Clemson practices with Dabo Swinney absent
Honoring a promise to their coach, the Clemson football team stuck to the script while Dabo Swinney was in Alabama mourning his father’s death by delivering another spirited, physical workout with room for levity when linebacker Ben Boulware appeared Monday clean shaven.
Boulware apologized to Clemson Nation for reneging on his pledge to maintain the beard until the season began, saying he was “tired of looking homeless.” As his teammates hooted and cackled during his interview, he said the beard made it difficult to brush his teeth and breathe while wearing a helmet. “I looked disgusting.”
There were no shortcuts with Swinney away, said both defensive coordinator Brent Venables and co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. “There’s been great energy,” Elliott said. “This is an impressive bunch. They’re blue collar. They just like to work.
“They’ve been focused, and they understand there’s still an expectation,” he said. “Coach Swinney let them know prior to him departing to be with his family that nothing changes. They know the standard, and as coaches we hold them to the standard, so there’s been good energy.”
Ervil Swinney will be buried today in Pelham, Ala., following his passing Saturday after an extended bout with cancer. He was 70. Members of the coaching staff were scheduled to attend visitation Monday, and many from the school’s athletics administration planned to be at the funeral.
A lighter practice was scheduled Monday night and Swinney was likely to return Tuesday, but Venables and Elliott liked what they’d seen since the team put on full pads Saturday.
“We want the best they’ve got,” said Venables, who added that Boulware looked like a little boy without the beard. “We want good-on-good with as much energy, passion and enthusiasm as they’ve got.
“That’s the way the game’s played. You can’t cheat the game, coming out here to practice doing it one way and doing it another way in the game,” he said. “We’d be concerned if we didn’t have that kind of energy and passion out there.”
Positions with exceptional depth continue to draw praise from coaches. Elliott spoke of his running backs, where sophomore Wayne Gallman, last season’s leading rusher, faces a challenge.
“It’s very competitive. Wayne is at the top. (Senior) C.J. Davidson has a look in his eye,” Elliott said. Back from a knee ligament injury sophomore, Adam Choice didn’t flinch during contact drills, and redshirt freshman C.J. Fuller “has had the best camp so far and is really progressing.”
Elliot did not mention sophomore Tyshon Dye and junior Zac Brooks. Dye was impressive in early drills, and “he’s coming along,” Elliott said. Brooks missed much of the first week with a bruised heel, so he’s behind the rest. “It’s far from being settled.”
At receiver, “as good as advertised” blue-chip freshmen Deon Cain and Ray Ray McCloud likely will push veterans Charone Peake, Mike Williams and Artavis Scott. “It’s just a matter of maturity, learning the system and the technique.”
Germone Hopper is out of Swinney’s doghouse, redshirt freshman Trevion Thompson has made enormous progress since spring and walk-on freshman Hunter Renfrow has turned heads. “There’s a lot of quality depth,” Elliott said. “We’ve just got to keep them healthy and keep them working.”
A few players were limited as the second week began. Tight end Stanton Seckinger (returning from knee surgery) wore yellow with center Ryan Norton (concussion), linebacker Kendall Joseph (shoulder) and corner Marcus Edmond in green.