William Peagler Talks Dabo Swinney Influence on His Career
East Lansing, Mich— William Peagler came to Michigan State Spartan football following Mel Tucker from Colorado. While some have focused on his youth, his depth of experience is impressive, including leaning under the tutelage of Dabo Swinney, the Clemson Tigers terrific head coach.
“I actually got to witness the transition from Coach Bowden to Coach Swinney. My last year was Coach Swinney’s first year as the head football coach. He was the receivers coach, and I knew him obviously in that role, Peagler says. “Probably the number one thing I learned from Coach Swinney is to be true to who you are. You watch him publicly; what you see is truly what you get.
“A lot of coaches, I feel like, kind of try to put out a facade of something that they are not. But he’s very truthful and when he says family he means it. I mean, I think he coached his kids’ little league team when I was there. Two of his kids are playing football there now.”
But Swinney critically impacted Peagler. “But the best thing I learned from Coach Swinney is to be true to who you are and to get to know the people involved at all levels. People talk about relationships, but you actually have to build a relationship. It starts even in the recruiting process; a lot of times, once kids sign with you, the relationships stop, and it shouldn’t. That’s whenever you should expand the relationship even more. Probably again, going back to Coach Swinney, the thing I’ve learned the most is relationships matter and be true to who you are.”
The Spartans kick off the season on September 5, 2020. They will be hosting in the Northwestern Wildcats with a rare, season-opening Big Ten game.
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