The "Mess" Edition

Jason Priester joins the show and says Dabo Swinney has "a mess on his hands" as Clemson heads into Duke week sitting at 3-4.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Each time or Clipson Sports Talk with Lawton Swan.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Now finally, Clemson Sports Talk has come back two drive time.

(00:51):
Hello everybody, Lawton Swan back in the saddle once again.
It is the show that shakes the south Land. Clemson
Sports Talk for you each and every afternoon as you
make your way on the great state of South Carolina
and beyond, listening to us on incredible radio stations like
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(01:16):
but the dot com on a dog garnet that's Clemson
Sports Talk dot Com AH three four five oh zero
zero eighty six as the text line in the phone line,
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(01:39):
zero eight. That's mets Plumbing online at mets plumbing dot com.
All right, out of the gates, We'll be joined by
Jason Priester from The Clemson Insider, off the heels of
Clemson picking up a commit, a former Big ten commit
to Northwestern. Brandon Riley, sixty three, two hundred and five

(02:01):
pounds linebacker has committed to the Tigers. Basically a three
star prospect across the board. We'll talk with Jason Priest
about that and much more here on a Friday afternoon.
It'll be a little casual Friday for sure. Tommy Valden
coming up an hour number two plus, we'll play some

(02:21):
of our conversation with you from our time with former
clips Tiger offensive coordinator Chad Morris earlier this week as well.
But now joining us Jason Priester from the Clemson Insider
hanging out on a Friday afternoon. JP, what's up, big guy.
How's your week been.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
It's it's been rather eventful.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
Man.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
How's it been going for you? Lowton?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
It's good. But I know you were at the baseball
game last night between the Tigers and the Savannah Bananas,
and I guess my question is how impactful do you
think this event is for Clemson? They've played them twice now,
they had them on campus at Clemson. I think it's
brilliant marketing for the you know, for Eric Beckett's program.

(03:09):
I mean, do you feel the same way watching it.
I know Clemson won last night, and the score really
doesn't matter in these these games, but man, it's really
cool for these guys to have this opportunity.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Absolutely. I remember this time last year when they played,
you know, right after the game ended, Eric Beckett's you know,
he went in depth and talked about how, you know,
the success of this event will not be measured on
the scoreboard. It's all about the marketing, like you just
hit on, in the exposure that these players get. You
know that the Bananas have such a presence on social media,

(03:45):
so many followers. You know, some of that stuff from
last year went viral. I'll imagine some of the stuff
from last night I'll go viral to you know, I
don't know how you put a bigger spotlight on your players,
and in this NIL era, when you're talking about a
baseball program like Clemson, who really has to lean on
that third third party in il stuff, you know, to

(04:08):
kind of get things done. In recruiting, sometimes more so
than the repshare, I think is extremely important. And that
doesn't even start to get into the recruiting aspect and
how you can sell you know, potential recruits on playing
in those kind of showcases. I mean, how many college
baseball teams get to play against the Savanna Bananas, right,

(04:28):
I mean, it just doesn't happen very It just doesn't
happen very often. And Clemson has done it twice now.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Well, and I would imagine because they've had a good
turnout and for you know, the ownership group there for
the Savannah Bananas. The owner he is a Wolford graduate,
so you know, he's familiar with the upstate. This feels
to me like a perfect fit for a long term
relationship between these two institutions. Again, Jason's on Twitter at

(04:55):
JP Underscore Preestar go give him a follow today. Now
you are allo so at a little fall ball I
guess intersquad scrimmage or whatever a couple of days ago.
Clips has also got a match up coming up against Alabama.
Just give us some thoughts on what you've seen from
this Clypson Tiger baseball team. I mean, everybody knows the
expectation is O maha. Eric Beckett certainly does not shy

(05:17):
from that. But what what has been I guess I
would say your early season thoughts. I mean, it's tough
to measure when you're talking about this matchup against the
Savannah Bananas. But in reality, what are we looking at
right now in your mind?

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, I've actually been to several intersquad scrimmages over the
past couple of weeks. You know, I think Eric Beckett
has done a really good job of putting some pop
back into this lineup, talking about a team that's that
only hit seventy three home runs last year, down from
the you know, down substantially from the year before, and
it was an it was an issue that reared its

(05:52):
ugly head often last year. You know, you go out
and get guys like Nate's Boy and Tye Dally out
of the portal, you know, two power bats. Savoy hit
three home runs in the in the four days four
games that I was there, one clear over the scoreboard
out there, so he's he's definitely gonna gonna help with that.

(06:14):
Dot Dally hit a long home run last night. Was
on the basis frequently in all the scrimmages. I was
there and looks to have a pretty good glove out
there in right field too. And then you got a
shortstop like Tyler Tyler Lichtenberger who looks real smooth, you know,
doesn't seem like Tiger's gonna lose much there after losing
the shortstop from last year. But one of the things

(06:36):
that's really stood out to most of me are some
of the freshman pitchers, Guys that I didn't really know
a whole lot about going in and watching these things,
but after you watch a few, you learned about them.
You know that they've got a couple of guys that
can throw hard mid nineties. You know, the transfer they
brought in from from Alabama, Ariston v C. I think

(06:57):
he's hit ninety seven on the gun already, so I mean,
they're not going to be lacking for power arms this year.
The question becomes are those guys ready to play under
the lights as freshmen and how much is back it's
going to be able to rely on some of those guys.
They've looked pretty good in what in the times I've
been there. You know, it's still small sample size. Several

(07:22):
of those guys got some work last night against the Bananas.
Looked real good. Left handed Dan Margulize is one of
those freshmen. He kind of finished that thing off last night.
Another one was Eston Simpson, I think his last names.
He's in the mid nineties already, so they've got a
few more power arms, and they've got a few more
power out power bats, and I think that'll only help again.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Jason Prischer with us here on the program. Clemson topping
the Savannah Bananas last night in a tight ball game
four to three. What do you think about the way
they do the scoring? I was explaining that to my dad.
I love it. I think it's fun. You know, when
you were a kid and you went to see the
Harlem Globe Trotters, that routine and stick got old pretty

(08:07):
quick and rarely did the who was therepondent the Washington generals?
I think rarely did you even see Washington compete or
even play real defense in those games. But this is
to a degree outside of the occasional trick play. I mean,
it's real baseball. Maybe it's not as competitive as some
people might like, but I like the scoring formatt. I

(08:28):
think it's an interesting dynamic that really makes this environment unique.
Every time you go.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
It is definitely different. You know, it kind of limits
where you can't have really a one side of affair
like clips in it outscored them seven to nothing through
the force first four in is last night, but in actuality,
the way they do the score and you know, whoever
wins the inning gets a point. Clemson was only leading
four to nothing instead of seven to nothing, So I mean,

(08:56):
you don't get like one sided blowouts. If the team
scores ten runs in the first in the game's kind
of always in doubt, if you will. And that's kind
of how this one played out last night. The Bananas.
You scored some runs in the eighth inn and and
the ninth inning and kind of almost came back and
won that thing. You know, it definitely adds a layer

(09:16):
of excitement that you don't get in a regular college
baseball game or a major league baseball game.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Again, He's on Twitter at jp Underscore pre story rights
for the Clemson Insider, and he joins us from time
to time here on Clemson Sports Tault to dive into
all things Clemson, and let's turn our attention to this
football team, Jason, Disappointment, I think is certainly the first
word that comes to mind giving the expectations this year.

(09:42):
I remember during the summer I was trying to temper
these expectations, not saying that I didn't believe that this
could be a very good team. I just thought that
it was sort of beyond bizarre that k Klubnick would
be more well thought of than say, Deshaun Watson or
would be thought of as well as you know, Trevor
Law aren't somebody that was the first pick in the
NFL draft, and just everything that kind of came with

(10:06):
the offseason and watching it just fall through the tiger's hands,
like saying through the hourglass in the opening, you know,
three or four games of the season, just give me
your thoughts on where you are with the product that
you've seen and with what's forthcoming. I mean, can this
team turn this thing around? Or was this just a

(10:26):
complete miss by everybody who thought they were gonna be
one of the top teams in the country.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
See, I was kind of with you there. I absolutely
thought that this team should have been a playoff team,
make no mistake, you know, when an acc But once
they got there, I didn't know what was gonna happen.
I didn't know if they were gonna be good enough
to compete with the upper echelon of the country, so
to speak. But you know what we've witnessed. I don't

(10:53):
know that anybody envisioned what's happened on the field this year.
It's kind of been a complete failure in every aspect,
you know, in my opinion, both sides of the ball,
maybe except for special teams. I was gonna say all three,
all three phases, but maybe not special teams. Man that
the offense that was expected to be so elite under

(11:14):
Jared Riley just can't get out of its own way
most of the time. The defense, you know, just it's
more of the same from last year. The numbers are
a little better in in some areas, but they can't
get off the field. You know, if you can't get
off the field, you're gonna give up points and you
put pressure on the offense and offense that just can't
find its footing most weeks. But yeah, you know, I

(11:36):
think this is gonna be one of Wosweeney's toughest coaching jobs.
You know, as we head down the last five games
of the season, you know there's really nothing left to
play for. You know, before you lose the SMU, you
still at least had a glimmer of hope that you
could get back in the you know, race for a
spot in Charlotte, the ACC championship game. But those that
lost SMU wiped all those out. It's gonna be interesting

(12:00):
to see if they can kind of hit that reset
button the way they did there in the first buy.
You know, you don't get bad football teams from here
on out for the most part, like North Carolina and
Boston College. And he's got Duke coming up. Uh. Even
Florida State's more talented than than Boston College. North Carolina
despite how bad they've been. I mean, it's not gonna

(12:21):
get any easier. And he's gonna have to find some
way to get these guys to play for pride, to
play for the name on the jersey, and I just
don't know how feasible that is in today's era.

Speaker 2 (12:34):
You think they make a bowl game?

Speaker 3 (12:37):
I you know what. Somebody just asked me that about
thirty minutes ago, and I said, you know what, I
really don't know. You know, I really don't you You
got you gotta find three wins somewhere. You know, you
think you're gonna win the Firman Game, obviously, but you
know beyond that, I mean, I don't think anything's a
given with this team. I certainly wouldn't better on it
at this point. I was a gambler, man, but I

(13:01):
have serious questions whether they're gonna get you know, three
more wins.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
Jason Prieser again on Twitter at JP Underscore prest I
think you're all over that. And I'll add to it
from Dabo Sweeney's perspective when you go back to the
early season and the Tigers were struggling and he talked about,
hey say we suck again, or you know, if you're
tired of winning, blah badah blah, all that everything. Like,

(13:27):
you know, there's that old saying the chickens coming home
to roost. And I like Dabo Sweeney, but it certainly
feels like the chickens are coming home to roost on
those comments for him at this point.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah. And you know, having covered clips In for a
while and covering Dabo Sweeney for a while, now, you know,
I kind of understand what he does with some of
those things. You know, maybe the general fan maybe not
quite so much. You know. I remember, you know, you're
talking about those comments about, you know, about fans being
tired to win, and I kind of remember a very

(13:58):
similar press conference. I think it was ahead of the
Notre Dame game a couple of years ago when they
were coming off back to back losses. He says all
that stuff, all of a sudden, that the spotlights put
squarely on him instead of how bad his team is.
And it worked, you know, they go out and beat
Notre Dame. When the rest of the games that year,
this year, it didn't work. You know, So when it
doesn't work, everything gets kind of magnified, you know. I

(14:21):
think his tones kind of changed a little bit in
the past couple of weeks. I think it was definitely
different after the SMU game. I think he knows. I
think he knows he's got a mess on his hand
and there's no quick clicks here. Man. He's got a
lot of he's got a lot of dissecting to do
in the offseason. It's going to be interesting to see
exactly what kind of changes are made.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
I'll tell you something else that I've begun to wonder
about a little bit, and it's a couple of the
guys who were preseason projections of being top ten picks
in the NFL draft, Peter Woods and TJ. Parker, and
whether or not those guys could consider coming back because
it just hasn't been what it needs to be in

(15:01):
my opinion, if you're going to be a top pick
in the NFL draft, and I think what you put
on tape tells the story. And they have not been
disruptive in the least. I mean, it's it's actually been
pretty sad. And people say, well they get double team
blah blah blah. But guess what, Dexter Lawrence and Christian
Wilkins and Cleveland Ferrell and Austin Bryant were still making

(15:25):
plays left and right. I mean, Shaq Lawson when he's
playing disruptive and and and you haven't seen that from
any of these guys.

Speaker 3 (15:35):
No, And it's kind of, you know, and something in
the recent you know, mop drafts. Both those guys are
still first round picks in a lot of it, and.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
I can't believe it.

Speaker 3 (15:43):
It's kind of like I can't believe it. These guys
aren't actually watching the games and watching the tape. I think,
you know, I hate to say it, but t J.
Parker has been a major disappointment over there at one
end at one end spot, he's been thoroughly outplayed by
Will Help and Jane Loston. In my opinion, we heard
Tom Allen just talking about Tuesday how lost and needs

(16:05):
more snaps. Well, if he's gonna get more snaps. You know,
most of the time you gotta take one of those
guys off the field.

Speaker 4 (16:11):
You know.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
It's it's definitely been disappointed season for both those guys. Now,
you know, once you start talking about them coming back,
you know, a lot of that's going to be up
to them and exactly what kind of grades they get
from the from the NFL draft grade people, and or
of that's going to be how they kind of view
the college experience. You know, do they want to sit

(16:34):
through one more year of school or would they just
rather go ahead and head off to the NFL. Sometimes
it just depends on the person you're talking about. But
that the way the season is going to this point,
I'm not sure it could hurt either one of them,
you know, to come back for another year. We'll see
where those where that draft stock is come December.

Speaker 5 (16:57):
Again.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
Jason Priester writes for The Clemson Insider. That's the website
as well on Twitter at JP Underscore Priester. Let's talk
about the quarterback situation. I think going into that game
this past weekend, most people did not think, based off
of a small sample size, that Christopher of Vezina would

(17:17):
be very successful, and he certainly had those moments where
he looked like a first time starter. But what he
did in that game to me was showed me poised
and I felt more comfortable. And this is tough for
me to say, because I like Kate Clubney. I felt
more comfortable with Christopher Vizena at quarterback than I have
with ka Clubnick get quarterback all season. That's the truth.

(17:41):
He made me feel more comfortable because he looked more
poised than Kay Clubneck.

Speaker 3 (17:47):
Do you disagree, You know, it's hard to disagree with that,
you know, once you got past that first quarter. Anyway,
that first quarter was rough, but once he kind of
when he threw that pass to Bryant west Go and
the one that Westcoat dropped, it was almost like you
could see the confidence start to build. And then he
hit j Moore a couple of plays later for the

(18:08):
touchdown and he's kind of off to the races. I
was overly pleased with Christmas in and I and like you,
I kind of had my doubts. You know again, like
you said, based off the small sumple sides we saw
Chapel Hill, Chestnut Hill, those just weren't very encouraging performances.
But man, he looked like a different dude out there
against SMU, and outside of that first quarter, you know,

(18:30):
he certainly didn't do anything to cost Clints in the game.
He was plenty good enough to win if he could
have got some help from his defense. I mean, I
think it's got to make you feel a little bit
better about where you are, you know, heading into next year. Absolutely,
But yeah, he man poised, That's the exact right word.
He has a lot of it. Man, He's he's got commanded.

(18:50):
He looks like he's got command of the offense. He's
poison in the pocket, he scans the field really well,
he's going with his progressions, you know, something that club
that's kind of struggled with a lot of the time
during his career. Yeah, it just felt like, again in
that SMU game, that when he got the ball in
his hands, they were going to score once he kind
of got the offense kind of clicking there. But yeah,

(19:15):
I'm kind of with you, man, he looked really good.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
Man.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
It gives you a lot a lot to consider going
in the next season. Maybe a lot of people feel
better about him now than they did this time. You know,
before the SMU game.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
Jason, if we put you on hold, do you have
time to stick with us for one more segment?

Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yes, sir man, always all right.

Speaker 2 (19:33):
We'll put Jason on hole, will come right back and
we'll get his thoughts on Clemson's latest commit that went
down today as Brayden Riley, a twenty twenty six linebacker,
commits to the Tigers. And you know JP has the
inside scoop on all things recruiting. Again, He's on Twitter
at JP Underscore Priester keep it out right here on

(19:55):
the show that Shakes the south Land. Back at it
on a Friday afternoon June Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred
the Midlins around the World on the iHeartRadio app Clemson
Sports Talk. Jason Priester on the guest line from the
Clemson Insider hanging out with us today. JP loves talking recruiting,
and today Clemson got to pick up in the twenty
twenty six recruiting classes, linebacker Braden Riley committed to the Tigers.

(20:19):
He was a previous commit to Northwestern six foot three
to earn ten pound er two and ten pounder. Jason,
what are your thoughts on this young man? And just
how did this recruitment sort of progress.

Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah, you know, he's actually he was actually offered by
Clemson and committed without even having visited yet. When't the
last time that's happened, you know, between he doesn't doesn't
do that very often. You gotta at least come visit
oncem Maybe we're seeing some tweaks to the process here.
He is scheduled to be here on an official for

(20:55):
the Duke game. But yeah, he's been committed. What had
been committed to Northwestern since May. Clemson offered him a
week or so ago, Vanderbilt offered him, Michigan offered him.
I think there were some other schools that were, you know,
trying to court him. And he finally decommitted a couple
of days ago, and man, this thing unfolded really quick.

(21:16):
You know, less than two days after he decommitted, he's
he's committed to Clemson, you know. And Clemson had kind
of been, you know, very deliberate in the way they
were trying to add a linebacker to this class. You know,
they they went after Tyler Atkinson, the five star from
Grayson for so long. He ends up at Texas and
it takes a couple of months before they even hand

(21:37):
out another offer. I was beginning to wonder whether maybe
they wouldn't even take one in this class and maybe
addressed that need in the portal, But they found one
they liked. You know, he seems like a guy that,
you know, depending on what you could you know, maybe
one of those linebackers you can line up at that
Sam spot or maybe that Nicol spot, or if you
put some weight on him, maybe he lines up inside.

(21:59):
But he moves really well. Man. He's he's very active.
If you look at his stats, I don't have him
right here in front of him, man, but he blocks
a lot of punts. He's got a lot of pass breakups,
a lot of tackles. Kind of speaks to his athleticism.
I think this is a pretty good under the radar pickup.
Don't know if he's a guy that's gonna come in
and make a big impact year one, but maybe as

(22:22):
a or maybe as a year two guy or year
three guy, you start seeing more and more of him.

Speaker 4 (22:28):
You know.

Speaker 3 (22:28):
It's ah, this is a pretty good addition for Clemson
in my opinion, probably a little bit better than his
three star raight. I think he ranked outside of top
five hundred overall, he's probably a little bit better than that,
but but probably not an instant impact guy.

Speaker 2 (22:44):
I mean, what do you make of Clemson's recruiting strategy.
I certainly like it, as somebody who covers it, I'm
sure you do too, because the lists are quite intimate.
I mean, you you go and look at like you know,
and people who may not follow recruiting may not have
a good example. But I'll give you a quick one.
You know, Clemson in this twenty twenty six class offered
two quarterbacks, Tate Reynolds and Brock Bradley, both of which

(23:06):
ended up committing to the Tigers. And you might say, well,
what does another school look like in that same you know,
that same realm. Well, Alabama offered twelve quarterbacks in the
twenty twenty six class. What do you make about how
intimate Clemson keeps it? I know I love it, but
like you said, there's not a lot of offers that
go out, So how do you ever get the top

(23:28):
flight guys?

Speaker 3 (23:31):
Yeah, it works really well when you're winning, you know,
when you keep it very selective and you can make
that offer mean something. I think it works pretty well,
and I think it worked for Clips and for a while.
But when you start having some down seasons, you know,
like a nine and four season we saw a couple
of years ago, and some three loss seasons, and now

(23:52):
you're sitting at three and four. When you're that selective
and you're so slow with the process and you know,
not handing out offers the way other schools do, it
doesn't carry quite the same meaning. Maybe you need to,
you know, maybe make some tweaks of that process, maybe

(24:12):
ex widen the net a little bit, span the pool
a little bit. We'll see how they, you know, end
up approaching the twenty twenty seven class. So far, you know,
it's kind of been more of the same, very exclusive.
They did offer four quarterbacks in twenty four they offered one.
He was the only guy for a month on Peyton Houston.
About a month later, gear it Riley offered three more,

(24:32):
and a week later Kareem Hughglely was committed. But you know,
over the years, it's been like a very selective thing.
And you know, I've talked to a lot of recruits
in the last five years and they seem to like it.
You know, they seem to be honored when they get
to offer from Clemson because not many kids do. They
are routinely one of the schools that offers the fewest

(24:53):
players year after year after year after year. But you know,
in this era, we'll see how much longer you know,
that offer keeps carrying that meaning, particularly when you're not
backing it up with the wins.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yeah, Alabama has, let's see, thirty three wide receiver offers
compared to Clemson's eight. They have seventeen running back offers
compared to Clemson's three. It's just like it's absurd to
figure out how you keep up. But they do make
it very exclusive and that makes it feel, you know,
very big when the kids getting again, Jason Priester hanging

(25:26):
out with us here for a few minutes, so talking
about recruiting Jason. That's obviously impacted by the coaching staff
as well, And this is a coaching staff that I
expect big changes. Actually went through the list yesterday and
kind of talked about players that I thought would stay regardless,
et cetera, et cetera. But how big of an impact
do you think the offseason changes that are certainly I

(25:49):
can't imagine they don't make any changes given what's happened
this year. I mean, how big of an impact do
you think that will have on some of the recruits
that Clemson already has in the fold.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
You know, it's hard to say at this point. It
just kind of depends on the position and the guy.
I've talked to many of the guys that are committed
into twenty six class and they seem to be fully
locked in, you know, kind of regardless of what happens.
But but if for whatever reason, let's say Matt Luke
what'sn't back next year, and you've got those six offensive

(26:20):
line commits who all want to come in and play
for him, that that probably makes them at least, you know,
consider the idea of looking else. We're not saying I
think Matt Luke's going anywhere, right, giving him as an example,
you know, you know, so it could definitely have an impact.
It always does when you have some staff turnover, whether
a guy's fired or moves on on his own. Accord,

(26:42):
I doubt Clemson will be immune to it, no matter
what happens with the staff, because I because like you, you know,
at the very least, you know, I expect the staff
to be tweaked at a minimum.

Speaker 2 (26:54):
There you go, Jason Priester again. He writes for the
Clipson Insider on Twitter at JP Underscore Priester, Jason, have
a great week man, Thanks for the insight.

Speaker 3 (27:04):
Always the players a lot and I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (27:06):
There you go. That's Jason Priester again. Keep it a
lot right here on the show that Shakespeare south Land,
Clemson Sports Talk on Fox Sports Radio fourteen under the Midlands,
and of course from around the world on the iHeartRadio app.
All Right, we'll come back. We'll give you some of
our conversation with Chad Morris from earlier in the week.
Keep it a lot right here on Clemson Sports Talk
called Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred and of course on

(27:28):
the iHeart Radio application. All Right, stay with us, lond
and Swine back with you on a Friday, casual Friday
with no football coming up this weekend for your Clemson Tigers.
So we'll jump into our conversation from Wednesday that we
have an hour number two every week with Chad Morris,
which is quickly becoming one of the top segments in
the history. That's right, in the history of this program.

(27:49):
Coach Hope, you had a great week man, What a
win over Washington State for Virginia. I know you were there.
Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers, your son Chandler at quarterback,
just find in a way twenty two to twenty, but
winning it with a safety late in the game. It's
not often you see that happen, especially with the way
it played out against the Cougars.

Speaker 4 (28:09):
No, not at all. You know, it's it's one of
those times that this team is just they believe so much,
they believe in each other. It's just it just resonates
all through that you get to see it resonates all
through the crowd, you know, to win it like they
won last week with a safety at the end, it

(28:29):
is It truly is remarkable and you know, especially coming
off an open week, and that was the heck of
a game to be a part of.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers six and one, rank sixteenth
in the country. They go to Chapel Hill this weekend
for a matchup against the tar Heels. And just kind
of talking about Tony Ellie, you and I mentioned his
one of his speeches are where he sat down and
talked about flushing the toilets and things of that nature
and how that was important for building the culture in

(28:58):
the program. So then he said something after that game
in an interview that was the exact same thing that
Dabos Sweeney said when Clemson beat Miami fifty eight. Nothing
down there in Miami. I think that was twenty fifteen,
and it was you win with class and you lose
with class. I mean, talk to us a little bit,

(29:20):
just you know, you're around him, Tony Elliott and what
he's kind of I guess in putting into that Virginia
program right now as far as they're discipline and focus
and attention to detail.

Speaker 4 (29:32):
Well, with Tony, I was just like myself. I mean,
you know, we cut our teeth in the Clemson program,
and you know the blueprint and how to handle success
and how to handle defeat. It doesn't change. And so
to see what Tony's doing, to see, you know, the
culture that he's instilled there at Virginia over the I

(29:55):
guess this is year four, it's remarkable. I mean he's
got the guys in there that that that are all
his and he's they believe, they believe in him, they
believe in him as a leader, they believe him as
a coach, and what he stands for And I was
doing an interview this week, matter of fact, on another
on another show that was in Dallas, and and and

(30:20):
we were really talking about talking about Tony and Tony
truly is you know what he's what you see. I mean,
you want if you have a son, you want your
your son to play for guys like Tony, guys like
Dabbo because those guys, they truly do care more about

(30:40):
about their your your son, far more than just winning.
And and you know it's in today's college game, that's
that's rare. A lot of these coaches say that. But
when they can't, you know, when the kid can't help
them win on the field, they're pushed to the side.
And we've dealt with that. And and know with some

(31:01):
some some you know, with with some you know along
our journey and uh and it's sad, but man, just
to see Tony and the success he's having, he's really remarkable.

Speaker 2 (31:11):
Chad Morris with us here on the program. You know
the thing too, coach you a former educator and obviously
his coaches Dabosweeney and I talk about this at the
ACC kickoff all the time, Like coaches are educators. It's
just a different field of study, if you will, in
a lot of respects. But I think about Tony losing
his mom at nine years old and a tragic car crash,

(31:31):
and and the adversity that young people face and and
many of them tragically can't get through that. And and
I lost my mother at a young age. I know
how difficult that is. But I just think about, like
the people that can, and the reason that we do
the job that we do, and why we pour so
much into these individuals as human beings as much as

(31:54):
students and athletes. And and that's the other side of
his story that maybe doesn't necessarily go untold, but he
is one of those kids that overcame tremendous adversity. And
if if he comes into your house to recruit and
you find out about that story, I can tell you
it's hard to tell your child. Hey, I don't think
that's the place for you.

Speaker 4 (32:15):
Right Well, you're you're, you're so true. You know, Tony
has gone through so much, and you know, we're all
the odds were truly stacked against him growing up with
with with with everything he's gone through and moving across
the country and and and so you know, at some

(32:37):
point you know, someone touches your life, and someone touches
touched his life, and and and and gave him hope,
gave him an opportunity. And I think that's what Tony
provides these young men. And and going back to the
tragedy that happened uh in Charlottesville, when you know several
years ago when those young men were were shot and

(33:00):
killed during the season, you know, Tony provided hope for
those families and for that university, and and for you know,
a fan base that was looking for for hope, and
and and you know Tony the obviously his previous you know,
the struggles and the challenges he had growing up. He

(33:21):
was able to pour his experience into those young men
and to those families. And yeah, it's it's hard not
to root for guys like Tony. Just a tremendous person,
a great coach, Don't get me wrong. I spent many, many,
many long hours in a room with him and and

(33:44):
many many nights on the on the game field with him.
And he's he's a tremendous coach, but he's a better person.
And that's what you look for. And and because you know,
if if, if guys like Tony can just like he's
doing for Chandler. You know, he cares so much about
Chandler as a person and and that and that lifts

(34:05):
young men up to word that they're going to perform
even higher a higher level on the football field. And
so that's what you're seeing. And again just just great
for the university and great for Tony and and uh,
I'm excited that we're back together, he and I and
and Chandler's with him, and it's it's just kind of
lott it's really surreal. I mean, you start thinking about
I remember coming into Clemson and you know, Dabbo, one

(34:27):
of the things he shared with me was, I want
you to make sure that you you share as much
knowledge with to Tony and to Jeff as you possibly can.
I know eventually you're going to move on and be
a head coach. And and so for me to pour
the time and effort and those guys to just be
right there with me and the success and and now
to you know, fast forward and now he's being able

(34:48):
to pour back into my son, and my son's there
to help him, and they're just succeeding together. Really powerful.
It's just it's a god thing. It's It's just a
powerful time for for us right now, and I know
it is for Tony and Tamika as well.

Speaker 2 (35:03):
With a quick break, we'll come back and hear more
from our interview with Chad Morris. Right after this final
segment of our number one coming up, Tommy Bowden joins us,
But first we wrap up a portion of our interview
with Chad Morris from earlier this week on a casual
Friday with no football for the Tigers this weekend. I
remember when you left Dabosweeney kind of people were, you know,
they were concerned Chad Morris's offense is leaving, what are

(35:23):
we gonna do? And so when he said, wait, this
is kind of a Clemson offense. You know, there's a
Clemson offense, and Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott kind of ran,
you know, some similar things, and I'm sure over the
years it morphed a little bit. But how much of
what you did do you still see maybe in what
Chandler and Virginia are doing, or maybe even is there
any of that kind of left at Clemson? Do you

(35:44):
still see some of those plays and the things that
you brought to the table in these programs.

Speaker 4 (35:49):
With Tony and in Virginia, there's a lot of similarity.
It's a whole lot. And as a matter of fact,
when when I would go up there and during the
spring and even fall camp, and you know, Tony and
I would talk about, oh you remember it was this,
we called it this, or we called it you know,
cheroke here, we called it. You know, you remember us
doing you know, these certain plays and and and so

(36:11):
there there's there's some similarities there there. There absolutely is. Obviously,
Desks Kitchen has done a tremendous job for Tony and
you know, he's the thing. I really appreciate what Tony,
what Tony's doing, and and so this Dez is that
you know, Tony's like, look, I gotta let Dez be himself.
And so well it may be called something a little

(36:33):
bit different, it's it's very much one and the same.
So there is there's a lot of similarities, uh, that
I see. And you know, again it's exciting to me
to know that those things that the lineage just keeps
passed down and gets carrying forward. And and yet Dez
has done a great job putting his own spin on things,

(36:53):
as Tony and Jeff did when I left. You know,
they they they put a few extra in on it
and and tweaked a few things, and you know, and
now with Clemson offense, now you know obviously that everybody
runs inside zone, so that there's some similarities there, but
you know, it was a completely different style. You know,

(37:14):
Garrett was more of an air raid and really cut
from a total different cloth than what I was. But
I have seen some similarities of some of the things that,
especially as of late, some of the things that we've ran,
and you see some of.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
It again Chad Morris with us here on the program.
So last week you told a story coach about how
I asked you about how you see the game when
you're in the stands, and you talked about seeing maybe
pressure coming from the boundary and the things that you're
you know, you're kind of chatting up with your wife.
And so that's what I want to go to next,
is the football wife. And you've had the distinction of

(37:49):
being married to a high school football wife and also
the head football coach's wife who was at the collegiate level.
I know it's more than just hey making the high
dogs for the kids on Friday night so they can
get to the game, but talk to us about the
impact and the influence women like your wife and Kathleen
Sweeney and other women have on this sport as a whole.

Speaker 4 (38:12):
Well, yeah, and on top of that, you also got
to figure that she's a mom of a Division one quarterback.
So there's a there's not a hat in the football
program that we haven't worn and or a side of
the death that we haven't set on at the high
school level, at the college level, we've set on both
sides of the desk. We've worn all the different hats,

(38:33):
gone through the recruiting, She's been a recruiting of the
recruiting mom. And so you know what, and this is
a great question, and I really haven't had this question
asked to me too many times, but I always would
say this when I would talk to my parents and
they would talk about, oh, you know, Paul is so sweet,
and I would say that, you know, we learned so

(38:53):
so much when we were with Dabbo and Kathleen, and
obviously football was incredible, but the one thing that we
learned and we took with us is is that that
they're dabbling. Kathleen, there's so much givers and they give
their time, they give their resources, they give they give
their love uh to the community. And and that's one
thing we learned. And and I would say about a

(39:16):
coach's wife, it's a special person to be to go
through what they have to go through and be able
to have their husbands being put in a spotlight, being criticized,
and yet come home and have to support them on
on on on the bad times.

Speaker 3 (39:38):
And you got to take the.

Speaker 4 (39:38):
Good with the bad. And and and there's a special
place in heaven setting just to the rightight of God
for coaches wise. I'm just telling you there is a
certain special place in heaven for them. And because they
they they they have to go through so much and
and hear so much and shield their husbands from a

(40:00):
lot of things that they hear, and but and still
be a mom and put and you know, be a
wife and put dinner on the table. And yeah, you know,
Paul has been tremendous. I mean we've been married going
on thirty two years, and you know we dated for
four and you know she's not here right now listening

(40:20):
to me. But I would hope she would say that
she should never do, never second guess anything. But and
love's every bit of it because we've met so many
great people and great coaches and great players. But yeah,
they go through a lot. It's set in the stands,
it's it's it can be brutal, and that comes with
the territory. It's just it is what it is, and

(40:40):
she knows it and she's tough and as Kathleen is,
and there are also such loving people. It's tremendous. I mean,
what coach's wife means to the players, means to their family.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
And what about the hours that a coach works And
then the other side of that would be too, right,
like when Chandler's young and maybe he's playing other sports
other than football. I'm sure those were ones you might
have could have gotten into a baseball game or whatever.
But how do you even make the time as a
dad in that role? And that's gotta be tough.

Speaker 4 (41:11):
It's all who you work for, it really is. And
you know, one thing I would say working for coach
Tweeney is that when your son is playing and you
can make it, he expects you there be a part.
And I got to I think i've told the story

(41:32):
on here. Before we were playing Florida State and Florida
State was ranked one in the country and we were
ranked on five or six at seven somewhere in there.
And it was a Monday night, and we always practiced
late on Monday, you know, Monday night, or we got
off the practice field and I was going to go
in and watch some film, eat dinner, go watch some film.
And Chandler had a game that night, and I remember
kas Twennie coming up to him and going, hey, channel's

(41:54):
got a game to night, Donny, And I said, coach,
you bet sure it does, and igue he said, you're
going on now, a coach, we got Florida State. Man,
I got to get in there and get this film
broke down.

Speaker 3 (42:05):
I'll never forget.

Speaker 4 (42:05):
He put a hand on the table and he looked
me Dad in the eye and he goes, no, No,
you don't understand. You're going, aren't you.

Speaker 3 (42:11):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (42:12):
That's pretty awesome. Dabo Sweeney kind of making his coaches
go when they when they could for sure. That's that's
so cool, all right? When a break, Tommy Bowden joins
us around the bend. Keep it locked.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
It's time, Lord Clipson Sports Talk with Lawton Swanny.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
It is our number two. That's drivetime. Right here on
the show The Shakesea Southland. Clemson sports so long and
Swan ain't know with you. Tommy Bowden, former Clympson Tiger
head coach, joining us momentarily, but of course as always
to show the shakeseare south Land. Brought you in part
by our good friends over at Mets Plumbing mets plumber
dot com two two six seven one o eight, that's

(43:27):
Mett's Plumbing. Give them a call today two two six
seven one zero eight or online at mets plumber dot com.
All right, Former Clips tiger head coach Tommy Bowden joins
us on a Friday afternoon. Coach, welcome in. I hope
you're having a great Friday.

Speaker 6 (43:42):
Yeah, we travel left to Morgantown, West Virginia. Just see
the Mountaineers play TCU, and they're gonna honor my father's
tenure at Florida State, which you really appreciate that they're
gonna do it. But looking forward for the game, Rich
of course was with me for four years to at Clemson
to at TU Lane, so get to watch watch him
in action first hand again.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
They'll take on West Virginia, will take on TCU tomorrow
at six o'clock. What a opportunity for your family. And
you and I were talking before you went on the air.
Kind of crisp up there, maybe a little overcast, guys,
I mean the trees turning. Coach, this is college football
season officially.

Speaker 4 (44:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (44:20):
I turned around, looks form my equipment. Got to give
you my jacket. He wasn't there. It's cold up here, man,
I said. The wind gets blowing and the sun goes
behind the clouds, and it's probably forty eight more like
you know, forty two or forty three, and it's six
o'clock game tomorrow. But it makes no difference to me
because I'll be in the press.

Speaker 2 (44:39):
Ball you know, I'll say this, and you and I
have touched on this probably I don't know, four or
five years ago, Tommy Boud again hanging out with this
hereund the program that is a college football tradition rich
state really in West Virginia. The number of coaches that
have come out of that state, I mean, it's kind
of wild, I would say, especially given the population. I mean,

(45:02):
it's not this huge state, but it's had a tremendous impact.
Who are some of those guys that maybe our listeners
don't know who originate from West Virginia.

Speaker 6 (45:13):
Well, you know, just just a small little geographical place
of West Virginia is saving and Rich and Lou Haltz
and Jimbo Fisher. You know, I think well three of
those are won national championships. You know, that's just a
small little, uh little area geograft. It's not like one
that one was at the bottom of the state and
the ones at the top of the state. There right,

(45:34):
we're locked in there. I mean there was something in
the water back then when they came through to vacim
all like football. But that's it does have a rich
and of course my father wasn't born here, but of
course coached here and he's had a lot of success.
So uh there's been and Don Neiland of course will
be in the Hall of Fame who coached here. Now
he's a Yankees from Ohio, but those are guys that

(45:54):
have coached here and that have had tremendous success. There
are Hall of Fame coaches.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
Now as a coach because Dabok swing's in a situation
like this and tons of coaches are. You were coaching
at Clemson. West Virginia was your alma mater. Obviously, you're
concerned with what the Tigers are doing on a weekend
and week out basis, do you have time to follow
your alma mater? I mean, do you kind of keep
up with what they're doing at all? Do you care?
I mean, how is that when you're a head coach.

Speaker 6 (46:20):
Yeah, well not when you're a head coaching, you don't.
You know, you check the paper or you might hear
during the course of your game where they announced college
scores during the game, sometimes during a timeout or right
before right after a halftime. But you really don't follow
much during the season unless you just happen to hear
a score or you see it on Sunday Morning paper.

(46:41):
But of course, now you know my wife, we both
graduated from West Virginia. So whenever that game's on, that
game is on, I have to watch at the same time.
I watch watch on MyPad or going up to a
little theater room. I'll go up there and watch Clemson.
But my wife is going to have the Mountaineers off.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Wow, that is so cool. I had no idea. That
is incredible. Tommy Bowden hanging out with us here on
the program today talking to little college football, and then
I guess from there. I asked Tim Barey yesterday, I said, Tim,
are you an IPTAY donor? Like I've had Temperan on
the show for about as long as I've had you
on coach, I've never asked him to see an IPTAY donor.

(47:19):
He said, yeah, I'm Aniptay donor, and most of the
people in the athletic department are. Because I kind of
compared it to like, if you work for Bank of America,
it's probably in some ways encourage that you owned some
stock in the company, and I would guess being ANIPTAY
members kind of like owning the stock when you were
at Clemson, were you an iip TA member? How does
that work as a head coach?

Speaker 6 (47:38):
I'm pretty sure I would have been, but somebody would
have had to say, hey, coach, you might might want
to do this. I know they have a library drive
for a library.

Speaker 1 (47:48):
I know I made.

Speaker 6 (47:49):
A multi thousand dollars contribution to the library, and I
just assumed IPTA was just part of the deal. Every
coach automatically in ip T and I'm sure I was,
but I didn't. I don't remember signing a piece of paper.
Somebody might have signed it for him and forged it
might have had it all o.

Speaker 2 (48:07):
Pen Listen, with the product I've seen on the field
this year, you might be needing to pune you up
your dues a little bit. Coach, we might be a
little more dough.

Speaker 6 (48:17):
We need to go on that day on transfer portal.
So it looks like that that's usual a little more
expensive then, So yeah, I know what that's. That's that's
but that's where it goes. The uh you gotta have
the sciancial resources. Used to be just funding scholarships or
some facilities improvement. Now may you gotta have so much

(48:37):
more income at your hand for the for the players.

Speaker 2 (48:40):
Well, and there's a lot of pressure on coaches across
the country. You and I talked last week about James
Franklin and Kurt Signetti. I can't remember if I ask
you this or not, but do you think are we
closing in on a situation where let's say, let's just
we'll use Mike Norvell instead of Dabo Sweeney. Obviously there's
a lot of pressure down at Florida State, and you
have some connections to that school as well through your father,

(49:02):
But are we closing in on a situation where a
coach who's making let's say eleven million, might and this
might sound ridiculous coach because it's taking money directly out
of the coach's pocket, but might look at the administration
and say, hey, look, guys, I don't need eleven million.
I can live off of three. I want to give
eight two hour nil fund and like a show of

(49:26):
what I don't know what you call that, but like
a show of hey, I'm all into this university and
I want to win. I mean, could we be seeing
that at some point in the near future some of
these super.

Speaker 6 (49:35):
High Yes, it seems like Dabla might have done something
I'm not within an l but with something else, maybe
in the facilities. But you know, most of these coaches,
you know, when they do something like that, long may
they have a pretty serious talk with her wife. Because
the wife, she's always got her house, her eyes on
a bigger house or another house, or a bigger car

(49:57):
or a bigger diamond, And so they needed to have
a talk with her wife. But I don't know if
Nick Saband, I know, has done a lot. But when
you stay at a place a long time making nine
million dollars, then you can afford to do that, right
Kirschingetty Kirschingetti has not made a lot of money for
a long period of time, so he probably would be

(50:18):
in a position. But if he stays up for another
eight years, then he would be. So I think a
long Jevi's got something to do with the desire to
give back to the university.

Speaker 2 (50:27):
Tommy Bouch, you know it turns pretty quick.

Speaker 6 (50:31):
You know, had my father done that for the last part.
Of course, the salary wasn't as big, but he stayed
there for a long time. I had my father done
that in all those years, and then they fired him.
So you got to make sure you got a good
feel of the university that.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
You're at well, and you make a great point. Part
of the problem with this whole thing, well, not part
of the problem if you're a coach. It's a part
of the benefit of being a coach. It's part of
the reason I told my son, as soon as you
get the clips university, son, you go go learn to
watch laundry at the football department and then see if
you can work your way up to being a head
coach or an offensive coordinator. But the the salaries, like

(51:06):
before you got the Clemson the head coach before you,
Tommy West, I think was making three hundred thousand dollars
a year, which listen, that is not peanuts. I know
what the teacher makes. That's a lot of money. I'd
love for a year. Yeah, but from where that went
in like nineteen ninety seven to where we are thirty

(51:26):
years later is berserk. I mean, it's wild how quickly
these salaries have exploded.

Speaker 6 (51:34):
Yeah, and I don't My wife said, Tommy, I said,
why they pay that much? Well, when when another school
calls and says, hey, don't worry about I will give you.
If you want ten million dollar bout, I'll give you
ten million dollar buyout. You know. So it's the schools
that are usually coming after them that have the money
that make makes the proposition that drives up the price

(51:56):
and might not be the school then all of a sudden,
if you don't do it that he just says you
don't want the guy, or you didn't have the money.
If you don't have the money, then then that coach
will use against your crup And well it comes to her,
don't run short of money. They couldn't come up enough
to keep dabbo and comparable to say Arkansas, when I
was messing on Arkansas. They hadn't had a lot of money,
you know, so uh uh. One way it can reflect

(52:21):
poor Hill on your school and what kind of commitment.
I think that's why A and M. When A and
M coughed up seventy million, they said, hey, they're serious,
they're serious about football.

Speaker 3 (52:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (52:30):
And now Jimbo Fisher saying he wants to potentially get
back into coaching, and you know that it's not about
the money, it's not about the buyout. He just loves coaching.
The coaches didn't get into it to get you know, wealthy.

Speaker 6 (52:45):
It's not back down when yeah, when he got into
it and you didn't. But it's easy for him to
say it's not about the money now when he's got
the money right now.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
Did you know you did you know Jimbo Fisher played
baseball at Clemson for like a semester. Did you know that?

Speaker 6 (53:01):
Yeah? Yeah, I knew that because when he when he
quit Clemson and went home, that's when Terry picked him
up to play for him. My brother Terry picked him up.
But if it's sayed him to be a starting quarterback, Jimbo
was from that area, Clarksburg, Bridgeportport, West Virginia. So I've
known Jimbo. Of course, he's been from the family for
a long time. But it's very familiar with his background
because I knew he left Clemson and then went up

(53:23):
there and sealed them and played for Terry, and then
Terry took him down to San fer and then Terry
hired him in his first full time job and I
think at Alburny coaching quarterbacks. So yeah, I know his
whole background, and he was a great athlete and going
you get get a baseball scholarship to Clemson, that means
you're pretty pretty talented.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
Look, I think from now on, when you're introduce him
to people, you all to call him former Clemson baseball
player Jimbo Fisher handle.

Speaker 6 (53:46):
He wouldn't mind it, He like, you know, I just
can't remember, you know, he played a lot of summer
league baseball, you know, his junior and senior year in
college down there in South I got on of softball
ternamers and they would just knock it out of park,
just killed team. They get a couple of them, they
would rig the teams. But he would be on them
on them rigging it. And they had some great games

(54:08):
high scores, because get a couple of ex college players
in baseball playing softball, they just kill it.

Speaker 2 (54:14):
Man, that's that's so cool. Tommy Balden again with us
for a few more minutes. So Coach Clypson is three
and four. Obviously not where anybody thought they would be.
Certainly not the people walking around in that building that
are working as hard as they are and putting in
the hours that these coaches put in, starting before the
sun comes up and getting home well after the sun
has gone down. What is it like, because you've been

(54:36):
in this situation where there's a lot of pressure to
change the staff people are I'm assuming people are walking
around on eggshells, just concerned with their job situation and
you're trying to win games. What is it like kind
of the inside the athletic department in your opinion right now?

Speaker 6 (54:57):
Well, like you said, you definitely walk on tills. And
you know, the heart part for Dievo is that he
is he knows how to respond after a loss. But
for the first time, I think you in a long time,
he's responded with a great talk to the team and
they didn't respond. He responded to a great talk with
the team and they did respond. He responded to it,

(55:18):
and they didn't respond. And that's something that he's going
to have to really search with himself. Get some input
for the staff. Okay, now we've got to change our
line of communication. So and that's one of the things
you have to do. You know, those players practice, practice
gets monotonous, especially you get into the season, going out
there on Tuesday, full pass Wednesdays and full pass Thursdays,

(55:39):
a short day, Friday, Thursdays, a shell day. You do
the same thing over. So you have to make it entertaining.
You have to make it fun. And the more you lose,
the harder it is. And that's kind of what he's
facing facing right now.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
Tommy Bowden with us yere on the program, coach one
of your former players, Tony Elliott, obviously the head coach
at Virginia, is having a heck of a season. And
he's just a unique guy. Knowing when he was in college,
you know, watching him, it's weird for me to say
watching him grow. We're about the same age, but you know,
just kind of seeing the growth in him as a

(56:16):
head coach and the things he's dealt with already at
Virginia and the job that they've done in close games.
You know, they did an interview with him, somebody didn't
interview with him, and they talked to him about creating
the culture that he wanted. And I don't think I
mentioned this to you, but if I did, you can
stop me. But you know, he said that the thing
that he would do is before practice, he would go
see how many urinals had been flushed, how many toilets.

(56:40):
We talked about.

Speaker 3 (56:40):
That, No, no, but I saw it.

Speaker 6 (56:43):
No, you and I have not.

Speaker 2 (56:44):
Talked, okay, but you saw it. Yeah, And he says,
you know, if you're not willing to flush the urinal
for your teammate, how are you gonna, you know, live
and die for him on the field. And I just thought,
what a what a concept, because that's what we try
to teach education as well, right, Like, it's not just
about you, it's about everyone and doing the right things.

(57:08):
How unique of a guy was he when he was young?
And and how how have you enjoyed watching what's happened
with his career?

Speaker 6 (57:16):
You know, everybody knows you, and everybody knows people to say, man,
if there's one guy that deserves a break, if there's
one guy deserves it. It's him and he lost so
many close games early in his career. Then he had
the players that were shot. He had to address that
with his team. And then what he went through, you know,
raising his daughter because his parents got killed, going to

(57:38):
I think an Air Force on a scholarship, and then
leaving that guy's what a great scholarship, and then coming
back and walking on he clinching. Then you've got to
earn the respect to the players and you become a
captain and just a great story and it's a movie possibly.

Speaker 5 (57:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (57:55):
So so everybody knows somebody that man, that guy deserves it.
He's that guy if you know him like you do,
and he's that guy that deserves it.

Speaker 2 (58:05):
Virginia face North Carolina on the road at noon tomorrow
on the ACC Network as the Cavaliers look to go
to seven and one under Tony Elliott. And you know,
when you when you think about these type ball games
that these guys have been through already, beating Florida State
and Louisville and overtime and the games that they've got
remaining coach, they're sixteenth right now in the country. I

(58:28):
think they're undervalued at sixteen and quite frankly, given the
schedule ahead at North Carolina at cal Wake Forest at
Duke in Virginia Tech, they got a great chance to
make the ACC Championship. Yeah, that's there. At North Carolina
at cal Versus Wake at Duke in Virginia Tech. They

(58:49):
got a chance to make the ACC Championship and maybe
if they do that, the college football playoffs.

Speaker 6 (58:56):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, No, it's probably whether it's gonna
be Miami or Little or I've got about Georgia Tech.
You know, Georgia Tech is gonna be gonna have something
to say about it. I guess Miami is too, and
maybe even Little now they'd be Miami, so you ain't
got four of them. But yeah, i'd say when you
read off their schedule, a bunch of people like that

(59:16):
that scheduled.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
Yeah, I mean, look, barring you know, someone getting injured
or something. You know, it's college football in this day
and age. You never know what's gonna happen. But I
think they're gonna be favored and probably all but maybe
the Duke game at this point, and we'll see how
it all shakes out for Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers again.
Tommy Bouten here each in every week talking about your

(59:39):
Clympson Tigers coach. Enjoy your time up there in Morgantown.
Quite the honor for your father to be recognized there
for his time not only at West Virginia, but the
job he did at Florida State. I know, those fans
of the Mountain, You're faithful, are gonna be just pouring
into your dad because you know the things that he did.
You know, we talk about Tony Elliott, the things that
your dad did. You know when the situation took place

(01:00:03):
at Marshall with the tragic plane crash, you know all
of that. I mean, there are guys in this world
that are difference makers, and your dad was one of them.

Speaker 6 (01:00:12):
Well, I appreciate that, and like I said, appreciate of
West Virginia for arnhorm And I leave you with go Mountaineers.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
How about Linda Bowden driving the television we're watching the Mountaineers.
That's so cool. And again I think it's so cool
to think about, Like if I fast forward a little
bit to Dabo Sweeney a little bit older, obviously they'll
still be very much locked in on what Clemson's doing.

(01:00:43):
Who knows, maybe he's kind of an ambassador of the
way danny Ford was for so many years and in
and around Clemson on game days. But maybe when Clemson's
on the road, he's sitting at home watching Clemson on
one television and watching Alabama on the other. And maybe
the further you get from coaching a team, the more

(01:01:08):
you relate back to and follow the school where you played.
I've never really thought about that. I've never even thought
to ask, like danny Ford, who also played at Alabama,
But you do kind of wonder where do these coaches
gravitate after they're done coaching, especially if you leave with success,

(01:01:33):
you know, if you leave fired. I don't know. I mean,
maybe James Franklin is still going to keep up with
Penn State. But if he didn't, would that be the worst?

Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
You know?

Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
Would you care? Like if he just said, nah, I'm
not gonna keep up with Penn State anymore, I don't care.
I got my money. I'm done. Eight zero three four
or five h zero zero eighty six text line phone
line again, the show that shakes the Southway in each
and every afternoon right here on Fox Sports Radio fourteen
hundred and of course, on the iHeartRadio app What a
cool segment there with Tommy Bowden talking to little college

(01:02:09):
football today is Clemson on the open date. When we
come back, we give the rundown of the slate of
games that you need to lock in on tomorrow in
the world of college football. Stay with us, Lowton Swine,
Clemson Sports Talk, hanging out with you on a Friday.
That was Tommy Bowden before the break. No Clemson football tomorrow,

(01:02:31):
but the game Cocks are in action. Talking to some
of my Gamecock friends today, I would say they're not
feeling swimmingly about the Alabama Crimson Tide rolling into Williams
Brice Stadium as eleven and a half point favorites. That's
the three point thirty kickoff on ABC. And I feel

(01:02:53):
the same like the things that Alabama does well to
me are the things that South Carolina really struggles with.
And first and foremost, Ty Simpson at quarterback has been

(01:03:14):
perhaps the best quarterback in the country. And I know
they had a very disappointing loss at Florida State. And
if there's reason to give hope to our fine feathered
friends who are hanging out with us today and peeking
over the fence, talking about their South Carolina game Cocks,
so you.

Speaker 3 (01:03:34):
Could continue to peek over the fence at the best
radio showing the naked.

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
The late great Cleveland Man there. If there's any reason
to give you hope game cognation, it is that game.
It is the fact that that Florida State beat this
very same Alabama team. I think the main difference though,
is that this Alabama team is much more confident than

(01:04:01):
the Alabama team that you saw in Week one. Now,
teams enter the season with confidence, but it is typically
sort of self created confidence. It's an unknown about these
teams going into the season, and from there you have

(01:04:22):
to hope that your confidence in yourself is accurate in
what you are. And maybe Alabama just kind of fell
into that game and got lost in their heads a
little bit and fortunately recovered. They're now six and one
and four and oh we couldn't recover that day. So

(01:04:44):
the other thing that I think favors Alabama is how
good they've played defensively this year And it is a
bit of a trap game, not because they've got LSU
coming up in two weeks. They have a bye week
next week, the Crimson Tide, but you know, rush off
of this matchup against Tennessee, which is a rivalry game,

(01:05:05):
not to mention the fact that they have faced four
consecutive top fifteen opponents essentially and have defeated all of them.
But I think the broader point about that is that
this is a game where you feel, like, with LSU
in two weeks ranked in the top twenty in Oklahoma,

(01:05:27):
a couple of weeks a week after that, I guess
being ranked thirteenth, that this is a chance you could
take a breath, like that's the kind of trap game
that maybe this would be coming in. But you know,
I think Alabama's gonna be ready for this game. Not
to mention, you know, I think what we've witnessed with
South Carolina and the offensive line issues, I think Alabama's

(01:05:48):
going to be able to exploit that. I think further,
you're going to see more of the North sellers, you know,
just feeling the heat, feeling the pressure, and that I
think bodes well for our Alabama and bodes quite negatively
for the South Carolina game Cocks. Tomorrow at three thirty

(01:06:09):
at noon, it'll be Brent Vinables hosting Old Miss. I
think that's where your day's got to start. Out in Norman, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma's favored by five and a half. You've got a
great visionary offensive mind like Lane Kiffin going up against
Brent Vinables and a defensive mind. It's always a chess match.

(01:06:33):
But perhaps the biggest chess piece of all is the
conversation about Lane Kiffen potentially going to Florida to be
their next head coach, and the word is as of
about an hour ago, old Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
will formally address the team. According to reports about this situation,

(01:06:57):
Lane Kiffin, speaking with Molly McGrath I Believe of ESPN,
said he usually doesn't address issues like this in season
because there's so much football to play and there's so
many bigger things to focus on. But he's actually going
to do things differently today in their team meeting. He
is going to address those Florida rumors with his players.

(01:07:20):
He's going to talk to them about it and say, hey,
this is what happens when you win. This is a
compliment to our players, our staff, and our entire program.
He wants to talk to his players about it because
there's so many new guys on their team this year
that haven't dealt with this before. Now, there have been
some rumors out there about Lane Kiffin and the potential

(01:07:44):
salary that Florida could be looking at giving him. And
that number I saw circulating on social media was eighty
one million dollars over six years according to Gator Bait Media.
I don't know much about them, but that's the number

(01:08:04):
that they're throwing out there. That's a lot of that's
a lot of cash. And the fact that Kiffin feels
compelled to address this situation again is another part of
this story. Also at noon tomorrow on the ACC Network,
Tony Elliott I mentioned him a minute ago with with

(01:08:24):
Tommy Bowden, Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers taking on
North Carolina. I just want to see Elliott make the
a SEC Championship. You know what would be would be
fitting is if Tony Elliott can make the a SEC
Championship and Georgia Tech can make the a SEC Championship
in Miami in a season where Clemson and Florida State

(01:08:46):
both go toes up. It don't do deadly that Miami
gets blocked out. That I can't think of, I can't
think of anything better. Then that's an a Georgia Tech
Virginia ACC Championship game, and based off of Virginia schedule,

(01:09:08):
I think they have a chance Georgia Tech. This weekend
they're taking on Syracuse. They go to North Carolina State,
to Boston College versus pitt and then Georgia. I think
they can easily slide into that Georgia game undefeated, as
long as Haines King stays healthy. I think they are
an incredibly difficult out. All right, we hit a quick break.

(01:09:31):
We didn't get to all the games I wanted to mention,
so we'll do a little more of that when we
get back. Keep it locked on Fox Sports Radio fourteen
hundred the Midlins, and of course around the world on
the iHeartRadio app for more Clemson sports talk. All right,
follow us on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram. We are where you
are again. It is the show that shakes the south Land.

(01:09:55):
Lawton Swan, welcoming you back to the show that shakes
of south Land. All right. Don't forget Alumni Hall right
there on the corner of campus on College Avenue in
downtown Clemson for all your officially licensed Clemson merchandise, hats,
T shirts, tailgate gear, and Moore. Of course, my favorite,
those Nike drive Fit polos that I love so much.
Head in the store, find out about the Alumni Hall

(01:10:18):
Rewards program, and if you're a Clemson student, a faculty member,
or in the military, you get ten percent off when
shopping right there at Alumni Hall in store. Check them
out today online in Alumni Hall dot com. All right,
we were talking about some of the other games this weekend,
and look, this is kind of a little bit of

(01:10:41):
an off week just in the sense of where we
are in the season. I hate how far we're into
the season. That that's for sure. I mean, it's hard
to believe we're already on week nine of the college
football campaign. But some other games that I think you

(01:11:01):
might want to catch up with Vanderbilt number ten in
the country, hosting fifteenth rank Missouri. That's a three thirty
start on ESPN, Vandy at home, favored by two and
a half, a top fifteen matchup. You could maybe make
the argument that the winner of this game will position
themselves to make a legitimate run to the college football playoff.

(01:11:25):
And here's why. So if Vanderbilt wins this week, they
go to Texas next week. Now I would not expect
them to beat the Longhorns, and that would be their
second loss of the season. But I think they're good
enough to beat Auburn. I think they're good enough to
beat Kentucky, and I absolutely believe that they are good

(01:11:46):
enough to beat Tennessee, even if it is on the road.
So a two loss Vanderbilt team that doesn't go to
the SEC Championship, I would say would make the College
Football Playoff. Flip that to Missouri, and I feel much
the same. This is a Missouri team similar to Vandy.
Their only losses come to the Alabama Crimson Todd. If

(01:12:07):
they win this game, they'll face Texas A and M.
And far be it from me to think that hosting
Texas A and M that Missouri couldn't win that ballgame.
Even if they were to lose this weekend to Vanderbilt,
I would still think Missouri has a good chance to
beat Texas A and M. If AM had Jimbo Fisher

(01:12:28):
one hundred percent, I would say they would beat them.
Mike Elko kind of changes how I feel about it
a little bit, but I will say it would still
be possible that they could lose that game. Then you've
got Mississippi State at Oklahoma and Arkansas. So of those
two teams, Missouri is the one I most fear getting

(01:12:51):
three losses if they were to lose this game to
Vanderbilt because or this week's matchup. Maybe that's the bare
way to say it, because I don't know that they
would beat Arkansas and or Oklahoma. But the winner of
this game does position themselves pretty well. Obviously, the conference

(01:13:12):
battle could still very easily come down to Texas A
and M in Alabama. So what you want to do
if you're not one of those teams is just continue
to win and place yourself in a position that you
are considered among the top four teams in your conference.
This season is certainly unique in the Southeastern Conference, with

(01:13:36):
Vandy and Missouri doing what they've done so far, are
presenting a lot of teams to be in that conversation
for the College Football Playoff at the end of the year.
Another game at the latter stages of the day that
I would certainly encourage you to tune into is Texas

(01:13:57):
A and M on the that LSU seven thirty start
on ABC. A and M favored by two and a half.
What's interesting is and they don't play every year, but
Texas A and M has not won in Baton Rouge
since nineteen ninety four. That was in eighteen thirteen victory.

(01:14:19):
So it has been a long time since the Aggies
have defeated LSU outside of College Station. Last year they
beat them thirty eight twenty three, but two years ago
in Baton Rouge it was forty two thirty LSU. Four

(01:14:40):
years ago, in twenty twenty one, it was twenty seven
to twenty four LSU, in twenty nineteen, it was fifty
to seven in twenty seventeen. Forty five twenty one. A
and M is not played well on the road against
Texas A and M. And again that is a big
time marquee matchup seven thirty on ABC tomorrow night. So

(01:15:03):
those are a couple of the games I'll certainly have on.
I mean, there are some games at the start of
the day UCLA at Indiana because of UCLA playing so
much better than they were at the beginning of the
season now winning three straight with you know, the job

(01:15:24):
that they've done with Jerry Neuheisel as the offensive coordinator
and Nico I know Maliava is the starting quarterback after
starting zero to four. It does present a little more
interesting vibe to that noon kickoff on Fox against Indiana.
But nonetheless, the Hoosiers are heavy favorites in this one,
and that in and of itself might make you want

(01:15:47):
to tune in just to see if Indiana can smush
a spread like twenty six and a half points, because
that's a lot, I mean, that is a lot to do.
But Fernando Mendoza has been spectacular for them this year.
Twenty one touchdowns, all set by just two interceptions, seventeen

(01:16:10):
hundred and fifty five yards passing for Mendoza. And then
you know, I didn't get a chance to read Chapel
Chapel Fowler's column, but Chapel Fowler put together a column
for the State newspaper that focused on some of the

(01:16:30):
former Clemson players who had transferred and EJ. Williams. You
might remember EJ. Williams, junior left Clemson. Yeah, guess what,
He's still playing college football.

Speaker 4 (01:16:42):
EJ.

Speaker 2 (01:16:43):
Williams nineteen receptions, two hundred and twelve yards and three
touchdowns this season for the second ranked Hoosiers. EJ. Williams
out of Phoenix City, Alabama. Some of the thought that
move was ridiculous. Well, I bet Ej is not feeling
that way, and he's got a chance to go back

(01:17:03):
to the college football playoffs this year, and maybe this season,
the Indiana Hoosiers might be one of the top four
teams if they continue to do what they've done thus
far in twenty twenty five. Hard to believe, but yeah, EJ.
Williams still playing college football and not just playing it,

(01:17:25):
but playing for one of the top two teams in
the country. The Indiana Hoosiers final segment flip side.

Speaker 5 (01:17:33):
What have you done for me lately? It's a fair question.
Just don't lose sight of the bigger picture. Don't forget history.
Looky for us at Clemson. The answer to the questions
what have you done for me lately? And what have
you done? Always are the same. We win.

Speaker 2 (01:18:41):
Some final segment on a Friday, the final bye week
for the Clemson Tigers. Man the final stretch of what
has been a miserable football season. Certainly thought we'd be

(01:19:03):
talking about bigger and better things. And I know Game
Cog fans feel the same way.

Speaker 4 (01:19:14):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:19:14):
I was talking with Jason Priester earlier and one of
the things that I I really think has made this
such a difficult season. Not where Clemson is, but it
is tough to predict this team because like ESPN's Matchup Predictor,

(01:19:43):
has had Clemson favorite in every game. I think I
picked Clemson to win every game. Clemson and Duke next
week or currently, the Tigers are fifty eight point four
percent favorites, and I would imagine will be probably seven
to ten point favorite where it's out of the gates
in Vegas. I mean, betting against Clemson feels like a

(01:20:06):
good bet at this point. I mean, it really does.
And I think the big question is, and I can't
remember if if JP said this on the air or
to me off the air, but now that there's nothing

(01:20:27):
to really play for, how do you get these guys
to play hard? And I think he did say it
on the air because I was thinking, yeah, like, what's
the motivation for these players? And now you're down Bryant
Westco for the rest of the year, what's the motivation
for these guys? The only motivation I see is to

(01:20:48):
not be a Clemson team that misses a bowl game,
And the reality of this season could be you might
have won all your games already outside of Furman, This
could be a four win team. You tell me, is

(01:21:11):
it impossible in your mind to believe Duke could beat
you next weekend? It's not impossible in my mind. Is
it impossible to imagine that Florida State comes into Death
Valley and wins. I mean, that's maybe the bigger stretch
of anything we're about to get into here, But it
wouldn't shock me. I think they are likely the most

(01:21:32):
talented team that you have remaining on your schedule, and
their coach is coaching for his life at that school.
At number nineteen, Louisville easily could lose that you should
beat Furman, and you could easily lose at South Carolina
falling to the game Cocks for a second consecutive year,

(01:21:53):
which was unheard of in my life until Steve Spurrier
won five consecutive. But this team could finish with four wins,
four an eight for a team that when I went
through the over under, I would have said eight and
four was absurd. Now, granted, they could also win out

(01:22:19):
and finish eight and four, And let me tell you
that eight and four would not feel absurd. That would
feel like, holy moly, how did that happen? Like that
would be a relieved eight and four because I don't
know if Clemson makes it to a bowl game this year.
I don't know if South Carolina makes it to a

(01:22:40):
bowl game. And even though South carolina slate is more
difficult than Clemson's, the rest of the way, I almost
feel like South Carolina might have a better chance of
making it to a bowl currently than Clemson. I just
have not seen fight from this team. What I will

(01:23:04):
be intrigued by as well is how much does Christopher
Zina play. I think he should play a lot. I
think you should turn the page o kay club Nick.
Not in the sense of he doesn't play at all,
but I would play Zena a lot because what is
the payoff for playing Kate At this point, I can't

(01:23:27):
think of any none. He can't play another year. You're
not going into the postseason for you know, the College
Football Playoff, and Zena needs experience, and maybe Vezena can
prove to you that you don't have to bring in

(01:23:47):
a portal quarterback that you can feel comfortable with. He
and Tate Reynolds and Chris Densen battling it out next year.
But let him put a tap And I was not
disappointed at all, not one second last week, and I

(01:24:08):
know that Jason Priester mentioned the first quarter of play.
Even that first quarter, I thought that was less about
Zena and more about coaching. And that's reason enough for
me to say give him more time. Speaking of Tom,
we don't have any more. We got to get out
of here today again. Thank you for being a part

(01:24:29):
of the program. Thank you for supporting us all week.
Please share our work on social media. Come follow us
on our Facebook page, trying to continue to grow there.
We'll talk to y'all on Monday. Keep up with everything
on our website and until then, as always, y'all take
care now and go Tigers.