Jason Priester All Clemson
Sunday Notebook: Swinney Updates Status of Xavier Thomas, Adam Randall
Head coach Dabo Swinney met with members of the media on Sunday after No. 5 Clemson's 35-12 win over Furman.
While the game was never in doubt after the Tigers scored five touchdowns on its first six possessions, it was closer than many anticipated and the head coach is still looking for his team to put together four quarters of solid football.
"Did a lot of good things individually, but we still got a lot of work to do," Swinney said. "We got to keep improving. We got to find a way to put four quarters together. That is for sure. And it's good to see us be good enough to be able to compensate for one phase of the game or another, but if we're going to compete for this league, we got to play more complementary football."
After watching the film, Swinney thought this was "probably" DJ Uiagalelei's best game since his freshman season. At least from a statistical standpoint.
"DJ, I think took another step forward," Swinney said. "Good to see him have a game where he made a lot of plays, throwing and running. He was 21 of 27 and we had three drops.
"Two games don't make a season. We gotta long way to go and he's gotta lot he's gotta keep improving on."
Swinney admits the defense had a rough outing against the Paladins, saying the Tigers did not do the little things well. The head coach said there are things they need to get better at, but thinks it's all things that can be fixed. He didn't think they played with the same "juice" they played with against Georgia Tech.
"We played really well Monday night, 2 of 16 on third down," Swinney said. "We want to give Furman a lot of credit, too. They had a good plan. We didn't do the little things right. We didn't hold leverage and compete and challenge the receivers like we needed to. We turned some guys loose and busted. It'll make us better. I know who we are. I saw it Monday night. We did not play anywhere near what I expect and what I know we are capable of. That was disappointing. Too many easy throws and easy access. Nothing that we cannot fix."
The Tigers also came out of the game in good shape from an injury standpoint.
"Injury-wise we came through pretty good," Swinney said. "Guys got banged up but nobody I anticipate anything serious with."
Swinney said Xavier Thomas is "really close" to being back and it's possible he could return as early as this week, but that he doesn't know yet.
The head coach also added that WR Adam Randall should be cleared to play this week and he's excited about what he brings to the offense.
"I think he is going to be green-lighted and ready to go," Swinney said. "It will be good to get him back. We'll have him on some type of pitch count, I'm sure. He will be cleared to play this week. I'm excited about getting him back in the fold."
"He's not going to make us worse."
Regarding the offensive line, Swinney thinks the group took a step forward on Saturday. He said it will be nice to have a full week of practice with those guys this week and anticipates the first group getting better with experience. He noted they have only given up one sack over the first two games. Swinney has also been pleased with the progress of Will Putnam, said he graded really well.
"We were 5.2 a carry," Swinney said. "We just have to keep playing. It will be nice to have a full week of practice this week. The more tape you have of live action, you can improve. We've given up one sack in two games. We've done some good things there. DJ has gotten more confident in the pocket. We have to keep playing and working together."
The head coach is happy with the start LB Barrett Carter has gotten off to but said there are some things he still needs to "clean up.”
Swinney said the secondary played with "poor leverage" on Saturday. Credited Furman for what they came in wanting to do, but said the defensive backs need to clean up some things with their technique, but he is confident that will happen with more experience.
One of his biggest disappointments from the Furman game was the fact that the offense only ran 59 plays. Was also disappointed in some of the penalties.
Swinney thought freshman Blake Miller played better on Saturday.
"He's not gonna win the Outland (Trophy) just yet, but I thought he played better," Swinney said. "He made some really good strides. And that's what I wanted to see."
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