As the landscape of college football continues to evolve, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney stays focused on the things that he can control.
“I love coming to work, and I love my guys,” Swinney said during his weekly press conference Wednesday. “I just want to stay focused on my purpose. Certainly, there are some challenges, but it will eventually all settle.”
Swinney’s attitude seems to be the outlier rather than the norm as successful college coaches such as Nick Saban have retired, and John Harbaugh is again looking for greener pastures in the National Football League. Even former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly resigned his position in Southern California to take the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State.
“The best thing to do is just keep the blinders on and keep moving forward,” Swinney said. “We’ve been able to do what we do at a high level, and I believe we will continue that going forward.”
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Swinney said the Tigers had a half practice Wednesday, and used the rest of the time for live simulations of all football situations. Clemson is expected to have a full scrimmage next Wednesday.
“It’s a competitive group,” Swinney said. “I like their hunger and mentality. We’ll try to continue to make each day count.”
Swinney said he has been impressed with the progress of receiver Bryant Wesco since joining the team in January.
“(Bryant) is a natural,” Swinney said. “Rarely are you shocked from a talent standpoint, but he has the mentality to go with it. He’s a very mature young player that likes to be coached and likes to learn.”
Current receivers Adam Randall and Troy Stellato are dealing with injuries. Swinney said Randall would be day-to-day after he “tweaked” a quad during practice. Stellato will eventually have some minor surgery to “clean some things up.”
Swinney was also asked about freshman quarterback Chris Vizzina.
“He’s exactly what I hoped he would be,” Swinney said. “He’s made some mistakes, but he is a big strong kid that has the ability to run. He's accurate with the ball, and he’ll just keep getting better because he’s being coached every day.”
Swinney also had high praise for incumbent quarterback Cade Klubnik.
“(Cade’s) been awesome, you see the growth, you see the confidence you see the maturity,” Swinney said. “He’s trending in a good direction.”