Dabo Swinney details Clemson football’s struggles with the flu before USC game
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney gave a special game ball to an unlikely person following Saturday’s game over South Carolina — the team’s trainer.
Second-year athletic trainer Pat Richards was awarded one after the Tigers’ 16-7 win over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium. Swinney said during his postgame news conference that it was important to recognize Richards because of how his staff helped the team navigate a flu bug that spread across his team in the days leading up to the matchup with the Gamecocks.
“It was a crazy week for us. ... We had very few guys practice this week,” Swinney said. “It was crazy. ... We had a big run of the flu go through the team.”
Swinney said Clemson had 12 players using IVs after the team breakfast Saturday morning in Columbia to stay hydrated and healthy enough to play in the game.
“It’s just wild,” he said. “I’m just really proud of the staff and our players for finding a way to get it done. It was just a great, great response by all these guys tonight.”
Swinney said assistant coaches Thomas Austin (offensive line) and Nick Eason (defensive tackles) were among those sick this week. The flu bug spread through the team rapidly, Swinney said, to the point where he’d see Richards in the hallway and try to avoid him in anticipation of another negative update.
“It was bad news every single day,” Swinney said.
The team had designated “sick vans” for its trip down to USC this weekend. Running back Will Shipley didn’t practice with the team until Thursday, and backup quarterback Hunter Helms was out from Monday until Saturday. Shipley, who didn’t start, rushed for 80 yards and caught four passes for 32 yards in the game.
“It was a wild week,” Swinney said, adding that the flu bug started spreading through the team last Friday “and next thing you know it was another guy or two Sunday and then Monday we had a guy and then it kinda spread through some of these guys.”
In addition to the sickness, Swinney praised his team’s toughness, bouncing back from a 4-4 start to go unbeaten through the month of November with other victories over Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
Swinney praises Rattler, Gamecocks
Swinney also talked about the respect he had for USC coach Shane Beamer and Gamecocks quarterback Shane Rattler. Clemson’s defense made things tough on Rattler, who likely played his last game as a USC player. They held him to 112 yards passing and sacked him twice.
“I thought their team competed really hard. I got a lot of respect for Coach Beamer and their quarterback. Rattler is a heck of a player. He is a winner and competitive kid. I thought they battled all night long.”
