How different setup puts the squeeze on Clemson’s playoff practices, recruiting plans
Clemson has a plan it believes in when it comes to preparing for bowl games, and it’s hard to argue with the results.
The Tigers have won six of their past seven bowl games — not counting national championship games — heading into this year’s Fiesta Bowl showdown with Ohio State. Teams have extra time to prepare for bowl games, and Clemson always seems to make the most of it.
Preparation for the Tigers will be altered in 2019, however, as there were only three weeks between the ACC championship game and the start of the College Football Playoff. The Tigers had at least four weeks in between those games in each of the previous three seasons.
Clemson players had most of last week off before the Tigers held their first bowl practice Friday, just 15 days before the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28.
“We’ve always had three weeks to get ready, and this year you’ve got two weeks. We play two weeks from (Saturday),” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “So it’s a whole different calendar. It’s a very compressed time. But it’s the same for everybody. Everybody’s got the exact same schedule. So we’ve got a good plan.”
The Tigers are practicing every day from last Friday through this Wednesday, with Sunday’s workout being more of a jog-through than a typical practice.
Clemson players will then be off from Thursday to Sunday (Dec. 22), when the Tigers will gather to head to Arizona. The Tigers will have a light workout and meetings on the 22nd before leaving for Phoenix later that day.
But before Clemson leaves, it has plenty to accomplish in the Upstate.
“It’s kind of back to the basics,” Swinney said. “It’s fundamentals and technique of what you do. It’s working on Clemson. And then it’s installation, working on Ohio State. And then it’s player development.”
Player development consists of spending extra time with players who were on the scout team this season or who didn’t have a large role but will be counted on in 2020 and beyond.
“Just give them some attention, give them some coaching, give them some work when everybody’s kind of out of the way and take advantage of the practices that we do get to just coach those guys,” Swinney said. “Hopefully build a little confidence in those guys coming out of the season. They’ve been scout team and all of that, so it’s always a fun time. We’ll balance all of that out. We’ve got a good plan.”
Once the Tigers arrive in Phoenix they will have nearly a week before playing Ohio State on Dec. 28 with a spot in the national title game on the line.
As Clemson’s staff is preparing for Ohio State, it is also working to improve the recruiting class ahead of early signing day on Wednesday. The Tigers missed out on recruiting time as they prepared for the ACC championship game against Virginia but still currently hold the No. 1 class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
“At the end of the day, it’s first-world problems,” Swinney said. “I’m glad we have the problem. I’m glad we weren’t able to go out last week because we were in a championship game. It just is what it is. You just tell the recruits, ‘Hey, the only reason we’re not there is we’re playing in a championship game. We’re trying to win this game.’ And the guys understand that.”
Clemson currently has 22 commitments, including six five-star prospects. The majority of the recruits will sign during the early signing period this week.
“I’ll see every (commit). I saw a few this week, but I’ll get everywhere by January, the end of January. I might be going to see some parents because their son’s already here. Because you have so many midyears potentially,” Swinney said. “So I’ll go by their schools and see their parents and they’ll be here grinding already. So that’s a little unique, a little different. But it is what it is. In the past we’ve always had two weeks to recruit and this year we’ve only got a few days.”
Next
Who: Clemson (13-0) vs. Ohio State (13-0)
Where: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix
When: 8 pm Saturday, Dec. 28
TV: ESPN
Early line: Clemson by 2
