July 24, 2025 • 10 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Because I believe the next guest on the show is
(00:02):
sitting down and I'm gonna stand up and be polite
and shake his hand live on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's good to see him again.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's been a couple of years, and Dabosweeney, head coach
of the Clemson Tigers, is about to sit down and
have some fun with us here on radio row. As
you might have heard Kate Klubnick here on wf and
Z about twenty minutes ago. So we'll get his head
set on and once again we will chat with for
the first time I think on a couple of seasons.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
What part of the country am I, brother, You're in Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I'm in Charlotte.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
This is this is shar This is Charlotte, North Carolina
radio show. Yes, sir, okay, this is the one. I mean,
listen as often as you're here. You're basically a hometown
guest at this point, right how you been coaching with yall?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Can?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I I you are and this is not flattery, but
you know you're a two time national champion winning head
coach in one of the faces of college football. I've
been doing this a long time. You don't have to
do this stuff but you do it, and you do
it with a smile on your face, and you love
representing the program. And I just want to say thank
you for that, because we love these conversations.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I appreciate it. Thank you well.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So let me talk about your team. And you know,
it felt like I don't know I was listening to
you last year. You have reached the summit of college
football a couple of times, but you still seem incredibly
motivated to get back there.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
What drives you at this stage in your career?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Just my purpose, you know, I wake up every day
with a purpose as a man and our purpose as
a program. I'm passionate about it. And I just I
love it, man. I love the game. I love the players.
I love the competition. I love you know, putting it together.
I love the challenges. You know, I really love all that.
I mean, you only get this, you know, we only
(01:33):
we only get one life, right, Yeah? And I love
I love what I do, and I love where I
do it, and I love who I do it with.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I love that answer.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
What now?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Your quarterback was just sitting here about fifteen minutes ago
talking to the audience his journey. You know, I'm not
with him every day like you are. But you know,
Eric McLean's a friend of mine. He's been coming on
for years, and I have a lot of friends, you know,
within the Clemson fandom, I guess. And just the way
they talk about his growth, his maturation, yea, you know,
the way he's assumed the leadership role inside the maybe
wasn't necessarily the case when he first got there.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Can't characterize that for us.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Oh yeah, sure, I mean, you know, I mean physically
and mentally. I mean he came in a one hundred
and seventy five pound kid, really talented and never lost
the game in his career, three state championships in a row,
E lead eleven, won the Elite eleven. Life's great, and
you know, physically a little behind, mentally sharp, and you
know then he we put him in the game, kind
(02:25):
of take the job in the a SEC Championship as
a true freshman, gets MVP, and then he comes back
the next year and man had a little adversity. Yeah,
turned the ball over, took a bunch of sacks all
of a sudden, there's a criticism. You know, just the
game was fast, and you know how you're going to
respond well and always say, if you're made of the
right stuff, man, it'll shine you up. And he's made
(02:47):
of the right stuff. And that's what it's done. Has
shined him up. He's done the work. He's two hundred
and seven pounds now, he looks amazing physically. He is
the leader of the team now, you know, because he's
earned it through his work, through his example. And that's
you want your best players to be the best leaders,
most committed guys. He is that and uh, you know
(03:10):
he's an incredibly committed guy to Clemson. Uh just just
love everything about it. Now.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
He's he's he.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Took coaching and criticism and all the stuff, and he
came back last year and everything he needed to do
to get better he needed he did. We needed him
to use his legs. Well he now he can beat
you with his legs, his arm, his mind, and his heart.
You know, he can beat you in a lot of ways. Uh.
He didn't take many sacks. He he he was much
(03:39):
better with his decision making, ownership of the system. Uh.
Pushed the ball down on the field with great accuracy
and was explosive with his legs. So he took he
did everything we needed to do, and uh you know,
that's that's what great players do that are really committed,
that have talent, have ability and men. It's awesome. And
so now we just need more of the same, just
(03:59):
continue that trajectory of improvement in all those areas. And
if he does that and he stays healthy, we'll be
a tough out, because he's a tough out.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Were you more or less retired the word clemsoning a
long time ago? And I know you've that's something you've
bristled out in the past. And I bring that up
because you know, once upon a time I was in
Blacksburg and I was covering a game the night that
you brought Taj Boyd and Sammy Watkins into.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Town in twenty eleven.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Oh, I was there and it hurt, but I remember thinking,
Dabo's doing something here, and you know, I watched you
grow it and it went from clemsoning to no. This
program's pedigree is playing under the bright lights in the
biggest games and being ready for that. Last year, you
go into the twelve team college football playoff, first time
to anybody's ever seen it, You go on the road.
What was that experience like and what did you draw
from that?
Speaker 3 (04:42):
You know, it was awesome. I enjoyed it. It was
really good for our team. And sometimes, you know, you
just have to experience sayings to really have the type
of understanding that you need to have the vision. Yeah,
and you know, it's a seven point game in the
fourth quarter with about eight minutes to play, and it's
second and seven and they're backed up, and we got
(05:02):
all the momentum and they run the stretch and we
don't fit it right, miss the tackle, kid goes eighty
yards and then we come right back down the field,
fourth and one on the goal line, we punch it in.
It's gonna be four minutes, a seven point game, and
they stop us on the goal line. So very painful,
very disappointing. We were terrible in the second quarter of
that game. But their resiliency on the road in that environment,
(05:26):
the confidence and just being able to see what it's
all about, to smell it, like see the top of
the mountain. If you will get a glimpse of it.
You can't quantify that, you really can't. And so for
them to be able to take that experience into this
offseason is powerful. So, you know, I think that they've
(05:48):
got a belief and an understanding of what it takes.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
You U Dabosweeney, by the way, head coach of the
Clemson Tigers. He's with us here on Radio Row. You've
all had good things about your team going into the season,
but I can look back to your title teams and
I can maybe see some slight differences in personnel. I
feel like this roster is as close to that as
we've seen in a couple of years. Is that Is
that a fair assessment?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah? I mean the best teams I've had really good
in the trenches, a quarterback that's proven that people believe in,
really good skill outside and in the back seven. I
think we have that, and we got a kicker who
can win the game. So I think I think on paper,
they have the the tangibles, and from my perspective, they
(06:28):
have a lot of the intangibles that our best teams
have had. But you know, you got to go do it,
and we can't dict our way into it. Nobody can
predict our with predictions. Ain't gonna get it done. We
got to its performance. So you know they're built, they're
built for it. Now we've gotta go. We gotta go
work for it.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Two quick things I'll get you out of here?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
You know not. I guess at this point it is
kind of a while back, but you more or less
made a stand. Does it pertain to nil portal all
that stuff? We're gonna do things our way now that
we're kind of entering a new era where it seems
like there's some relation coming and you know, everybody's gonna
hopefully be on the same page. You know, you did
hit the portal, so to speak, but you're still doing
things your way. Oh yeah, I don't know if this
matters to you, But do you feel vindicated in that
(07:09):
choice because a lot of folks were lobbing grenades at
you alone?
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Well, listen, I don't. I don't spend my life trying
to prove that I'm right. You know. I just spend
my life trying to do what I believe is right,
and what I believe is right for Clemson. You know
what's right for Clemson, and that doesn't necessarily mean that's
what's right for somebody else. And I don't sit around
and judge other people. A lot of people like to
judge me, but I don't sit around and judge other
(07:33):
people about how they do things. U So I don't
I don't have any like. I don't try to. I'm
not trying to prove I'm right or anything. I just again,
I just try to do what I think is right
for our program, for our kids, and and and you know,
and I don't always do what's right. And I'm making
If I make a bad decision, I learn, I get
better from it. But you know, we we still we
(07:54):
do it. We definitely do things the Clemson way, our way.
That's what we believe in h and we don't apologize
for that. We we really I try to leave with
conviction and not compromise. And you know, and we're purpose
driven and been that way for sixteen years and going
on seventeen. Love it.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well, I'm coming up on a decade here in Charlotte.
But prior to that, I was in Charleston doing morning radio.
So I was talking Tigers in game, cocks okay, and
actually grew I've known Shane Beemer for a long time.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
You know, a great guy.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
We grew up the next town over. You know, he
is a good guy. He comes on quite a bit.
But I bring that up because I know what the
fan base dynamic is like, right, and I love it.
It's quintessential college football Tigers game Cox fans going at
it all the time. You're authentic, Shane is authentic, right,
You're you are who you are twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
What's that relationship?
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Like that professional courtesy, but also that that competition between
the toimes great.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
You know, Shane, Shane actually called me before he took
the job. You know, I've always we've been friends before that.
And just because you know, I mean, that's just the
nature of this business. I mean, you know, I mean,
if I played Tony Elliot, if I played Brent Venables,
I mean, that doesn't mean I'm not I wanna want
to I'm gonna want to kick their butt, right, and
they're gonna wanna kick mine. But we're for friends. And
(09:04):
you know, Shane and I are friends, and and sometimes
people don't like that. They want you to hate the guy,
and I I mean, I can't. I can't hate Shane Deemer.
He's a good, great dude. I really I love his family.
I love his dad. His dad's one of the dad
was a colleague. His dad was one of the best
people that I've ever met in this league and one
of the one of the great examples to me, when
(09:25):
I came into the league, you know, seventeen years ago
as the head coach. So, uh, well, it's a great rivalry.
It's fun to be a part of it. And uh
it's better when you win, that's for sure. But you know,
win or lose. I mean, I've got respect for Shane,
he's got respect for me, and he's gonna run his
program out he sees and I'm gonna do the same,
and and we're gonna meet every year and we're gonna
(09:46):
give it all we got to to to win that game.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Well, look, State Line's ten miles south of here. We
talk plenty about both your teams, and I've been saying
for a while now the state of South Carolina is
going to be arguably the hottest in the country in
college football this year.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So best of luck to you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Good to see Chaws.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Thank you very Muchciate Dabo Sweeney, head football coach Clemson Tigers,
joining us here on Radio Row Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Hope you enjoyed that.
Because I believe the next guest on the show is
(00:02):
sitting down and I'm gonna stand up and be polite
and shake his hand live on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's good to see him again.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's been a couple of years, and Dabosweeney, head coach
of the Clemson Tigers, is about to sit down and
have some fun with us here on radio row. As
you might have heard Kate Klubnick here on wf and
Z about twenty minutes ago. So we'll get his head
set on and once again we will chat with for
the first time I think on a couple of seasons.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
What part of the country am I, brother, You're in Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I'm in Charlotte.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
This is this is shar This is Charlotte, North Carolina
radio show. Yes, sir, okay, this is the one. I mean,
listen as often as you're here. You're basically a hometown
guest at this point, right how you been coaching with yall?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Can?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I I you are and this is not flattery, but
you know you're a two time national champion winning head
coach in one of the faces of college football. I've
been doing this a long time. You don't have to
do this stuff but you do it, and you do
it with a smile on your face, and you love
representing the program. And I just want to say thank
you for that, because we love these conversations.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I appreciate it. Thank you well.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So let me talk about your team. And you know,
it felt like I don't know I was listening to
you last year. You have reached the summit of college
football a couple of times, but you still seem incredibly
motivated to get back there.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
What drives you at this stage in your career?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Just my purpose, you know, I wake up every day
with a purpose as a man and our purpose as
a program. I'm passionate about it. And I just I
love it, man. I love the game. I love the players.
I love the competition. I love you know, putting it together.
I love the challenges. You know, I really love all that.
I mean, you only get this, you know, we only
(01:33):
we only get one life, right, Yeah? And I love
I love what I do, and I love where I
do it, and I love who I do it with.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I love that answer.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
What now?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Your quarterback was just sitting here about fifteen minutes ago
talking to the audience his journey. You know, I'm not
with him every day like you are. But you know,
Eric McLean's a friend of mine. He's been coming on
for years, and I have a lot of friends, you know,
within the Clemson fandom, I guess. And just the way
they talk about his growth, his maturation, yea, you know,
the way he's assumed the leadership role inside the maybe
wasn't necessarily the case when he first got there.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Can't characterize that for us.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Oh yeah, sure, I mean, you know, I mean physically
and mentally. I mean he came in a one hundred
and seventy five pound kid, really talented and never lost
the game in his career, three state championships in a row,
E lead eleven, won the Elite eleven. Life's great, and
you know, physically a little behind, mentally sharp, and you
know then he we put him in the game, kind
(02:25):
of take the job in the a SEC Championship as
a true freshman, gets MVP, and then he comes back
the next year and man had a little adversity. Yeah,
turned the ball over, took a bunch of sacks all
of a sudden, there's a criticism. You know, just the
game was fast, and you know how you're going to
respond well and always say, if you're made of the
right stuff, man, it'll shine you up. And he's made
(02:47):
of the right stuff. And that's what it's done. Has
shined him up. He's done the work. He's two hundred
and seven pounds now, he looks amazing physically. He is
the leader of the team now, you know, because he's
earned it through his work, through his example. And that's
you want your best players to be the best leaders,
most committed guys. He is that and uh, you know
(03:10):
he's an incredibly committed guy to Clemson. Uh just just
love everything about it. Now.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
He's he's he.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Took coaching and criticism and all the stuff, and he
came back last year and everything he needed to do
to get better he needed he did. We needed him
to use his legs. Well he now he can beat
you with his legs, his arm, his mind, and his heart.
You know, he can beat you in a lot of ways. Uh.
He didn't take many sacks. He he he was much
(03:39):
better with his decision making, ownership of the system. Uh.
Pushed the ball down on the field with great accuracy
and was explosive with his legs. So he took he
did everything we needed to do, and uh you know,
that's that's what great players do that are really committed,
that have talent, have ability and men. It's awesome. And
so now we just need more of the same, just
(03:59):
continue that trajectory of improvement in all those areas. And
if he does that and he stays healthy, we'll be
a tough out, because he's a tough out.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Were you more or less retired the word clemsoning a
long time ago? And I know you've that's something you've
bristled out in the past. And I bring that up
because you know, once upon a time I was in
Blacksburg and I was covering a game the night that
you brought Taj Boyd and Sammy Watkins into.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Town in twenty eleven.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Oh, I was there and it hurt, but I remember thinking,
Dabo's doing something here, and you know, I watched you
grow it and it went from clemsoning to no. This
program's pedigree is playing under the bright lights in the
biggest games and being ready for that. Last year, you
go into the twelve team college football playoff, first time
to anybody's ever seen it, You go on the road.
What was that experience like and what did you draw
from that?
Speaker 3 (04:42):
You know, it was awesome. I enjoyed it. It was
really good for our team. And sometimes, you know, you
just have to experience sayings to really have the type
of understanding that you need to have the vision. Yeah,
and you know, it's a seven point game in the
fourth quarter with about eight minutes to play, and it's
second and seven and they're backed up, and we got
(05:02):
all the momentum and they run the stretch and we
don't fit it right, miss the tackle, kid goes eighty
yards and then we come right back down the field,
fourth and one on the goal line, we punch it in.
It's gonna be four minutes, a seven point game, and
they stop us on the goal line. So very painful,
very disappointing. We were terrible in the second quarter of
that game. But their resiliency on the road in that environment,
(05:26):
the confidence and just being able to see what it's
all about, to smell it, like see the top of
the mountain. If you will get a glimpse of it.
You can't quantify that, you really can't. And so for
them to be able to take that experience into this
offseason is powerful. So, you know, I think that they've
(05:48):
got a belief and an understanding of what it takes.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
You U Dabosweeney, by the way, head coach of the
Clemson Tigers. He's with us here on Radio Row. You've
all had good things about your team going into the season,
but I can look back to your title teams and
I can maybe see some slight differences in personnel. I
feel like this roster is as close to that as
we've seen in a couple of years. Is that Is
that a fair assessment?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah? I mean the best teams I've had really good
in the trenches, a quarterback that's proven that people believe in,
really good skill outside and in the back seven. I
think we have that, and we got a kicker who
can win the game. So I think I think on paper,
they have the the tangibles, and from my perspective, they
(06:28):
have a lot of the intangibles that our best teams
have had. But you know, you got to go do it,
and we can't dict our way into it. Nobody can
predict our with predictions. Ain't gonna get it done. We
got to its performance. So you know they're built, they're
built for it. Now we've gotta go. We gotta go
work for it.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Two quick things I'll get you out of here?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
You know not. I guess at this point it is
kind of a while back, but you more or less
made a stand. Does it pertain to nil portal all
that stuff? We're gonna do things our way now that
we're kind of entering a new era where it seems
like there's some relation coming and you know, everybody's gonna
hopefully be on the same page. You know, you did
hit the portal, so to speak, but you're still doing
things your way. Oh yeah, I don't know if this
matters to you, But do you feel vindicated in that
(07:09):
choice because a lot of folks were lobbing grenades at
you alone?
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Well, listen, I don't. I don't spend my life trying
to prove that I'm right. You know. I just spend
my life trying to do what I believe is right,
and what I believe is right for Clemson. You know
what's right for Clemson, and that doesn't necessarily mean that's
what's right for somebody else. And I don't sit around
and judge other people. A lot of people like to
judge me, but I don't sit around and judge other
(07:33):
people about how they do things. U So I don't
I don't have any like. I don't try to. I'm
not trying to prove I'm right or anything. I just again,
I just try to do what I think is right
for our program, for our kids, and and and you know,
and I don't always do what's right. And I'm making
If I make a bad decision, I learn, I get
better from it. But you know, we we still we
(07:54):
do it. We definitely do things the Clemson way, our way.
That's what we believe in h and we don't apologize
for that. We we really I try to leave with
conviction and not compromise. And you know, and we're purpose
driven and been that way for sixteen years and going
on seventeen. Love it.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well, I'm coming up on a decade here in Charlotte.
But prior to that, I was in Charleston doing morning radio.
So I was talking Tigers in game, cocks okay, and
actually grew I've known Shane Beemer for a long time.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
You know, a great guy.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
We grew up the next town over. You know, he
is a good guy. He comes on quite a bit.
But I bring that up because I know what the
fan base dynamic is like, right, and I love it.
It's quintessential college football Tigers game Cox fans going at
it all the time. You're authentic, Shane is authentic, right,
You're you are who you are twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
What's that relationship?
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Like that professional courtesy, but also that that competition between
the toimes great.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
You know, Shane, Shane actually called me before he took
the job. You know, I've always we've been friends before that.
And just because you know, I mean, that's just the
nature of this business. I mean, you know, I mean,
if I played Tony Elliot, if I played Brent Venables,
I mean, that doesn't mean I'm not I wanna want
to I'm gonna want to kick their butt, right, and
they're gonna wanna kick mine. But we're for friends. And
(09:04):
you know, Shane and I are friends, and and sometimes
people don't like that. They want you to hate the guy,
and I I mean, I can't. I can't hate Shane Deemer.
He's a good, great dude. I really I love his family.
I love his dad. His dad's one of the dad
was a colleague. His dad was one of the best
people that I've ever met in this league and one
of the one of the great examples to me, when
(09:25):
I came into the league, you know, seventeen years ago
as the head coach. So, uh, well, it's a great rivalry.
It's fun to be a part of it. And uh
it's better when you win, that's for sure. But you know,
win or lose. I mean, I've got respect for Shane,
he's got respect for me, and he's gonna run his
program out he sees and I'm gonna do the same,
and and we're gonna meet every year and we're gonna
(09:46):
give it all we got to to to win that game.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Well, look, State Line's ten miles south of here. We
talk plenty about both your teams, and I've been saying
for a while now the state of South Carolina is
going to be arguably the hottest in the country in
college football this year.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So best of luck to you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Good to see Chaws.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Thank you very Muchciate Dabo Sweeney, head football coach Clemson Tigers,
joining us here on Radio Row Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Hope you enjoyed that.
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