Dabo defends Watson’s comment about South Carolina
Taking a tour around ESPN’s studios, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had to know the Steve Spurrier questions were coming. Out of the gates on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” he was asked about the HBC’s comments on Deshaun Watson’s confidence in the rivalry series Monday morning.
“It’s the world of social media,” Swinney said. “It really is. That’s something he said in the 11th grade or something in the recruiting process. Those things never go away. It’s the social media environment. That’s why I’m a Twitter-quitter.”
Asked about Watson earlier in the interview, the Tigers’ coach gushed over the possibilities in ‘15.
“My confidence level comes from, first of all, the young man’s ability aptitude, work ethic and commitment to being great,” he said. “He’s above and beyond in all those areas. On a scale of 1 to 10, he’s a 12 in everything. Good Lord keeps him healthy, it’s a violent game and things like that – if he plays in all 12 games, he'll be a tough out for anybody. He’s a special player.”
Swinney says the onus is on the star QB staying healthy is mostly on, Watson himself.
“We go play to win. He came to Clemson to do what we do. Hopefully he can be a little smarter,” said Swinney. “One of the best parts of his game is he’s a creator. It’s not necessarily a play we call for him to run. He becomes a scrambler. There are times where he has to be smart. And not necessarily take that hit and prove anything to anybody.
“And then there are times when it’s third-and-one and we got to have it. We got to do what we have to do to win the game.”
Posed a similar question as his South Carolina counterpart, Swinney didn’t exactly bite on weighing a win over the Gamecocks over an ACC title. They’re all important, he says.
“Certainly from a fanbase standpoint, there’s a certain segment that truly believes that if you go 1-11 and beat South Carolina – hey, they’re happy,” said Swinney. “In reality, they would be the first one to run me out of town. I get the fact that we want to win them all and no one will truly be happy until you do that. Our goal at Clemson is to be the best – not just the best in our state.
“That’s a part of it. In order for us to be the best, we have to consistently compete to be the best in our conference. If we can win this conference consistently, we have a chance to be in the College Football Playoff.
“At the end of the day, they’re all big. The biggest game of the year is the one we’re playing.”