been in the playoffs. Obviously, that's something prevalent and something on the minds of the players with these lower-tier bowls. Is that something that you anticipate having to discuss with some of your players?

DABO SWINNEY: First of all, this is a great bowl. This is not a lower-tier bowl. I think this is a great bowl, and it's a great opportunity and a great experience for us as coaches and our staff and great student-athletes. I look at it as a real honor to be a part of it. So we're excited about that.

But as far as all that other stuff, man, I hope everybody's there. Whoever we got, we're going to be ready and be excited to go play.

Q. Can you elaborate a little bit on your relationship with Matt Campbell and what it was like when he came to visit Clemson?

DABO SWINNEY: As I said earlier, the first time I met him, we were passing in the airport and kind of swapped numbers there. Then just communicated a few times, and then I got him to come to Clemson. He actually spoke at our clinic one year, and our defensive staff met with him as well. Then he and I just, like I said, just talked and collaborated, swapped texts several times over the last few years.

Just a guy I've got a lot of respect for and admired what he's done there at Iowa State. It's been incredible for sure.

Q. Dabo, there were reports you might be interested in the Oklahoma job. I was wondering if you could say if you had any contact with Oklahoma.

DABO SWINNEY: No, I've had no contact with Oklahoma from my standpoint.

Q. How much opportunity -- I don't guess that you have much opportunity to see Iowa State play this season, but just your overall impression of them, not only this season, but what Coach Campbell has been able to build there over the last couple of years.

DABO SWINNEY: All I know is they're a tough out, simple as that. They've been an incredibly consistent program, can beat anybody. So you know that they're incredibly well-coached and passionate about what they're doing, and you see that when you watch them play.

So now that we know who we're playing, obviously throughout the course of this next week, we'll start diving in and taking a closer look at exactly who they are, personnel-wise, et cetera.

All I know is you're going to play a team that's won a bunch of games in the last several years, big games, and will be very well prepared.

Q. And you've been so banged up all season long with the injuries, kind of historic from that regard. How much will it mean to you just to have a few weeks just to get healthy and prepare kind of like a whole new season?

DABO SWINNEY: Well, I'm glad our guys got some time off this week for sure. It's been good for them. Obviously, last seven years, we've been practicing this week. The breaks have been good for him. We'll start a couple of workouts this week. We'll have a staff day next Sunday, and we'll start practice.

Hopefully, we'll get a little bit of work. We'll get some work on their own this week from a film study, et cetera, as we dive in as a staff. Definitely very hopeful that we can be as healthy as we've been maybe all season, by the time we get to the bowl game. So we'll see. Certainly hopeful.

Q. Given what's happening in college football the last couple of weeks, the money that's going around out there, is college football in a good place right now?

DABO SWINNEY: No. College football is not in a good place for a lot of reasons. There's a lot of change going on, and I think some unintended consequences with that.

At the end of the day, we'll figure it all out as we move forward for sure. There's a lot of things in college football right now that I think we'll look back four or five years from now and, and hopefully things will settle down a little bit.