For the first time since April, Clemson’s full staff of on-field assistant coaches had a chance to speak with the media Tuesday to kick off the 2021 preseason. It was also the first in-person meeting with reporters since the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Various topics were addressed during the time, but here are a few takeaways:
Dabo Swinney’s stance on expanded playoff
This answer quickly made the rounds on social media with some calling out Tigers coach Dabo Swinney for his thoughts on expanding the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams. He expressed his disagreement with the proposed move, going even further as to note that he wasn’t in favor of the four-team setup that began in 2015. He added that the Tigers’ players agree with the sentiment.
The position about moving to 12 teams isn’t out of concern for making the playoffs. The Tigers have been one of the four squads to make the postseason six of the seven years, making the semifinals each time and winning it all twice. For Swinney, it’s the spirit behind it.
“I knew that when it went to four, it was going to become all about the playoffs,” Swinney said. “When it goes to 12, it’s going to become more about the playoffs, but that’s inevitable. … To be honest with you, I don’t think there’s 12 teams good enough, so you play more games just to play more games. I think the more you expand it, the less important the season becomes.”
Clemson’s vaccination update
After a season heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are plenty of questions about who among sports teams will get vaccinated, if they haven’t already, and when. The Tigers had their bouts with players contracting the virus, which included quarterback Trevor Lawrence and defensive end Xavier Thomas.
“I’m thankful that we have that option,” Swinney said of the many vaccines available, which include the more popular Moderna and Pfizer. “This time last year, we didn’t have an option. There was no option. You just had to manage the best you could.”
The Tigers don’t have a 100% vaccination rate. Swinney, who has been vaccinated since March, said the team is “headed in a good direction” with hopes of bringing that to fruition. He believes some will be more motivated to get vaccinated once the season gets closer.
“We’ve done everything to educate and provide great information, encourage these guys to talk to all their doctors,” Swinney said. “The biggest thing for me, I don’t know a single doctor that I trust, that I talk to that said don’t get it. They all said you need to get it, and I trust my doctors. That’s a decision everybody’s got to make.”
CJ Spiller’s upcoming season as running backs coach
After serving as an unpaid coaching intern last season, Spiller was named Clemson’s running backs coach in February. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott relinquished that responsibility and will now coach the tight ends.
Spiller is one of many Clemson alumni to be part of the staff. The Tigers just added another on Monday when it was reported that former quarterback Tajh Boyd would join the offensive support staff, though nothing has been finalized or made official yet.
One of the biggest lessons Spiller, who graduated from Clemson in 2009, has learned so far is to set boundaries when it comes to the relationships he’s building with players.
“They still kind of see me as that player because I’m not that far removed from playing,” he said. “I think that was one of the toughest things to get them to understand, but coach [Robbie] Caldwell did a great job of telling me to make sure these guys are respecting me, calling me ‘coach’ because if you kind of let it go up under the rug, then you’ll never kind of get a good grasp of your position.”