Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Arizona Cardinals and ESPN broadcaster Dave Pash.
Speaker 1: Our guest this week is Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney.
Speaker 1: Two time national champion, seven time ACC champion, eleven straight
Speaker 1: ten win seasons, college football playoff appearances, six straight years
Speaker 1: until twenty twenty one. Dabo now in his fifteenth here
Speaker 1: at Clemson, fourteenth full season, and he gets into a
Speaker 1: lot of stuff about what to expect from Clemson here
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. They have two new coordinators, potentially
Speaker 1: some competition at quarterback. We'll also talk with Dabo about
Speaker 1: Cardinals connections, including Wes Goodwin. Wes was an assistant to
Speaker 1: Bruce Arians for a couple of years and is now
Speaker 1: taking over the defense at Clemson, replacing one of the
Speaker 1: most successful coordinates in college football the last twenty years
Speaker 1: in Brenton Venables, who's now the head coach at Oklahoma.
Speaker 1: We'll also talk about Isaiah Simmons and DeAndre Hopkins, both
Speaker 1: played for Davos Sweeney at Clemson. You know I'll watch
Speaker 1: new Hopkins like teeweek ball, middle school ball, high school ball,
Speaker 1: and he was the best athlete. He was a legend
Speaker 1: around here, you know, and not a highly recruited guy
Speaker 1: at all. And I say he's had a pretty good career.
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Speaker 1: one eight hundred. Next step, all right, time for our
Speaker 1: conversation with Clemson head coach Dabbo Sweeney. Well, dab Well, First,
Speaker 1: I guess let's talk about training camp. It's you're fourteen
Speaker 1: for you fourteenth full season as the head coach at Clemson.
Speaker 1: How's camping so far? It's been great? Uh? We we
Speaker 1: bet a healthy camp, which has been a positive for
Speaker 1: us and just broke camps kind of starting to slip
Speaker 1: the script and they get their lives back and start
Speaker 1: you know, getting back to being scholar athletes again. And
Speaker 1: you know, we've kind of had all football for three weeks,
Speaker 1: so it's been good. We've got a lot accomplished a
Speaker 1: lot a lot, you know, installed offensively, defensively, special teams, situations,
Speaker 1: you name it. We've got a much better feel for
Speaker 1: our personnel and roles on the team and all those
Speaker 1: type of things. So it's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: I think it's a close group with a lot of
Speaker 1: better in leadership and a team that I think has
Speaker 1: a chance to compete for this league. And that's really
Speaker 1: what we focus on every year, if we can compete
Speaker 1: for our league and good things come from that. I
Speaker 1: read where you said this is the best quarterback room
Speaker 1: you've had, which to me, given that you had a
Speaker 1: guy that you know was the number one overall picking
Speaker 1: the draft, and Trevor Lawrence, and you've had Deshaun Watson, obviously,
Speaker 1: that's quite a statement. Tell me about this group because
Speaker 1: Kate Klubnick, who obviously was highly recruited, I'm sure when
Speaker 1: we call your game for ESPN Labor Day Night against
Speaker 1: Georgia Tech, we're gonna be talking about him, and obviously
Speaker 1: a lot of eyes are going to be on your starter. DJ. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: we got a long way to go before we can
Speaker 1: say we've got a Trevor Or Deshaan. But as far
Speaker 1: as the room, there's no question it's the best room
Speaker 1: I've had in that. I mean when when Trevor was here,
Speaker 1: I mean, we want it all in eighteen, and it
Speaker 1: was Trevor Lawrence as a true freshman, and Chase Bryce
Speaker 1: was a red shirt freshman, and our thirteen quarterback was
Speaker 1: a guy named Hunter Infro, and our fourteen quarterback was
Speaker 1: our punter, so we really had two guys. And and
Speaker 1: even when we won it in sixteen, you know, we
Speaker 1: just didn't have the type of quality depth we got
Speaker 1: in the room. I mean, we got a bunch of
Speaker 1: functional dudes in our room. A lot of people don't
Speaker 1: have one. But man, we got DJ who's a high
Speaker 1: level talent and U can can play this game at
Speaker 1: a high level. We got big expectations for him. And
Speaker 1: then you know, Kay club Nick number one quarterback in
Speaker 1: the country coming in here. Uh, he is better than
Speaker 1: than he's advertised. I mean he's a great, great young talent.
Speaker 1: He's been here since January, so he really, um is
Speaker 1: just very advanced and can go win for us without
Speaker 1: a doubt. And then we got Hunter Johnson, who was
Speaker 1: coming out of high school the numb one quarterback in
Speaker 1: the country. And he's a sixth year guy who started
Speaker 1: his career here at Clemson and then he went to
Speaker 1: Northwestern and and uh, you know, started some got injured,
Speaker 1: had some some challenge there, but he's a he's just
Speaker 1: a very mature, very polished, uh, unbelievably experienced guy. He's
Speaker 1: just you know, he's a six year college player and
Speaker 1: he's our thirteen guy. And then we've got a kid
Speaker 1: named Billy Wiles and Hunter helms U two guys that
Speaker 1: uh can can play as well, that are that are
Speaker 1: going to be you know, red shirt freshman guys that
Speaker 1: we feel good about um and a young man named
Speaker 1: Trent Permis. So we've got We've got who was two
Speaker 1: time Gatorade Player of the Year in the state. So
Speaker 1: we've got just just a bunch of guys who who
Speaker 1: you know, we're not trying to make a quarterback like
Speaker 1: with Hunter Infro. We've got guys that can really play
Speaker 1: the position, and it just gives us more depth than
Speaker 1: we've had in a while. So again, It's been a
Speaker 1: long time. I can't remember having three guys like we
Speaker 1: have that could go win for us. Because I really
Speaker 1: believe that DJ and Kaye and Hunter Johnson can can
Speaker 1: absolutely win for us. Um if we need him to
Speaker 1: go play Dabo. You've got two new coordinators. Both worked
Speaker 1: the Bowl game. We called that game for ESPN, so
Speaker 1: they both have done it when the bullets are live.
Speaker 1: And actually your defensive coordinator is a guy that Cardinal
Speaker 1: fans probably should be familiar with, but maybe they're not
Speaker 1: because they don't remember the role that West Goodwin had here.
Speaker 1: He was actually basically an assistant to be a assistant
Speaker 1: to Bruce Arians. I know he had spent time at
Speaker 1: Clemson before and then after and now he's calling the defense.
Speaker 1: How's West doing? And just tell me why you went
Speaker 1: in that direction with him? Oh Man, West is great,
Speaker 1: and you know I've known West. So when I got
Speaker 1: this job in December of eight, hard Woody mccorby. You
Speaker 1: probably know Woody yea and Woody was coming from Mississippi
Speaker 1: State at the time. You know, it was the Sylvester
Speaker 1: Crome there, and you know what he told me. He said,
Speaker 1: He said, he said, Dad, we gotta I got. I know,
Speaker 1: you got your staffs at you got everybody will hate us,
Speaker 1: but we got there's one guy. We gotta on the
Speaker 1: way to get this guy to Clemson. And I'm like, well,
Speaker 1: who is it? And uh that was the first time
Speaker 1: I ever heard of West Goodwin. And so he came
Speaker 1: as a grad assistant and uh and it didn't take
Speaker 1: me long to realize why why would he? Um, you know,
Speaker 1: said we need this guy? He is He is a
Speaker 1: he's kind of always been a behind the scenes guy. Um,
Speaker 1: just a brilliant mind for the game. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: understands the game at a level that not many people do.
Speaker 1: A great defensive mind, but he also really understands offensive football.
Speaker 1: Um and um, you know his He's been a really
Speaker 1: to me kind of a rock, uh within our staff
Speaker 1: for a long time. And you know, back in two
Speaker 1: thousand and twelve, you know he actually when we beat
Speaker 1: LSU in that crazy game down there in Atlanta. Uh,
Speaker 1: my DD coach had left and and he went to
Speaker 1: Auburn and so Wes we put him on the field,
Speaker 1: and man, he did an awesome job in that game house.
Speaker 1: The first time I got a chance to see him
Speaker 1: on the field other than when he was a grad assistant.
Speaker 1: So he just kept getting promoted here and then he
Speaker 1: was left to go to the NFL out there with Bruce,
Speaker 1: and uh, honestly, I probably wouldn't. The best thing that
Speaker 1: happened to me and Clinston is Bruce retired, uh you
Speaker 1: know at the time. So when he retired, it was
Speaker 1: an opportunity to get West back here. And man, he's
Speaker 1: just been awesome and everybody he's worked with, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: Kevin Steele here, Uh, certainly Brent. You know, the first
Speaker 1: person Brent morened I take. He really wanted to take
Speaker 1: him Oklahoma, but I wasn't gonna let that happen. But
Speaker 1: he's just he's just a great coach. He's got a
Speaker 1: great demeanor. He really relates well to the players. The
Speaker 1: guys respect him, everybody in the building respects him, and
Speaker 1: uh so just think he's got a bright, bright future.
Speaker 1: And it was an easy decision for me because I've
Speaker 1: seen him since, you know, December of oh eight. I've
Speaker 1: watched him and I know what he's capable of. And really, honestly,
Speaker 1: for the last probably two and a half three years,
Speaker 1: the only reason he's still been here is. You know,
Speaker 1: I've told him he was going to get this opportunity, um,
Speaker 1: you know, because I kept thinking Brent was going to
Speaker 1: get a job, and he kept turning jobs down. And
Speaker 1: you know, Wesley's turned down several jobs to go coach
Speaker 1: linebackers in the NFL or whatever and to stay here.
Speaker 1: So he's been patient and it was his time. And
Speaker 1: I'm really glad, as you said, we got a chance
Speaker 1: to do the bowl game. Uh you know, street Or
Speaker 1: got a chance to run the offense and West got
Speaker 1: a chance to with the defense. And so that's valuable
Speaker 1: experience for us, especially going against a tough opponent like
Speaker 1: Iowa State, to be able to have you know, that
Speaker 1: live in game experience. And he did a great job
Speaker 1: for us, and man, he's just carried it over into
Speaker 1: the spring. We got a great staff, and um, you
Speaker 1: know again, you know, I think we got a chance
Speaker 1: to be a really special defense, Brent being Brent Venable
Speaker 1: who's now the head coach at Oklahoma. You mentioned Woody McCorvey.
Speaker 1: Woody's nephew, Quinton, actually works for the Cardinals in social media.
Speaker 1: He runs the Twitter feed and many other things for
Speaker 1: the Cardinals. So a lot of Cardinals, Clemson connections. And
Speaker 1: I used to talk to West Dabble all the time
Speaker 1: when he was here, and he really impressed me. In fact,
Speaker 1: in some ways he kind of reminded me of you,
Speaker 1: Like you probably don't remember this. I did your first
Speaker 1: game when Tommy Bowden resigned, and I remember the production
Speaker 1: meeting with you that week. And obviously there's a lot
Speaker 1: going on in the middle of the season. I know
Speaker 1: you're close with Tommy. You get the job as the
Speaker 1: interim coach, but that production meeting when we are calling
Speaker 1: the game for ESPN stood out because of how confident
Speaker 1: either you were or you seemed. And West is similar
Speaker 1: to me, and I'm just curious, like, did you how
Speaker 1: long did it take you to get the confidence to
Speaker 1: run a program like Clemson? Wasn't immediate because it seemed
Speaker 1: immediate back in Oa. Yeah, well, you know, I was confident,
Speaker 1: um in my ability to do it. I wasn't. I
Speaker 1: knew I had a lot to learn, but I was
Speaker 1: confident because I had prepared for a long time, you know,
Speaker 1: since nineteen ninety three when I got into coaching. You know,
Speaker 1: I prepared to be a head coach, and you know
Speaker 1: I had I had um, you know, really worked at
Speaker 1: it for years and years um as far as okay
Speaker 1: if I and then I had interviewed for a couple
Speaker 1: of jobs, um, which really forced me to to pull
Speaker 1: everything together on kind of like, okay, who am I what?
Speaker 1: What would what would my program look like? What do
Speaker 1: what are my beliefs, you know, whether it be discipline, academics, philosophy, offensively, defensively.
Speaker 1: What would my staff look like? What? What this? What?
Speaker 1: You know? I had this vision of player development which
Speaker 1: is now called Paul Journey, all these things, um, and
Speaker 1: so you know, and I was just confident in in
Speaker 1: uh uh myself to be able to get the job
Speaker 1: done simply because of what my life had taught me.
Speaker 1: And uh and I was prepared to to Uh. I
Speaker 1: wasn't afraid to fail, uh, to be honest with you,
Speaker 1: but that that I knew, man, I had a lot
Speaker 1: to learn as a head coach. I don't know, there's
Speaker 1: no greater teacher than experience. I mean, you just I
Speaker 1: don't care how much you prepare, how much you read,
Speaker 1: there's there's there's nothing like doing it. But I felt
Speaker 1: like I was prepared as I could be. And uh,
Speaker 1: so you know, and then I and then I knew,
Speaker 1: I knew I had the support of the players. I
Speaker 1: knew I had the belief of those kids on that team,
Speaker 1: and uh that they really wanted to you know, finish
Speaker 1: and and and and you know, not go out the
Speaker 1: way it was. And we did. We went four and
Speaker 1: two and had a chance to and then I got
Speaker 1: the jobs. So, um, I knew I had a lot
Speaker 1: to learn, but it was just a lot of excitement.
Speaker 1: You know. I was thirty eight years old, and and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, for fifteen years I had really been preparing
Speaker 1: for that opportunity. I had no idea would ever ever come.
Speaker 1: I always thought I'd get a job a normal way
Speaker 1: that really nothing's been normal in my life anyway, so
Speaker 1: it was kind of fitting. Do you still I remember
Speaker 1: from I still have them actually, I think from the
Speaker 1: championship years. You were given out to a lot of people.
Speaker 1: We haven't been there in a while because of COVID
Speaker 1: in person, but you were given out. They looked like
Speaker 1: poker chips. I can't. Yeah, do you still you guys
Speaker 1: still do those? And what's the what's the theme? Oh? Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: so you know when I when I if you go
Speaker 1: back and so the very first day as an interim
Speaker 1: when um um the change happened mid morning and you know, uh,
Speaker 1: it was a Monday, and you know, we got to
Speaker 1: practice that night. We're playing this this Georgia Tech team.
Speaker 1: By the way, they've just got this new triple option
Speaker 1: coming in and so you know, Coach Bowden met with
Speaker 1: the team at like four and then and then I
Speaker 1: came in and I met with the team all by myself,
Speaker 1: just me and those guys, I have anybody else in
Speaker 1: the room. And basically I told them what the AD
Speaker 1: told me, because you know, the AD told me after
Speaker 1: I met with him. I went into the meeting with
Speaker 1: Ad thinking, I'm just you know, he's gonna maybe try
Speaker 1: to get the next guy to keep me and it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a miserable experience. But when I was in
Speaker 1: there with Terry down Phillips, he basically said, you know,
Speaker 1: dad boy, I've watched you for five and a half years,
Speaker 1: and I'm to be honest with you, I really thank
Speaker 1: you what we need at Clemson. That was exactly what
Speaker 1: he said. And he goes, he goes now here, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna interview a bunch of people and I'm gonna hire
Speaker 1: the best guy. He goes, but no matter what happens,
Speaker 1: where you win a game or lose a game or
Speaker 1: lose them all, I'm gonna give you an interview for
Speaker 1: this job. And he goes, but here's what I really want.
Speaker 1: So the next night, seven weeks, he said, for the
Speaker 1: next seven weeks, I don't want you to be the
Speaker 1: interim head coach. I want you to be the head coach,
Speaker 1: and I want you to think like the head coach.
Speaker 1: And he goes, I want you to look at this
Speaker 1: as an opportunity, you know, and I want you to
Speaker 1: do whatever you want to do to fix us, if
Speaker 1: you want to fire the whole staff. That was I mean,
Speaker 1: it's so I mean, I was just kind of blown
Speaker 1: away with what he told me, and so you know,
Speaker 1: he empowered me that way, and so I was like,
Speaker 1: you know, I was like, wow, all right, I got
Speaker 1: seven weeks here, And basically when I met with the
Speaker 1: team that night, I wanted them to know what he
Speaker 1: told me. So I told him what he said, and
Speaker 1: I said, look, guys, I know I don't have a
Speaker 1: good chance at this job, but I got a chance.
Speaker 1: And for the next seven weeks. Then I'm all in,
Speaker 1: all right, and I explained to them what that meant,
Speaker 1: you know I mean, And then I laid out the
Speaker 1: expectations of what it meant for them, And I mean
Speaker 1: an absolute and absolute commitment to being and doing their
Speaker 1: best and everything that they do, becoming people of excellence
Speaker 1: and learning. How that that when you when you when
Speaker 1: you decide to live your life that way, it carries
Speaker 1: over into every area of your life, you know, whether
Speaker 1: it's being a better football player or being a better
Speaker 1: person and the relationships, whatever it is. And I just said,
Speaker 1: you know, we're gonna practice the six and I laid
Speaker 1: out how we were going to change things, from how
Speaker 1: we were gonna practice, to how we were gonna travel,
Speaker 1: to how we were going to meet YadA yadi, and
Speaker 1: I said, if you want to be a part of that,
Speaker 1: and you truly are all in, then you come to practice.
Speaker 1: If not, clean your locker out, Hey, your scholarship's good.
Speaker 1: When the next guy gets hired, hey you come on back,
Speaker 1: no problem. But for the next seven weeks, here's how
Speaker 1: we're gonna do it. And so everybody showed up at
Speaker 1: practice that night, and then what happened is when that
Speaker 1: practice was over, I went in, I mean, I thought
Speaker 1: I was gonna talk to two reporters or something, and
Speaker 1: they got this you know, whole room, and the media
Speaker 1: asked me, and I told the media what I told
Speaker 1: the team. I said, hey, look, I'm all in. I
Speaker 1: had seven weeks and I don't know how it's gonna go.
Speaker 1: And I know I don't have a great hand. I
Speaker 1: kind of got like talcket eights, but I got a
Speaker 1: chance and I am all in. And so that's where
Speaker 1: it came from that Monday night, and it kind of
Speaker 1: took on, you know, a life of its own there
Speaker 1: at OA. And so later on in the week, as
Speaker 1: we were really trying to, you know, build the mindset
Speaker 1: of the team, you know, I'm like, you know what,
Speaker 1: why don't we Is there anything? I went to a
Speaker 1: guy I said, anyway we can make like a poker chip,
Speaker 1: like and what I want to do. I want to
Speaker 1: put one in their locker. And the last thing I
Speaker 1: wanted to do is they walk out of that locker room.
Speaker 1: Is I want to I want to get a big
Speaker 1: bucket and it says I'm all in. I want to
Speaker 1: have to tangibly throw that chip in the bucket as
Speaker 1: just kind of one last reminder of the commitment that
Speaker 1: everyone has made. And so that's how it started, and
Speaker 1: then and then we to this day. So if it's
Speaker 1: if it's if it's game five, there's five chips in
Speaker 1: their locker. If it's game fifteen, there's fifteen chips in
Speaker 1: their locker. And the last thing we do to this
Speaker 1: day is, man, we throw those chips in that bucket
Speaker 1: and it's and it's just a again a tangible, visual,
Speaker 1: physical reminder of hey, I'm committed, you know, to being
Speaker 1: my best, doing my best, and everybody's everybody's committed with me.
Speaker 1: So that's where that came from. And it's it's you know,
Speaker 1: the all endships here or something that's just a staple
Speaker 1: in our program. It always has Danny and you know,
Speaker 1: so just a part of who we are. So as
Speaker 1: we say it's it's just as it may be a
Speaker 1: slogan in some places, but it's a lifestyle here at Clemson.
Speaker 1: A couple of questions on former Clemson Tigers that are
Speaker 1: playing for the Cardinals, and then we'll get you out
Speaker 1: of here. One of the reasons stab of that you
Speaker 1: and your staff have been able to have so much
Speaker 1: success is recruiting Isaiah Simmons, who was a first round
Speaker 1: pick a couple of years ago by the Cardinals. They're
Speaker 1: depending on him to have a huge year and they're
Speaker 1: moving around a lot similar to what Brent Ventibles and
Speaker 1: you guys did with him there. How did you find him?
Speaker 1: How did you How did you know because he was
Speaker 1: in Kansas right a community college? How did you find him?
Speaker 1: And what did you expect from him? And how often
Speaker 1: do you talk to him? Now? Yeah, So you know,
Speaker 1: he's one of those great stories and one of the
Speaker 1: reasons that we have the philosophy that we have here
Speaker 1: at Clemson, and that I'm always trying to slow the
Speaker 1: recruiting process down because the recruiting process is sped off
Speaker 1: and now it's like, you know, you're you're some evil
Speaker 1: empire if you don't offer a freshman, you know, or
Speaker 1: a sophomore, God forbid. You know, he's played one year
Speaker 1: of varsity football and and now where everybody's expected to
Speaker 1: just offer all these kids, um, and you know, we
Speaker 1: forget football is very much a developmental game. Even at
Speaker 1: the pro level. There's still guys that are developing. And
Speaker 1: but in high school, I mean, these kids are they're
Speaker 1: changing daily. I mean, it's just a it's there. They're
Speaker 1: at that stage of their life. So I'm always slowing
Speaker 1: the recruiting process down. And and so we go go
Speaker 1: back to two thy fifteen, we played in the National
Speaker 1: championship game, got beat and you know, as a coach,
Speaker 1: you only like you get eighty five scholarships, and so
Speaker 1: you know, you plan your scholarships for the next class
Speaker 1: based on how many seniors you have, or if you
Speaker 1: have a junior or two that has told you they're leaving,
Speaker 1: you know, you kind of plan your your your roster
Speaker 1: that way. And uh. And so you know, we've never
Speaker 1: been program that has oversigned or overcommitted or anything like that,
Speaker 1: because then you get into problem because then you got
Speaker 1: to start running people off and that stuff. So that's
Speaker 1: just not how we operate. That particular year, you know,
Speaker 1: we had some guys that had decisions to make and
Speaker 1: we're in the national championship run for the first time
Speaker 1: since nineteen eighty one. I mean, it was it was
Speaker 1: it was a and nobody nobody was ready to make
Speaker 1: a decision like that. They didn't everybody was just focused
Speaker 1: on what they were doing. And then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: we get done with that game, and we had we
Speaker 1: were not recruiting, so as a result, all my dds
Speaker 1: were juniors and we were planning on them being back.
Speaker 1: And you know, all of a sudden, when that game's over,
Speaker 1: Jay Ron Kirsh decides to go pro. McKenzie Alexander decides
Speaker 1: to go pro, Travis Blanks decides to go pro, and
Speaker 1: then a young junior, a young junior named t J.
Speaker 1: Greene safety decides to go pro. So now we're sitting here, man,
Speaker 1: we got three weeks to go recruiting days in February,
Speaker 1: and we just had four juniors who had another year lead.
Speaker 1: So we got in the DV business real quick. And uh,
Speaker 1: and so I'll tell you who we signed. So we're
Speaker 1: we're looking, so we're gott We're looking all over the
Speaker 1: place and we find it. We knew about Trayvon Mullin,
Speaker 1: but but you know, we didn't really heavily, heavily recruit
Speaker 1: him until we knew we had a spot. So Treyvon
Speaker 1: probably was going to go to LSU. But Trayvon ends
Speaker 1: up coming to Clemson and UM and now you know
Speaker 1: it was with the Raiders in the second round pick. Uh,
Speaker 1: then we signed UM. We signed h treyvon Mullin. Uh.
Speaker 1: We signed a kid named Kevan Wallace who I had
Speaker 1: never heard of in my life, met him, met him
Speaker 1: a few days before, like the week before signing date.
Speaker 1: He was a kid that blossomed as a senior in
Speaker 1: high school. Not was hardly recruited at all as a junior,
Speaker 1: you know, some lower level. And then his senior year,
Speaker 1: at the end of the year, man he got he
Speaker 1: started getting some schools and Brent got a call and
Speaker 1: he evaluated and finds it. And so we get Kava Wallace,
Speaker 1: who now is with the Philadelphia Eagles. And then we
Speaker 1: got uh, we got a kid. He comes to me
Speaker 1: and he says, hey, let's watch this kid and he
Speaker 1: played receiver and safety, big old long Langley, gangly guy
Speaker 1: out in Kansas named Isaiah Simmons. And so I get
Speaker 1: on the phone with Isaiah Simmons because he had and
Speaker 1: I because I said, all right, here's the deal. I said,
Speaker 1: if if you are willing to come visit Clemson, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna fly out there and meet with you and your family.
Speaker 1: And he was interested. With one visit left, so I
Speaker 1: flew out and um and we had a great meeting
Speaker 1: where he and his family, uh there in Old Laysa,
Speaker 1: and he was a guy that as the sophomore in
Speaker 1: high school, you were not going to offer Isaiah Simmons.
Speaker 1: You know, he was just like a young giraffe, you know,
Speaker 1: growing into his into his awkward body. And uh, but
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, as a senior, he's this high
Speaker 1: level track guy. Could fly, he could jump, you could see,
Speaker 1: was still a wall guy and uh, but man, he
Speaker 1: had some he had just now till traits. And so
Speaker 1: he comes on his visit and he loved it, and
Speaker 1: so you know, hit it off with he and his
Speaker 1: family as broad brother had played college ball as well,
Speaker 1: and they had a good understanding of the process. So
Speaker 1: he comes in here red shirts, the same thing he
Speaker 1: was in. Wasn't ready to play. He red shirts. Then
Speaker 1: he plays as a red shirt freshman, you know, and
Speaker 1: the kid grows in and develops into who he is
Speaker 1: and as the eighth pick in the draft or whatever,
Speaker 1: just this incredible dynamic player. But never he never met
Speaker 1: him until January of his senior year, didn't even know
Speaker 1: who he was. And now all of a sudden, we
Speaker 1: get a kid that's eates picking the draft, and then
Speaker 1: we got this kid named Nolan Turner out of Birmingham, Alabama,
Speaker 1: who I think I think we were his only Division
Speaker 1: one offer. I think he had some one double A offers,
Speaker 1: but I think we were his only Division one. And
Speaker 1: I had played with his father, Kevin Turner, who played
Speaker 1: and was a great NFL player for a long time,
Speaker 1: and he and I were great friends. And his father
Speaker 1: they had passed away from als and I just always
Speaker 1: kept up with no one were Riginally we didn't have
Speaker 1: a spot, and I said, like, you know what, let
Speaker 1: me go watch Nolan's Turner. And so I watched his
Speaker 1: tape and it's high school coach who coached fifty years
Speaker 1: there in Birmingham. His exact words to me. And I
Speaker 1: called Buddy Anderson, I said, I let's talk. I said,
Speaker 1: because I know what I see on tape and so,
Speaker 1: but I felt like I was a little biased. So
Speaker 1: I took I take, I go down to Brent and
Speaker 1: I said, how, I want you to watch this kid
Speaker 1: and tell them what you think. So we pull him
Speaker 1: up in Vinible's Ghost. We start watching him Invinibles goost.
Speaker 1: Who's this guy? What's it? You know? He just starts
Speaker 1: getting on Hawk signed he's like and I said, and
Speaker 1: I said, so you really like this guy hunt He
Speaker 1: goes coach, this guy can play? Where is he? And
Speaker 1: I said, all right, that's all I need enough. And
Speaker 1: so I I call his high school coach, Buddy Anderson.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget it. Buddy's coached a million guys in college.
Speaker 1: And I said, coach, I'm calling you about Nolan. And
Speaker 1: I had alfered him a walk on spot the year before.
Speaker 1: I said, I'm calling you about knowing. I said, hey, listen,
Speaker 1: I know you know relationship will have with the family.
Speaker 1: That what's your opinion on him? And he goes coach
Speaker 1: he's as good a football players I've ever had here.
Speaker 1: And I can't get anybody to recruit him. And he said,
Speaker 1: I don't understand, and it's frustrating and blah blah blah.
Speaker 1: And I said, well, I'm gonna recruit him. And I'm
Speaker 1: coming off from a scholarship tomorrow. And I flew in
Speaker 1: the next day, went and saw his dad and it
Speaker 1: was just a really cool moment. And and actually, when
Speaker 1: I get off the soul of you, I'm I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be on the phone with the bucks Rick Stroud that
Speaker 1: one of their top Uh yeah, because it looks like
Speaker 1: he's gonna make their team as an undrafted free agent.
Speaker 1: And he was a great player here for US. So
Speaker 1: that was our dB class that year. And all of
Speaker 1: those guys are in the NFL now, every single one
Speaker 1: of them. TJ was a second round pick, you know,
Speaker 1: Cavon was like a fourth round pick, trey Von was
Speaker 1: a second round pick, Isaiah was the eighth pick in
Speaker 1: the draft, and Nolan is, like I said, undrafted, kind
Speaker 1: of like he was coming out of high school. But
Speaker 1: looks like he's got a good chance to even make
Speaker 1: the kick the three man roster as an undrafted free
Speaker 1: So I'd say we hit on all those guys that
Speaker 1: Isaiah was just again a classic example of you know,
Speaker 1: if you fill up with a bunch of tenth graders,
Speaker 1: well you don't have any room to take a guy
Speaker 1: like Isaiah as a senior, you know. And so that's
Speaker 1: why my philosophy here at Clemston is we're not offering
Speaker 1: freshman and sophomores, you know, unless unless I know them,
Speaker 1: they've been here, you know, because that's a good way
Speaker 1: to to to go out of business quick, because you know,
Speaker 1: you go miss out on some good players that that
Speaker 1: develop in high school. And you got some some young
Speaker 1: guys that are great players as tenth graders and you
Speaker 1: know what their max out, and as a senior, they're
Speaker 1: not there. You wouldn't offer them as a senior, but
Speaker 1: you're already committed to them as a tenth grader. So
Speaker 1: that's just kind of been how we've gone about it.
Speaker 1: And Isaiah is a great example every year for who
Speaker 1: our staff. And so I'm just really you know, Travis
Speaker 1: Etian is another one. Travis. I never met Travis for
Speaker 1: a December of the senior year, you know, and same thing.
Speaker 1: He wasn't He wasn't some highly recruited tenth grader or
Speaker 1: eleventh grader. You know, he was in an option offense
Speaker 1: and and just kind of kept blooming, you know, just
Speaker 1: kept blossoming. Next thing, you know, he's got all kind
Speaker 1: of offers everywhere, and the rest is history. H So
Speaker 1: that's that's kind of the backstory there on Isaiah and
Speaker 1: then new Copkins, who's there with you, you know, I
Speaker 1: we still to this day, there's there's three guys in
Speaker 1: the NFL from from this Little Daniel High School right
Speaker 1: here in Clemson, South Carolina. You know, I watched new
Speaker 1: Copkins played teewee ball, middle school ball, high school ball,
Speaker 1: and he was the best athlete anywhere he was. He
Speaker 1: was a legend around here, you know, and uh he
Speaker 1: did it all. He was an unbelievable basketball player, unbelievable safety,
Speaker 1: unbelievable receiver, just everything he did. And uh so, you know,
Speaker 1: we kind of had the insight track. Not a highly
Speaker 1: recruited guy at all. A lot of people didn't offer
Speaker 1: him because he didn't have you know, great times, you know,
Speaker 1: coming out of high school. But again, kid never really
Speaker 1: had learned how to run as far as for times
Speaker 1: and things like that, and you know it was undersize.
Speaker 1: Came here about one eight, he left here about two ten,
Speaker 1: two twelve, and I'd say he's had a pretty good career.
Speaker 1: So he was a local kid that we had a
Speaker 1: lot of inside information on great stuff. Dabo. I know,
Speaker 1: you got to run. Really appreciate the time. Man look
Speaker 1: forward to Senion person in Atlanta for the Chick fil
Speaker 1: A kickoff game and best of luck this season. You
Speaker 1: got it. They see you. So all right, thanks Debo.
Speaker 1: Well you can imagine what our production meetings are like
Speaker 1: with Debo. It's great though. He tells you everything. He
Speaker 1: spends so much time, gives you so much detail on players,
Speaker 1: and you can just sense his love for his former players.
Speaker 1: And they've done a fabulous job of finding guys like
Speaker 1: Isaiah Simmons and then DeAndre Hopkins, who was a local kid,
Speaker 1: not highly recruited, but somebody that the Clemson staff, including Dabo,
Speaker 1: had monitored, even going back to middle school. What a
Speaker 1: great success story DeAndre Hopkins, Isaiah Simmons, and Dabo Sweeney
Speaker 1: and Clemson football in general. We are presented by bet MGM,
Speaker 1: the official sports betting partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and
Speaker 1: by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. You can follow us
Speaker 1: on Twitter at pash pod. Also go to your podcast platform.
Speaker 1: Tell us what you think, whether you like us, whether
Speaker 1: you think we stink. We'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: If you have any thoughts on future guests. We do
Speaker 1: have Charles Davis, CBS broadcaster and ESPN NFL analyst Marcus
Speaker 1: Spears coming up, but if there's anybody else you want
Speaker 1: to hear from, let us know what you think. Thanks
Speaker 1: again to Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney. I'm Dave Pash.
Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening to another edition of the
Speaker 1: Dave Pash Podcast.