Heading Into Bye, Clemson LB James Skalski Focused On Task At Hand

As the Tigers head into their bye week, Clemson linebacker James Skalski is determined to make sure he and his teammates stay focused on the task at hand, and take it one game at a time.

There is no question where the veteran leadership comes from on the defensive side of the ball for the No. 1 Clemson Tigers. 

That role undoubtedly belongs to the fifth-year senior linebacker James Skalski, who had a scoop and score on Saturday in the Tigers 49-0 win over The Citadel, the first touchdown of his career. 

Instead of relishing in a monumental moment in his career, Skalski instead chooses to do what all good leaders do. He is fully focused on the task at hand, which is being ready for the Tigers next opponent in two weeks, the Virginia Cavaliers. 

"You know, we just got to focus on Virginia now," Skalski said after Saturday's win over Citadel. "My goal is really just one game at a time. Just continue as a team with chemistry and cohesion, and just get better every day."

With a bye week coming up, Skalski knows the coming week will be a good chance to gauge exactly where this team stands at the moment. With so much youth and inexperience on the roster, he knows this team is still a work in progress and still has some work to do.

"Especially next week with our bye, we've got to get better," Skalski said. "You've got to know by next Friday of next week, Saturday, that we've made strides. You know, just just keep getting better and better, because we are still young and already really good."

However, despite that youth and inexperience, Skalski also knows what kind of ceiling this team has. As one of the veterans of the defense, he feels it is his responsibility to make sure each one of his defensive teammates maximize their potential, and help make this team be the best it can be. 

"You know, the ceiling for this for this group is so high, so high," Skalsi said. "So I'm really excited to see how far we can go. And that's on us, it's up to us. So I'm just going to keep being a leader, being the old vet in the room. Telling guys what they don't want to hear and keep it honest. That's the only way we're going to get better."

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