WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Dabo Swinney 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.760 Hey, everybody, Welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:13.280 I'm your host, Arizona Cardinals and ESPN broadcaster Dave Pash. 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:16.960 Our guest this week is Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney. 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:22.599 Two time national champion, seven time ACC champion, eleven straight 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:27.560 ten win seasons, college football playoff appearances, six straight years 0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:31.200 until twenty twenty one. Dabo now in his fifteenth here 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:35.000 at Clemson, fourteenth full season, and he gets into a 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.680 lot of stuff about what to expect from Clemson here 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.879 in twenty twenty two. They have two new coordinators, potentially 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:46.600 some competition at quarterback. We'll also talk with Dabo about 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:52.280 Cardinals connections, including Wes Goodwin. Wes was an assistant to 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:54.880 Bruce Arians for a couple of years and is now 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:58.200 taking over the defense at Clemson, replacing one of the 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:03.080 most successful coordinates in college football the last twenty years 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:05.880 in Brenton Venables, who's now the head coach at Oklahoma. 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:10.120 We'll also talk about Isaiah Simmons and DeAndre Hopkins, both 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:13.480 played for Davos Sweeney at Clemson. You know I'll watch 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:18.280 new Hopkins like teeweek ball, middle school ball, high school ball, 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:21.880 and he was the best athlete. He was a legend 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:25.800 around here, you know, and not a highly recruited guy 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.199 at all. And I say he's had a pretty good career. 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.440 We are presented by bet mgm, the official sports betting 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.600 partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and by Hila River Hotels 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:37.880 and Casinos. Get ready for a football season like never 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.440 before with betmgm, an official partner of the Arizona Cardinals. 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:44.640 Sign up today using code cards one thousand and get 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.600 your first bet risk free up to one thousand dollars. 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:51.200 Visit betmgm dot com for terms and conditions. Twenty one 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:55.160 and over Arizona only. Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem called 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:58.280 one eight hundred. Next step, all right, time for our 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:04.680 conversation with Clemson head coach Dabbo Sweeney. Well, dab Well, First, 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.440 I guess let's talk about training camp. It's you're fourteen 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:11.919 for you fourteenth full season as the head coach at Clemson. 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:16.280 How's camping so far? It's been great? Uh? We we 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.320 bet a healthy camp, which has been a positive for 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:24.160 us and just broke camps kind of starting to slip 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.880 the script and they get their lives back and start 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:30.880 you know, getting back to being scholar athletes again. And 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.040 you know, we've kind of had all football for three weeks, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.720 so it's been good. We've got a lot accomplished a 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:42.320 lot a lot, you know, installed offensively, defensively, special teams, situations, 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.320 you name it. We've got a much better feel for 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.600 our personnel and roles on the team and all those 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:49.839 type of things. So it's been a lot of fun. 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:53.040 I think it's a close group with a lot of 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:56.919 better in leadership and a team that I think has 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:00.440 a chance to compete for this league. And that's really 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:02.359 what we focus on every year, if we can compete 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:05.600 for our league and good things come from that. I 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.440 read where you said this is the best quarterback room 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.240 you've had, which to me, given that you had a 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.720 guy that you know was the number one overall picking 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:16.600 the draft, and Trevor Lawrence, and you've had Deshaun Watson, obviously, 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:19.680 that's quite a statement. Tell me about this group because 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.680 Kate Klubnick, who obviously was highly recruited, I'm sure when 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:26.960 we call your game for ESPN Labor Day Night against 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:29.120 Georgia Tech, we're gonna be talking about him, and obviously 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.760 a lot of eyes are going to be on your starter. DJ. Yeah, well, 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:35.360 we got a long way to go before we can 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.840 say we've got a Trevor Or Deshaan. But as far 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.280 as the room, there's no question it's the best room 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:46.520 I've had in that. I mean when when Trevor was here, 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:49.840 I mean, we want it all in eighteen, and it 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:52.400 was Trevor Lawrence as a true freshman, and Chase Bryce 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:55.040 was a red shirt freshman, and our thirteen quarterback was 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:58.120 a guy named Hunter Infro, and our fourteen quarterback was 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:02.640 our punter, so we really had two guys. And and 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.000 even when we won it in sixteen, you know, we 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:07.520 just didn't have the type of quality depth we got 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:08.920 in the room. I mean, we got a bunch of 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.880 functional dudes in our room. A lot of people don't 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.640 have one. But man, we got DJ who's a high 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:19.600 level talent and U can can play this game at 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:23.000 a high level. We got big expectations for him. And 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.440 then you know, Kay club Nick number one quarterback in 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.520 the country coming in here. Uh, he is better than 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:33.360 than he's advertised. I mean he's a great, great young talent. 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:37.680 He's been here since January, so he really, um is 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.920 just very advanced and can go win for us without 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.760 a doubt. And then we got Hunter Johnson, who was 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:45.680 coming out of high school the numb one quarterback in 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:49.159 the country. And he's a sixth year guy who started 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:51.760 his career here at Clemson and then he went to 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:56.479 Northwestern and and uh, you know, started some got injured, 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:58.600 had some some challenge there, but he's a he's just 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:04.920 a very mature, very polished, uh, unbelievably experienced guy. He's 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:07.680 just you know, he's a six year college player and 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.800 he's our thirteen guy. And then we've got a kid 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.240 named Billy Wiles and Hunter helms U two guys that 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:17.440 uh can can play as well, that are that are 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:19.479 going to be you know, red shirt freshman guys that 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:23.280 we feel good about um and a young man named 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:26.120 Trent Permis. So we've got We've got who was two 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:28.560 time Gatorade Player of the Year in the state. So 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.680 we've got just just a bunch of guys who who 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:33.760 you know, we're not trying to make a quarterback like 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:36.479 with Hunter Infro. We've got guys that can really play 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.160 the position, and it just gives us more depth than 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.719 we've had in a while. So again, It's been a 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.880 long time. I can't remember having three guys like we 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.679 have that could go win for us. Because I really 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.320 believe that DJ and Kaye and Hunter Johnson can can 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:54.800 absolutely win for us. Um if we need him to 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.120 go play Dabo. You've got two new coordinators. Both worked 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:02.040 the Bowl game. We called that game for ESPN, so 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:04.520 they both have done it when the bullets are live. 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.279 And actually your defensive coordinator is a guy that Cardinal 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:11.280 fans probably should be familiar with, but maybe they're not 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:15.560 because they don't remember the role that West Goodwin had here. 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:18.640 He was actually basically an assistant to be a assistant 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:20.760 to Bruce Arians. I know he had spent time at 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.920 Clemson before and then after and now he's calling the defense. 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.200 How's West doing? And just tell me why you went 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:30.640 in that direction with him? Oh Man, West is great, 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:33.920 and you know I've known West. So when I got 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:39.240 this job in December of eight, hard Woody mccorby. You 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:45.800 probably know Woody yea and Woody was coming from Mississippi 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:47.920 State at the time. You know, it was the Sylvester 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:52.359 Crome there, and you know what he told me. He said, 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:55.839 He said, he said, Dad, we gotta I got. I know, 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.160 you got your staffs at you got everybody will hate us, 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:00.240 but we got there's one guy. We gotta on the 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.480 way to get this guy to Clemson. And I'm like, well, 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:04.200 who is it? And uh that was the first time 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:06.880 I ever heard of West Goodwin. And so he came 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:11.360 as a grad assistant and uh and it didn't take 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.600 me long to realize why why would he? Um, you know, 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.360 said we need this guy? He is He is a 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:21.040 he's kind of always been a behind the scenes guy. Um, 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.320 just a brilliant mind for the game. Uh, you know, 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:28.440 understands the game at a level that not many people do. 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:33.120 A great defensive mind, but he also really understands offensive football. 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:39.600 Um and um, you know his He's been a really 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:43.360 to me kind of a rock, uh within our staff 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.600 for a long time. And you know, back in two 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:48.960 thousand and twelve, you know he actually when we beat 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.280 LSU in that crazy game down there in Atlanta. Uh, 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:55.360 my DD coach had left and and he went to 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:59.040 Auburn and so Wes we put him on the field, 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:00.840 and man, he did an awesome job in that game house. 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:02.600 The first time I got a chance to see him 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:04.560 on the field other than when he was a grad assistant. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:07.240 So he just kept getting promoted here and then he 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.360 was left to go to the NFL out there with Bruce, 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:12.720 and uh, honestly, I probably wouldn't. The best thing that 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:16.880 happened to me and Clinston is Bruce retired, uh you 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:20.680 know at the time. So when he retired, it was 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.080 an opportunity to get West back here. And man, he's 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.480 just been awesome and everybody he's worked with, uh, you know, 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:31.800 Kevin Steele here, Uh, certainly Brent. You know, the first 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.800 person Brent morened I take. He really wanted to take 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:36.880 him Oklahoma, but I wasn't gonna let that happen. But 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:39.640 he's just he's just a great coach. He's got a 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:42.760 great demeanor. He really relates well to the players. The 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.320 guys respect him, everybody in the building respects him, and 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.200 uh so just think he's got a bright, bright future. 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.600 And it was an easy decision for me because I've 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.719 seen him since, you know, December of oh eight. I've 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.880 watched him and I know what he's capable of. And really, honestly, 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.720 for the last probably two and a half three years, 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.200 the only reason he's still been here is. You know, 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:07.760 I've told him he was going to get this opportunity, um, 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:09.520 you know, because I kept thinking Brent was going to 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.880 get a job, and he kept turning jobs down. And 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:17.960 you know, Wesley's turned down several jobs to go coach 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:22.199 linebackers in the NFL or whatever and to stay here. 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.080 So he's been patient and it was his time. And 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:27.440 I'm really glad, as you said, we got a chance 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.360 to do the bowl game. Uh you know, street Or 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.199 got a chance to run the offense and West got 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:37.040 a chance to with the defense. And so that's valuable 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:40.560 experience for us, especially going against a tough opponent like 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:44.080 Iowa State, to be able to have you know, that 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.200 live in game experience. And he did a great job 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:49.520 for us, and man, he's just carried it over into 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:53.360 the spring. We got a great staff, and um, you 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.600 know again, you know, I think we got a chance 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:59.920 to be a really special defense, Brent being Brent Venable 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.680 who's now the head coach at Oklahoma. You mentioned Woody McCorvey. 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:07.160 Woody's nephew, Quinton, actually works for the Cardinals in social media. 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.240 He runs the Twitter feed and many other things for 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:12.840 the Cardinals. So a lot of Cardinals, Clemson connections. And 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.280 I used to talk to West Dabble all the time 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:18.480 when he was here, and he really impressed me. In fact, 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:21.000 in some ways he kind of reminded me of you, 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.120 Like you probably don't remember this. I did your first 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:28.640 game when Tommy Bowden resigned, and I remember the production 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.319 meeting with you that week. And obviously there's a lot 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:32.680 going on in the middle of the season. I know 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.520 you're close with Tommy. You get the job as the 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:39.040 interim coach, but that production meeting when we are calling 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.160 the game for ESPN stood out because of how confident 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:47.400 either you were or you seemed. And West is similar 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.000 to me, and I'm just curious, like, did you how 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.600 long did it take you to get the confidence to 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:56.640 run a program like Clemson? Wasn't immediate because it seemed 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:01.480 immediate back in Oa. Yeah, well, you know, I was confident, 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.200 um in my ability to do it. I wasn't. I 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:08.280 knew I had a lot to learn, but I was 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:12.200 confident because I had prepared for a long time, you know, 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.720 since nineteen ninety three when I got into coaching. You know, 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:18.200 I prepared to be a head coach, and you know 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:22.360 I had I had um, you know, really worked at 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:26.120 it for years and years um as far as okay 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:28.559 if I and then I had interviewed for a couple 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:33.840 of jobs, um, which really forced me to to pull 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.280 everything together on kind of like, okay, who am I what? 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:39.480 What would what would my program look like? What do 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:45.800 what are my beliefs, you know, whether it be discipline, academics, philosophy, offensively, defensively. 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.840 What would my staff look like? What? What this? What? 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.400 You know? I had this vision of player development which 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:56.080 is now called Paul Journey, all these things, um, and 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:59.640 so you know, and I was just confident in in 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.000 uh uh myself to be able to get the job 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.240 done simply because of what my life had taught me. 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:11.079 And uh and I was prepared to to Uh. I 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.920 wasn't afraid to fail, uh, to be honest with you, 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:17.680 but that that I knew, man, I had a lot 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.400 to learn as a head coach. I don't know, there's 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:22.200 no greater teacher than experience. I mean, you just I 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.440 don't care how much you prepare, how much you read, 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:29.600 there's there's there's nothing like doing it. But I felt 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.600 like I was prepared as I could be. And uh, 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:34.920 so you know, and then I and then I knew, 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:36.839 I knew I had the support of the players. I 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.160 knew I had the belief of those kids on that team, 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:43.760 and uh that they really wanted to you know, finish 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.600 and and and and you know, not go out the 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:48.600 way it was. And we did. We went four and 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:51.480 two and had a chance to and then I got 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.000 the jobs. So, um, I knew I had a lot 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:56.960 to learn, but it was just a lot of excitement. 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.800 You know. I was thirty eight years old, and and uh, 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:03.120 you know, for fifteen years I had really been preparing 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:06.439 for that opportunity. I had no idea would ever ever come. 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:09.040 I always thought I'd get a job a normal way 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:11.560 that really nothing's been normal in my life anyway, so 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.600 it was kind of fitting. Do you still I remember 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:16.679 from I still have them actually, I think from the 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.720 championship years. You were given out to a lot of people. 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.240 We haven't been there in a while because of COVID 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.200 in person, but you were given out. They looked like 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.120 poker chips. I can't. Yeah, do you still you guys 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.280 still do those? And what's the what's the theme? Oh? Yeah, yeah, 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:31.800 so you know when I when I if you go 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.960 back and so the very first day as an interim 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:41.400 when um um the change happened mid morning and you know, uh, 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.040 it was a Monday, and you know, we got to 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.800 practice that night. We're playing this this Georgia Tech team. 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:49.120 By the way, they've just got this new triple option 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:53.280 coming in and so you know, Coach Bowden met with 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:56.040 the team at like four and then and then I 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.559 came in and I met with the team all by myself, 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.000 just me and those guys, I have anybody else in 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:04.320 the room. And basically I told them what the AD 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.360 told me, because you know, the AD told me after 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:09.000 I met with him. I went into the meeting with 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:10.920 Ad thinking, I'm just you know, he's gonna maybe try 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:12.160 to get the next guy to keep me and it's 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.760 gonna be a miserable experience. But when I was in 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:19.000 there with Terry down Phillips, he basically said, you know, 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.280 dad boy, I've watched you for five and a half years, 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:25.000 and I'm to be honest with you, I really thank 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:26.840 you what we need at Clemson. That was exactly what 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.200 he said. And he goes, he goes now here, I'm 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.600 gonna interview a bunch of people and I'm gonna hire 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:33.680 the best guy. He goes, but no matter what happens, 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.200 where you win a game or lose a game or 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:38.400 lose them all, I'm gonna give you an interview for 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:40.600 this job. And he goes, but here's what I really want. 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:43.200 So the next night, seven weeks, he said, for the 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.640 next seven weeks, I don't want you to be the 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.320 interim head coach. I want you to be the head coach, 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:50.240 and I want you to think like the head coach. 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.160 And he goes, I want you to look at this 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:55.960 as an opportunity, you know, and I want you to 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:57.800 do whatever you want to do to fix us, if 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.840 you want to fire the whole staff. That was I mean, 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:02.000 it's so I mean, I was just kind of blown 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:06.240 away with what he told me, and so you know, 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:08.200 he empowered me that way, and so I was like, 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.280 you know, I was like, wow, all right, I got 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:13.440 seven weeks here, And basically when I met with the 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.480 team that night, I wanted them to know what he 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:18.600 told me. So I told him what he said, and 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:20.800 I said, look, guys, I know I don't have a 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.640 good chance at this job, but I got a chance. 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.240 And for the next seven weeks. Then I'm all in, 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:29.800 all right, and I explained to them what that meant, 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:32.480 you know I mean, And then I laid out the 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.360 expectations of what it meant for them, And I mean 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:40.600 an absolute and absolute commitment to being and doing their 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.120 best and everything that they do, becoming people of excellence 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.360 and learning. How that that when you when you when 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.200 you decide to live your life that way, it carries 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:52.800 over into every area of your life, you know, whether 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:54.800 it's being a better football player or being a better 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:58.600 person and the relationships, whatever it is. And I just said, 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.400 you know, we're gonna practice the six and I laid 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:03.200 out how we were going to change things, from how 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:04.800 we were gonna practice, to how we were gonna travel, 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.280 to how we were going to meet YadA yadi, and 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:09.640 I said, if you want to be a part of that, 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.920 and you truly are all in, then you come to practice. 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.160 If not, clean your locker out, Hey, your scholarship's good. 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.440 When the next guy gets hired, hey you come on back, 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:22.000 no problem. But for the next seven weeks, here's how 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.480 we're gonna do it. And so everybody showed up at 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:26.560 practice that night, and then what happened is when that 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.520 practice was over, I went in, I mean, I thought 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:31.720 I was gonna talk to two reporters or something, and 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:35.040 they got this you know, whole room, and the media 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:37.240 asked me, and I told the media what I told 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.200 the team. I said, hey, look, I'm all in. I 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.200 had seven weeks and I don't know how it's gonna go. 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:42.840 And I know I don't have a great hand. I 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.760 kind of got like talcket eights, but I got a 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.960 chance and I am all in. And so that's where 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.480 it came from that Monday night, and it kind of 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.720 took on, you know, a life of its own there 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:59.120 at OA. And so later on in the week, as 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:02.200 we were really trying to, you know, build the mindset 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:04.600 of the team, you know, I'm like, you know what, 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.159 why don't we Is there anything? I went to a 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.240 guy I said, anyway we can make like a poker chip, 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:10.919 like and what I want to do. I want to 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.520 put one in their locker. And the last thing I 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:15.280 wanted to do is they walk out of that locker room. 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:16.760 Is I want to I want to get a big 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:18.560 bucket and it says I'm all in. I want to 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.160 have to tangibly throw that chip in the bucket as 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.199 just kind of one last reminder of the commitment that 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:28.320 everyone has made. And so that's how it started, and 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:30.880 then and then we to this day. So if it's 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.520 if it's if it's game five, there's five chips in 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.560 their locker. If it's game fifteen, there's fifteen chips in 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:38.960 their locker. And the last thing we do to this 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:41.959 day is, man, we throw those chips in that bucket 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:46.560 and it's and it's just a again a tangible, visual, 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:53.160 physical reminder of hey, I'm committed, you know, to being 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.240 my best, doing my best, and everybody's everybody's committed with me. 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.480 So that's where that came from. And it's it's you know, 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.760 the all endships here or something that's just a staple 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:06.960 in our program. It always has Danny and you know, 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.400 so just a part of who we are. So as 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:11.840 we say it's it's just as it may be a 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.480 slogan in some places, but it's a lifestyle here at Clemson. 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:18.000 A couple of questions on former Clemson Tigers that are 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.000 playing for the Cardinals, and then we'll get you out 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:22.280 of here. One of the reasons stab of that you 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:24.080 and your staff have been able to have so much 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:27.720 success is recruiting Isaiah Simmons, who was a first round 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:30.359 pick a couple of years ago by the Cardinals. They're 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.320 depending on him to have a huge year and they're 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:35.800 moving around a lot similar to what Brent Ventibles and 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:39.680 you guys did with him there. How did you find him? 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.639 How did you How did you know because he was 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.600 in Kansas right a community college? How did you find him? 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:48.000 And what did you expect from him? And how often 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:50.960 do you talk to him? Now? Yeah, So you know, 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.399 he's one of those great stories and one of the 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:55.879 reasons that we have the philosophy that we have here 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.119 at Clemson, and that I'm always trying to slow the 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.840 recruiting process down because the recruiting process is sped off 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:04.560 and now it's like, you know, you're you're some evil 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.639 empire if you don't offer a freshman, you know, or 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.439 a sophomore, God forbid. You know, he's played one year 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.280 of varsity football and and now where everybody's expected to 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:16.600 just offer all these kids, um, and you know, we 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.880 forget football is very much a developmental game. Even at 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:22.720 the pro level. There's still guys that are developing. And 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:25.440 but in high school, I mean, these kids are they're 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:29.360 changing daily. I mean, it's just a it's there. They're 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:32.600 at that stage of their life. So I'm always slowing 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.119 the recruiting process down. And and so we go go 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.600 back to two thy fifteen, we played in the National 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.600 championship game, got beat and you know, as a coach, 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:45.800 you only like you get eighty five scholarships, and so 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:49.160 you know, you plan your scholarships for the next class 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:51.119 based on how many seniors you have, or if you 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:53.320 have a junior or two that has told you they're leaving, 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:56.680 you know, you kind of plan your your your roster 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.720 that way. And uh. And so you know, we've never 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:03.560 been program that has oversigned or overcommitted or anything like that, 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:05.440 because then you get into problem because then you got 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.120 to start running people off and that stuff. So that's 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:11.720 just not how we operate. That particular year, you know, 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:13.919 we had some guys that had decisions to make and 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:16.560 we're in the national championship run for the first time 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:18.760 since nineteen eighty one. I mean, it was it was 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.239 it was a and nobody nobody was ready to make 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:24.320 a decision like that. They didn't everybody was just focused 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:26.720 on what they were doing. And then all of a sudden, 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:31.040 we get done with that game, and we had we 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.480 were not recruiting, so as a result, all my dds 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:37.440 were juniors and we were planning on them being back. 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:40.840 And you know, all of a sudden, when that game's over, 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:46.000 Jay Ron Kirsh decides to go pro. McKenzie Alexander decides 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:49.800 to go pro, Travis Blanks decides to go pro, and 0:20:49.840 --> 0:20:52.680 then a young junior, a young junior named t J. 0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:57.840