Dabo Swinney: 'Our Best Players Have to Be the Most Disciplined Guys'

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says he expects his best players to be the most disciplined in his program, and that on his better teams that has always been the case, and that this years team is no different.

During his time as a Clemson Tiger, Trevor Lawrence has been a model citizen. 

The superstar quarterback has led by example from the moment he stepped foot on campus, and head coach Dabo Swinney says that is exactly what is expected from the higher-profile players that come through the program.

"Our best players have to be the most disciplined guys," Swinney said. "And our best teams, that's the way it's been, and it's no different on this team."

Swinney says he has always made it a point to be harder on players like Lawrence. However, in this instance, Lawrence has made it difficult because he rarely gives his head coach a reason to discipline him.

"These guys all know I'm tougher on guys like Trevor than I am anybody, always have been," Swinney said. "And it's always been the case here, but unfortunately for me, I don't get many opportunities to get onto Trevor. He makes it really really hard for me."

Last Saturday night in the Tigers 42-17 win over Miami, the Clemson quarterback was flagged fifteen yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty came when Lawrence spiked the ball on a 3-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.

#TrevorLawrence got an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty for this...
Thoughts??#Clemson #Miami #collegefootball #NCAA pic.twitter.com/d1tP6Oh92g

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 11, 2020

After Lawrence came back to the sideline, Swinney had one of those rare opportunities to chastise his junior quarterback.

"I did have a moment the other day because he spiked the ball," Swinney said "When he gets to New York, or wherever you all think he's going, he can spike the ball or whatever he wants to do. But not here, and you know it was a good opportunity for me to get onto him." 

Swinney credits quarterback coach Brandon Streeter for the job he has done with the Tigers signal-caller but jokingly says if it happens again, there could be some consequences. 

"He loves that, he loves to be challenged and coached," Swinney said. "But he makes it hard on us. Next time I'm gonna put him on kickoff coverage, and we'll let him cover the kick."

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