CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney again met with members of the media Tuesday as part of his weekly news conference, this time to again look at last Saturday night's loss to Miami, while also looking ahead to N.C. State, a week of practices, injuries and more.
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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Tuesday's news conference.
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OPENING STATEMENTS: “I’m thankful we have another opportunity this week. This is another good football team. They're tough, physical, aggressive and well-coached. They know their scheme well.
"Defensively, they're an odd front, double cloud. You have to have pressure answers. They have big, strong, guys up front. They have aggressive linebackers. Payton ... he's fun to watch. He is a game-wrecker. He is a great player. He may be the fastest guy on the field. He can fly. I have seen him a bunch. He'll have a great future after N.C. State. They do a great job in the secondary, too. They can get to a lot of things. You have to be ready for double cloud and cover-zero. They're physical and they are where they are suppose to be.
"On the other side they have a new coordinator. They're probably more 10-personnel than they have been in a long time. Everything starts in the run game for them. There is a lot of stretch. They try to split you with mid-line, swop zone and the boots that come off of that. They have big offensive linemen who can move their feet. They have three backs and all have made plays. It's a challenging scheme that challenges our discipline. They have had an open date, so I am sure there will be a few things there that we haven't seen. Receiver-wise, they are playing a bunch of guys. No. 10 has been the guy who has emerged for them. They have a bunch of guys, though. Biggest thing is to not let them possess the ball. We have to get back on track on third down. We've been good there all year outside of last week.
"This is a typical N.C. State team, well-coached and aggressive."
Q: Is Justin Mascoll going to be able to go Saturday?
SWINNEY: "Today is his first day in pads. We'll see where he is today. I'd say he's day to day. The only guy definitely out right now is Antonio Williams. He's going to be out for awhile unfortunately. He made some nice plays against Miami. It's underneath his toe area. He'll be out a few weeks. Maybe we'll get him back at the end of the season or may the last couple of games. It'll be week-to-week with him. Mickens will be out, too. They had to take his appendix out yesterday. He had a stomach ache and they found it. It's a tough break for us there for sure. Those two for sure are out."
Q: How do you think Ruke Orhorhoro did at defensive end Saturday?
SWINNEY: "Ruke did fine. They were heavy personnel. We needed to have another big end out there. We have pretty good depth inside. Ruke can give us some flexibility there."
Q: Does N.C. State challenge your run fits?
SWINNEY: "Big time. Big time. Oh yes. They run all kinds of counters, the guard-tight ends, jet counters, the swops, the split lead, mid line. They do a lot of stuff. Everything comes off that stretch. You can get cut in half if you're not disciplined there. Fits and tackling are always at a premium."
Q: Was the issue Saturday more second and third levels (against the run)?
SWINNEY: "The first big run, their only big play in the first half, we were out of our gap. A guy was out and they found it. That one hit. There were some things in the second half where they created some extra bodies and we had some guys trying to do too much. Next thing you know, you're in the wrong spot. We didn't give up a lot of big runs, but they were efficient. Next thing you know you were at 3rd and 1 and the clock and we couldn't get off the field. Defensively we were good in the first half and in the second half we couldn't get the ball back. It was our worst third down game on both sides of the ball, so we have to get back on track there for sure and finish. Give them credit, too, because they stayed patient in shortening the game."
Q: You have talked about being deserving of a win. What makes you more deserving of a win this Saturday?
SWINNEY: "It's a simple answer. Let's win the turnover margin. We're dead last in the nation and we have a really good team. And we have other issues but the reason we are where we are is turnovers. We're last in the country in turnovers. We're last in red zone ... dead last. That's your problem. It all goes back to turnovers. If you hold the ball a millisecond longer, you're having a different conversation. We've had two losses in overtime. Sometimes you're not good enough or you don't match up well or whatever. That's not our problem. We're good enough to line up and play with anybody but it's hard to win when you have catastrophic turnovers. There is no greater equalizer than turnovers.
"We're better than we were last year, for sure. But last year we took care of the ball better. It's really frustrating and it's a simple answer but it's not a simple problem. If we can squeeze it a little longer, fundamentally protect it, we'll be fine. It's not like we've thrown a bunch of interceptions. It's some weird stuff that has gone against us. If we can get that turned around, we'll win some football games."
Q: How do you coach that better?
SWINNEY: "That's the main thing ... you keep coaching and pointing it out. You can't work it any more than we do. Becky from Gaffney told me I needed to give them all a ball to carry it to class and sleep with it, too. We do everything. We have a million ball security drills.
"This is a tough game. It hurts to lose anytime but when you know you are in a position to win and you're not finishing, it's really frustrating. Give the other teams credit, too. We've had 12 really good seasons in a row and we've had a lot of breaks along the way. Sometimes the breaks don't go your way. That's why we're 4-3. And it's our best players. But we've won a lot with these guys, too. This is a contact, collision, sport. We have to find a way to minimize it."
Q: Beyond the turnovers, how would you rate your efficiency in the red zone?
SWINNEY: "We've had ball-handling issues, the snap, penalties and most of it has been on the one-yard line. Maybe we jump offsides next time we're on the one (joking). Just keeping our poise down there and that's where you have to be at your best and we have not been. Guys start pressing a little bit and then you lose some confidence after the miscues that we've had. It's one of those things that can become a little bit mental. We work it every week. We have to carry what we do on the practice field into game day."
Q: How's Will's arm?
SWINNEY: "He's fine."
Q: You said last night you wanted Cade to take another step physically in the off-season.
SWINNEY: "Yes, he needs to get stronger. That's one of the reasons last year we were trying to bring him along at a certain pace. You don't want him out there before he's ready to go. Physically he needed to develop a little bit. And he has made a lot of strides, but he needs another full year of development. As he continues to physically develop, it'll help him. He's going through a growth process, but as I've said, he's super talented. He's not going to forget all of this. It'll make him better. He's got a lot of great days and great plays ahead of him. I really love this kid. He's an ultra-competitive dude and he cares. His miscues have overshadowed his great plays. I mean this guy has made some big-time plays. So a lot of encouraging things."
Q: You have said you believe the pieces for the next championship team are in place. What gives you confidence you have that?
SWINNEY: "The maturity and leadership of the young guys on this team, a special group of young people, the right mindset and maturity. I can see it coming. There are a lot of great moments ahead with the guys on this roster. My heart hurts for the guys who won't get another opportunity. But that's football. You have to get it done as a team. We have guys, some you have seen and some you haven't seen yet ... it's exciting. We have a good nucleus of guys who will be some of the best leaders to come through this program."
Q: Who are some of them?
SWINNEY: "That whole freshman class is special. A special group. Cade's group is a special group from top to bottom. We have signed a lot of great players. We have a lot of players in that third group, too. We have another great recruiting class coming in. I just really like the foundation that we have. We've hit on a lot of these young guys, some you haven't seen yet. The mentality that they approach football with is encouraging."
Q: How long do you see Mickens out?
SWINNEY: "It could be two weeks. He just has to heal up. He'll be fine. He'll have to heal up from the surgery."
Q: A lot has been made of Cade's decision on fourth and one. What's the conversation like when you have a player go against something that was called?
SWINNEY: "What were you thinking? Why? What happened? You go through that process. He's one of the most compliant guys we've had here. It's not like he's defiant. Sometimes players try to make a play. It's no different than a guy who's in this gap when he's suppose to be in another gap. He just made a decision in a moment and it didn't work.
"He's a young player who is learning. You just talk it through. There was no read. It was a handoff. There is nothing to read. He just made a decision, but it was a give. There was zero read. That's one play. We can sit here and magnify that one play. We had a 3rd and 14 as well. If we get a stop there, we probably win the game. If we hold onto the ball in the first quarter, we probably win."
Q: Have you considered going to another QB?
SWINNEY: "No. Not at all. Cade is our guy for sure."
Q: Jay Haynes had an ankle injury, you said. How is he now?
SWINNEY: "He came back for this game and we did a little scrimmage with the young guys last Wednesday and he got rolled up. His ankle is OK, but he was out. I hate that, too, because he's a guy who was coming. He had a really good open date. He's one of those guys I was talking about earlier. We're really excited about this guy."
Q: Your evaluation of MJ Morris?
SWINNEY: "You can see why they like him. He has a great energy to him. He brings a spark. They were having a lot of turnover issues for different reasons and they wanted to make a change. He is a talented player. He's a big, strong, kid who can run and can make the throws. He has an edge to him. He's a good leader. The guys rally around him."
Q: How do you feel about your depth at receiver?
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SWINNEY: "It'd be nice if we had two starters back but we don't. Beaux has been steady and consistent for us. Tyler Brown had a great game the other night. Tink is out for the year, too. Ronan is a guy who is coming. He had a huge play in practice yesterday. Stellato is still in the training room a lot but he is playing. He's made some plays for us. It was good to see Adam Randall make a big play last week. He was a step away from breaking one. Hopefully he reset himself some. Spector has been able to stay healthy, which is good. We've got more depth than we've had, but not having Antonio and Cole s a loss. There's a reason why both were starters coming into the year. But we've got enough to get the job done."
Q: How do you evaluate the offensive line depth?
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SWINNEY: "It was really good coming into the year. Losing Walker Parks was a big loss early. We felt good about it coming into the year. Mitchell has not played well the last couple of games for whatever reason. We have to get him back on track. Sometimes guys can lose a little bit of confidence. We have pretty good depth and we feel good about what we have. Fortunately Walker was the only one out. We love Sadler, Miller ... we hit it out of the park on them. They have a great future. Marcus is having a great year. Putnam is a war daddy. He's a amazing. Linthicum is willing and ready. He's being mentored along. Harris is a really good young player who is coming. We're trying to redshirt Ian Reed and Zach. Trent played 10 or so snaps the other day. A couple of years ago we had five guys and they played about every snap."
Q: You mentioned Jeremiah's talk in the locker room after the game. Any more on that?
SWINNEY: "Those are the positives of facing adversity. For some people it brings the worst out in them and for others it brings out the best. He really asserted himself there. He's not a guy who says a whole lot. He leads by example, but that was pretty awesome. That was as much as I've heard him talk since he's been here. He's a grinder, a worker and he did something probably out of his comfort zone. He was very poised, but fiery and matter of fact. Right on point."
Q: Any experience being on the CW Network?
SWINNEY: “I have no idea what that is. I have no idea where it’s at. You said Channel 62? Rabbit ears? Where is it on the guide on direct TV? 62, huh? Was it Raycom back then? I don’t watch a lot of TV, honestly. I’ll watch sports. I don’t even know who’s doing the game. We haven’t had them (CW Network) yet. 2:00 p.m. is a little different. It’s a different routine. I kind of like it, honestly. I got to the house about 6 a.m. Sunday. We should get home earlier than that this weekend, Lord willing."
Q: Did you say what Mascoll’s injury was?
SWINNEY: "I did not. And I won’t. He’s just day to day.”
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