The "Purple vs. Purple" Edition

Clemson and Furman will face off Saturday, and it's a perfect day for a Purple Out in Death Valley.

Episode Transcript

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

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now, finally, Clemson Sports Talk has come back to drive time.

(00:50):
Hello everybody, Lowton 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 around the great state of South Carolina
and beyond, listening to us on incredible radio stations like
Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred the Midlands, heard around the
world on the iHeartRadio application download today, it's free. The

(01:14):
website the dot com on itital gone at that's Clemson
Sports Tell dot com eight O three four five oo
zero zero eighty six. Again, thank you to our friends
over at mets plumbin mets Plumbing dot com two two
six seven one oh eight. That's two two six seven
one zero eight. Thank you to bests Plumbing for being

(01:35):
a part of the program. All right, hanging out with
you here on a Thursday afternoon. I am gonna do
the best that I can here on the program today
to just kind of get through resting the vocal cords

(01:56):
as much as I can, in large part because of
the fact that I just I feel like man the
upcoming week might be a chance to get get the
old voice squared away. One of the notes that came
out though about Military Appreciation Day is one that perhaps

(02:18):
will stand out for each and every one of you.
Defensive n TJ. Parker gonna be wearing number sixty three
on Military Appreciation Day. Now, Parker, who typically wears number
three for Clemson, his father, Tommy Parker, was an eleven
year US Army veteran and wore that number in high school.

(02:42):
So you will see Parker, who has not played as
great as people expected this year, certainly not as disruptive
as he probably should have been. Parker will be in
a different jersey wearing number sixty three. That would be
really cool. You know, Clemson, because of the military tradition

(03:06):
in the history there at the university, does an unbelievable
job with Military Appreciation Day, And personally, I think it's
going to be really cool because Clemson fans will be
challenged to certainly wear all purple, and Furman fans will
be adorning mostly purple, even though they will be wearing

(03:28):
white uniforms. I would imagine a lot of their fans
will have purple on as well, and it should be
a nice day for college football. It doesn't mean that
Clemson's gonna sand blast, lamb based whatever whatever terminology you
want to use for beating down an opponent. But when

(03:51):
you think about what you've seen from this Clemson team
this year versus what you'll probably get on Saturday, I
would expect it's going to be a pretty wide margin.
And in part because of the difference in talent across
the board, but a lot of respect between these two
upstate universities and the oldest rival for the Clemson Tigers

(04:12):
all time, opening with a game against Furman their first
game ever back in eighteen ninety six. So always great
with these two teams get together, what forty five minutes
maybe to an hour between the two schools, and I
would imagine a lot of sort of cross marriage relationships

(04:34):
where maybe a husband or a wife went to Furman
and the other went to Clemson. Certainly a situation where
you might be a Furman fan during the year, but
you might also pull for Clemson during the season as well,

(04:55):
and maybe even tailgated Clemson because you got a little
coin in your pocket and you want a little you
won at a little more ambiance, maybe at your ballgame,
so you might indeed go over to Clemson for college football.
I mean, it's great. Anytime Clemson could support these schools

(05:16):
in state, Wafford, Furman, Presbyterian, the Citadel. You know, anybody
that they can face off with in state in these
non conference games is always good. And Clemson leads the
all time series forty four, ten and four, twenty six
and two all time at Clemson on the road eighteen

(05:38):
eight and four. That eighteen ninety six victory, as I
mentioned earlier in the week, was a upset at the time,
Clemson winning fourteen to six. The two teams would not
face off again until nineteen o two. That two would
be a Clemson Tiger victory, a twenty eight nothing win.

(06:01):
The two teams wouldn't battle again until nineteen fourteen, which
was a fifty seven to nothing victory, and then in
nineteen fifteen, Clemson busted out the whooping stick ninety four
to nothing over Furman. Back in nineteen fifteen. The following year,
though the Paladins imagined this swing. The final score in

(06:26):
nineteen sixteen was seven to six. After you won ninety
four to nothing seven to six the next year, then
Clemson would win in nineteen seventeen thirty eight to nothing,
and then in nineteen eighteen another Tiger blowout sixty seven
to seven. In nineteen nineteen, Furman would get their first

(06:49):
ever none lost in the series with a seven seven tie,
and then in nineteen twenty, the Paladins would rise up
and get their first victory in the series, fourteen to nothing.
In nineteen seventeen, that Furman team finished the year I
think seven and one. Clemson was four to four and
one that year, or maybe that that may have been

(07:12):
entering the game either way. Either way, Furman would go
on a bit of a tear against Clemson from that
nineteen twenty victory all the way through nineteen twenty seven,
where they would lose just once, a seven to six
lost to Clemson in nineteen twenty three, and the two

(07:37):
teams would kind of go back and forth a little
bit over the next ten years or so. But then
in nineteen thirty eight, that's when Clemson would begin the
streak that they are currently on in this rivalry, as
the Tigers have won every game since that time, winning
in thirty eight, thirty nine, forty forty one, forty two,

(07:58):
forty six, forty seven, forty eight, forty nine, fifty to
fifty one, fifty four, fifty five, fifty six, fifty seven,
fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty sixty one, sixty two, sixty four,
seventy nine, eighty eight, eighty nine, ninety four, ninety six,
ninety eight, three to oh seven, twenty twelve, twenty eighteen,

(08:19):
and twenty twenty two. Running Clemson's winning streak out now
in this series to an incredible and again shouldn't be
surprising against It's a whole nother level, but Clemson has
now won thirty two consecutive games in this series. So
at one point it was tight. You take those thirty

(08:41):
two wins up the board. The series was twelve ten
and four, but as it stands now forty four ten
and four with Clemson moving on and really becoming a
dominant team in the world of college football, and Furman
continuing to play at the so Con level. You know,
that move that you make to move out of the

(09:07):
SoCon and form the Atlantic Coast Conference certainly was a
part of the growth for Clemson. All of those Southern
Conference schools that were in the league at that time
that didn't make to jump to the Southeastern Conference at
nineteen thirty three. Those that went on to be in

(09:31):
the Atlantic Coast Conference, like Clemson, like Duke, like Wake
for South Carolina, North Carolina, those schools would thrive and
grow and ultimately would become power for schools. I was
looking to see at the old conference set up, who

(09:53):
would have been in the uh SoCon back during those
early years. Virginia actually left the Southern Conference in nineteen
thirty seven, just after the Southeastern Conference formed to become
an independent, and they would kind of ride out those
years up until nineteen fifty three when the Atlantic Coast

(10:15):
Conference formed. Looking at it, the minus to Southeastern Conference
schools and minus Virginia nineteen thirty seven, the Southern Conference
would have included Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Maryland,
Washington and Lee, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, VMI, Duke, Wake, Furman, Richmond,

(10:53):
william and Mary the Citadel and Davidson. I believe looking
at it, and I mean the SoCon has had some
teams in it, I mean the Southern Conference has had that. Now,
that would be an interesting report to put out. I'd
have to go look at like where Michigan and those

(11:16):
teams played. But if we talked about early conferences, what
conference has won the most college football national championships? It
may very well be the SoCon if you talk about
extended membership, right, because here's who. Here are the teams
that have been in the SoCon Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky,

(11:42):
Mississippi State, Tennessee, Virginia, Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Maryland,
and I'm just gonna name big schools Virginia, Tech, Florida,
lsu Ole, miss Vandy, South Carolina, Duke Wake, West Virginia,

(12:07):
and that might be the last big school that's been
a member. And kind of interesting the rise of West Virginia,
if you will, to the Big Twelve. West Virginia entered
the Southeastern con excuse me, the SoCon in nineteen fifty,
was in that league for eighteen years and would have

(12:31):
been members in the Atlantic erascuse me, in the Southern
Conference with Clemson for three seasons before the ACC was formed,
and then they would go independent. They would join the
A ten in nineteen seventy five, they would join the
Big East in nineteen ninety five, and then the Big

(12:54):
Twelve in twenty what twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, somewhere in there.
But yeah, let's take a look out. I don't even know,
Like I think we kind of grow up regionalized in
this sport. I wonder where Michigan and I'll use them

(13:15):
as the major footnote because I truly have no idea.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
Where it was.

Speaker 2 (13:21):
It always the Big Ten. What was their conference called
before then? Like I know about the ACC, I know
the SoCon was a part of it, or you know
what I mean, Like it was kind of the branch
that broke off. And so here's your history lesson for
the day, because I didn't know this. The Big Ten
started as a conference known as the Western Conference. Back

(13:46):
in January of eighteen ninety five, the Purdue president James
Henry Smart invited presidents from the University of Chicago, the
University of Illinois, Lake Forest College, University of Minnesota, Northwestern

(14:07):
University of Wisconsin, those seven schools to a meeting, and
in eighteen ninety six, on February the eighth, the conference
was officially founded. Lake Forest University was not at the
eighteen ninety six meeting, and because of that, they were

(14:30):
replaced by the University of Michigan. So that's where the
Western Conference was formed, with Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Chicago being the seven founding schools. Now three years later,

(14:52):
Indiana and Iowa would enter in eighteen ninety nine. Michigan
would exit in nineteen oh seven and would be independent
for ten years before rejoining the league in nineteen seventeen.
In between that time, while they were out of the league,

(15:14):
Ohio State joined the Western Conference in nineteen twelve, and
it looks like the name change happened in nineteen sixteen,
the Big Ten became the Big Ten so to speak.

(15:35):
They would eventually add Michigan State in nineteen fifty. Michigan
State had been an independent school for many years up
until that point. Then in nineteen ninety they would get
the additional membership from the Penn State and Nidney Allons,
who had been independent and also spent a couple of
years in the Atlantic Ten. Then in twenty eleven, the

(15:58):
Big Ten would add Nebraska out of the Big Twelve
previously of the Big Eight. They would add Maryland in
twenty fourteen, and Rutgers, Maryland would come out of the
Atlantic Coast Conference and previously adventured in the SoCon and
Rutgers came out of the AC which they had also
been in the Big East, and the A ten. And

(16:21):
then the most recent conference expansion would be the additions
of Ucla, Southern Cal, Oregon, and Washington out of the
PAC twelve back in twenty twenty four, and those schools
trace their heritage back through the PAC ten, the Pack eight,

(16:42):
something called the AA WU, and then the PCC Conference
the Pack Coast Conference, which would have existed in the
nineteen twenties, I guess, and has just evolved over the years.

(17:03):
It looks like into the PAC twelve. But the Pack
the Pac Coast Conference or the Pacific Coast Conference had Cal, Washington, Oregon,
Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford, usc Idaho, Montana, in UCLA.
So yeah, I didn't know much about the other conferences

(17:26):
or the other schools in and around, you know, those leagues,
and that kind of like when we look at the
SoCon and some of the names there that have worked
their way up to I guess you know where they
are today is kind of interesting to see. Don't really
have time in this segment to take a look at
the Big twelve, but unique to kind of follow you

(17:49):
know where some of these schools are not didn't really
technically get to do the Southeastern Conference, although so many
of them come from the old Soacon. But yeah, fun
to look at that. Honestly, I have not ever really
taken a trip down retrospective lane when it comes down

(18:12):
to the college football conferences, even in this era of expansion. Well,
speaking of conferences, here's what we've got going on today.
For the Clemson Tigers, Clemson's the Clemson women's soccer team.
They are in postseason play. They are up at Vanderbilt

(18:34):
for a match. That game is gonna be on ESPN
Plus at eight o'clock tonight. It's a second round matchup
in the NCAA Tournament at the Vanderbilt Soper the Vanderbilt
Soccer Complex. And then for your Clemson Tiger men's soccer team,
they host Western Michigan. Kickoff for that matchup is also

(19:00):
set for tonight. That game will be at six pm
on ESPN Plus. So a little doubleheader of Clemson women's
soccer and Clemson men's soccer coming up tonight. And that's
the beauty of college soccer. With the clock and the

(19:20):
way it's played out, you can rest assured that men's
match that kicks off at six is not going to
run heavily into the women's match that gets going at eight.
Soccer unlike football, unlike basketball, because of the way it's played,
in the way the clock is managed, it will not
drift over. Now. Now look if you have overtime something

(19:41):
like that, like that's out of control. But regulation will end,
right all Tom, All right, well the quick break will
come back. Yesterday we heard from Dabo Sweeney and who else,
Garrett Riley, I think we heard from k club Nick.
We'll hear from Sammy Brown today on the program. So
keep it lot, Lawton Swan Clempson's Sports Thought rolling along

(20:02):
with you on a Thursday. Timber a longtime Clemson s
I D coming up on the program and just a
little bit. We're talking about that Clemson Firman game, the
matchup and you know the history of it, the fact
that these two teams were in a conference together, and

(20:23):
you know, you think about today and the decisions that
you make, whether that's to stay stay put in the
Atlantic Coast Conference. Obviously we know with Clemson and Florida
State is sort of hoping to make a move at
some point or some way, you know, figure out how
to advance things in the world of college football to

(20:47):
better suit themselves. You know, I go back to and
we will get to Sammy Brown here momentarily, but I
go back to kind of my my whole thought about
how to revamp the college football playoff and how to
make the college football playoff less about you know, how

(21:15):
good you think this team is versus a team from
another league. That's just not a conversation that happens in
pro football. It just doesn't happen because everybody understands that
the way the system works is that the top teams
plus some wildcards are going to get in. But those

(21:38):
wild cards don't get in because you go, well, I
think the Browns are better than the Jaguars. It's because
record wise they're better than the Jaguars. And you know,
what I think the Southeastern Conference wants to protect is

(21:59):
and what the Big Ten wants to protect is their
opportunity to win championships. And so I just think that
to do, you know, sort of my reverse layout of
it all would better suit everybody. So again, if the

(22:19):
top teams from the Southeastern Conference, the top four teams
were all in and they were paired up with the
Big Twelve, and so what you did was you kind
of reverse seated it. And what I mean by that
is you would take the Southeastern Conference number one, and
they would be matched up against the Big Twelve number four,

(22:42):
and then the Southeastern Conference number four would be matched
up against the Big Twelve number one. Right, And your
goal in doing all of this, I think I believe,
if we laid out the right way, would be that

(23:03):
you would whittle down to a potential eight teams that
might all come from the Southeastern Conference, that might all
come from the Big Ten, and those two leagues could
have the final eight team standing. And the other thing
that you would assure those leagues in a system like

(23:23):
this where the Southeastern Conference in the Big Twelve were
on one side and the Big Ten and the ACC
were on the other in the postseason is you would
cut I don't know what the math is. I'd have
to run it through you, probably like some statistics professor,
or maybe I could even get AI to tell me.

(23:43):
But by having those two power conferences on the opposite
sides of each other, is if they believe they're that
much better than the Big Ten and excuse me than
the Big Twelve in the ACC. Then most seasons you
would have a Southeastern Conference in a Big Ten national
championship game if those leagues are truly better, and if

(24:04):
those teams go out there and earn it by beating
the best of the Big twelve and the best of
the ACC. And that's the format that you always use.
And there is no pecking order or beauty paget that
decides who's in. You just strictly look at the records.
I think that's what fans want. I think fans do

(24:29):
not want to hear about how you could justify Notre
Dame being over Miami and for Notre Dame, this would
force you into a conference, and that's listen, I'm sick.
Here's something I'm sick of. I'm sick of Notre Dame

(24:51):
hanging on to this old style survival mode in an
era where they haven't won Deadly Pooh since the late
nineteen eighties. And not to mention that when they needed
a league, the Atlantic Coast Conference stepped up and said, hey,

(25:13):
we'll let you in. And I thought they should have
squeezed them right then, should have squeezed Notre Dame for everything, right, then,
but if you're gonna have something like this, you cannot
have non conference teams. Every team has to be in
a conference and just say that's the way we're gonna

(25:36):
play it, notre dame. The days of being on this
island for you are over. Step in or step out.
You can go play with the teams that aren't in anymore,
and we're getting rid of all of those group of
five teams that to me doesn't make any sense to
have them there either, because you should be playing with

(26:01):
a chance to win a championship. Winning a championship should
not be something that is far fetched for any college athlete.
There should be a level in which those schools should
be able to battle and play for a national title
every year. And look, if that were something that interests you,

(26:26):
and we could work our way into maybe a situation
where we have relegation and maybe the bottom team from
each of the Power four leagues drops down and the
top team from some group of four teams bumps up,
and we get some fluctuation in the whole system. If that,

(26:47):
if that squares it up for you, and you think
that would be better than great, great, But I think
the first and most significant piece of this expansion needs
to be the creation of a system that doesn't benefit
us because of what we perceive to be the beauty
of a team that we have a cut and dry

(27:09):
these are the top teams from the Southeastern Conference, the
Big Ten, the Big Twelve, and the ACC and those
sixteen teams are gonna make up our tournament and for
the SEC and the Big Ten. If you believe you're
so much better, guess what you guys don't have to
You will not be knocking each other out until the
championship game. If you can both get there. I think

(27:31):
it's a great system. All right. Sammy Brown coming up
right after this Clypson Sports Talk Back with you on
a Thursday, tim Berray coming up around the bend. All right.
Sammy Brown, Clemson linebacker freshall for being named the ACC
Linebacker of the Week with his performance against Louisville, met
with the media and he was asking about his mindset

(27:52):
going into the final couple of weeks of the regular season.

Speaker 4 (27:55):
You know, I think the biggest thing is to finish strong.
I think we've built some momentum over the past, you know,
a couple of weeks. I think just building off that
momentum and just continuing to get better each week and
each day would just set us up for a great finish.

Speaker 2 (28:08):
That's Sammy Brown, one of the leaders on Clemson's on
the defensive side of the ball for Clemson, Brown was
asked about the Louisville game and the way it finished
with all the the botch snap and the missfield goals,
if it was one of the crazier games he'd ever
been a part of.

Speaker 4 (28:28):
It was definitely up there. I was like, whoa, we
got done. I didn't even realize. And then I went
back and started watching the film.

Speaker 2 (28:34):
I was like, the heck, Sammy Brown says, what the
heck when it comes down to that firm and excuse me?
That Louisville game this past weekend. He was also asked
about the defens's strengths in that game after watching the tape.

Speaker 4 (28:52):
You know, I'm really proud of us, especially in the secondary,
in the back seven. We really just fought, and I
think that's kind of been a big key of us
over the past couple of weeks and over the season,
Like we've we've been fighting, like we're gonna fight, We're
gonna come back to work every week, No matter what happened,
and I just think as the year continues to go on,
we're just gonna keep getting better and better because we
were fighting.

Speaker 2 (29:15):
Brown was also asked about the message from Tom Allen
for the next couple of games as well.

Speaker 4 (29:23):
Nobody's coming to save this. I mean, we still got
a rest, we still got a season to finish. So
going out there and finishing the season strong is the
only thing that we can do. There's gonna be a
lot of things in our life that are gonna be
a lot harder than how the season has gone. So,
you know, being able to finish this season strong and
being able to, you know, fight for myself and the

(29:44):
people on this team being able to fight for them
is going to set me up for in life when
I face something that's gonna be a lot harder.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
Sammy Brown was also asked about Clemson cornerback a bon Terrell,
who now has the record is tied for the record
with seven strips strip fumbles during his career by a
defensive back. Here's here's first, samby talking about Abon just

(30:13):
with the job that he does at corner certified dog.

Speaker 4 (30:19):
I mean he's like a honey batcher, like he just
knows how to get the ball. It's just I guess
something that he's learned. But he'll always come up. He'll
always strip it and he'll always come up with it.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
Brown was asked to kind of further give some insight
into AJ Turrell's strength and you know, kind of what
it takes to force those fumbles, knows how.

Speaker 3 (30:40):
To do it.

Speaker 4 (30:40):
There is there is technique that goes into that. You know,
they call it the peanut punch, So there's a lot
of technique that goes into getting that ball out and
I guess he's just mastered it.

Speaker 2 (30:50):
And while he doesn't have an interception this season, which
is something we talked about earlier, I mean, he's done
a really good job of forcing it and creating turn
overs and a lot of times with those strips, because
you're sort of more prepared for the ball to come
loose as the stripper so to speak, than the strippy

(31:17):
the one being stripped, you kind of can go ahead
and position yourself to try to pounce on the ball
and keep your eye on the ball. You have better
clarity of where it is, and so it's a big
advantage I think for AJ Terrell. Here's Sammy Brown again
talking about the defensive messaging process and how that takes

(31:39):
place on the sidelines.

Speaker 4 (31:41):
Guys, Yeah, I think it does help because you've got
everybody on the same page. Like you said, you're listening
to one voice, so everybody's hearing the same message. Everybody's hearing,
you know, the same corrections and all that stuff. So
I do think it has helped a little bit.

Speaker 2 (31:55):
Brown was also asked about the energy that Ben bullwear
the former Clipson linebackers brought during games being on the sidelines.

Speaker 4 (32:02):
Bringing the fire with me, he's coach, Allen's giving me
the corrections of stuff. Ben's given me the fire.

Speaker 5 (32:08):
What is the nut bimbleworre thing he said to you
this season when you've been on the field.

Speaker 3 (32:15):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (32:15):
There's something I'm not like. I'm not gonna say that.
I'm not allowed to say it, but there's some things
that's just like like he said he said one time,
if we, you know, mess up a fit or something,
just come to the sideline with our hands ready because
we're boxing. I mean, obviously not being serious, but I
thought that's.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
Really fun here.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
Sammy Brown was also asked on how he feels Ben
Bull Wher's knowledge has helped the defense in game prep
because Ben was always known to be very knowledgeable when
it came down to formations and what he was seeing.

Speaker 4 (32:49):
Yeah, because you know he's done it, like he's done it.
So seeing how he prepared you, how he took notes,
seeing how he you know, prepares for a game, it
does kind of give you a little inside of you know,
giving pointers and tips on how I can prepare.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
Sammy Brown was also asking about Clemson's emphasis on graduation
and obviously that's at the forefront because of some comments
that dabos Sweeney made earlier in the week about you
know how Clempson is going to continue to go about
things and if they misevaluate a guy and they bring
him in, they're not going to force people out. And
you know it's until graduation do us part. As Dabosweeney said,

(33:26):
here's Brown talking about Clemson's commitment to education.

Speaker 4 (33:31):
You know, it gives you comfort. It gives you comfort
to know that, like what you do is not performance based.
Like I could go out on the field and do
absolutely horrible, but Coach Sweeney still is going to respect
me as a man or respect me as a person.
You know, give me the opportunity to be able to graduate.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
Now we're gonna circle back to that in a minute, okay,
because I think there's some significant thoughts on it. But
I hear he is talking about would ask.

Speaker 4 (34:01):
He's been an incredible mentor for me. You know, I've
been under him for two years and he's just helped
me grow so much in the way that I played
the game. I've looked up to him for these past
two years and just understanding how to watch film, how
to practice, you know, how to do extra stuff. He's
just really been a great, a great tool for me,
and I'm really I am going to miss him.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
All right, there you go. That's Sammy Brown. So I
want to circle back when we you know, for the
final statement before Tim Bray comes on to what Sammy
Brown just said there a few minutes ago about.

Speaker 3 (34:38):
Just the.

Speaker 2 (34:41):
I mean like you got to play with a certain edge,
you have to, and listening to Sammy Brown clears up,
in my opinion, the reason people think this Climson Tiger
team doesn't play with the same edge that it once did.
So when we come back, we'll play that Q and
A again real quick and all the way in on

(35:05):
why I think this totally misses the mark from top
to bottom final segment of our number one to show
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(35:26):
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(35:49):
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fans shop. All right, So, Dabos when he took some
scrutiny about out his comments that he made earlier in
the week, and we could certainly play his comments, but
they were they were about, you know, Clemson essentially not

(36:11):
cutting players for lack of a bear word. Clemson not
will cut players, and I have some theories on that too.
But when I hear Sammy Brown say this, it doesn't
make me feel great about the direction of Clemson's program.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
You know, it gives you comfort. It gives you comfort
to know that, like what you do is not performance based.
Like I could go out on the field and do
absolutely horrible, but coach Shwene still is going to respect
me as a man, or respect me as a person,
you know, give me the opportunity to be able to graduate.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
But it it and maybe he just misspoke. It should
be performance based. Every ounce of what the these guys do
needs to be performance based. And to make it sound

(37:09):
like it's not makes people believe, right, makes people believe
that you've kind of lost touch with the end goal.

(37:30):
Best is the standard, No, and I get it. It's
about graduating players. And Clemson put out a tweet yesterday
on the heels of the article that we wrote about

(37:54):
Clemson and graduation rates championing That's a tough way for
me to say, championinging ging ging the grab rates of
the program, and rightfully so, Like I listen, I am
an educator by trade. I value education, and I think

(38:22):
the education is severely undervalued nationally in college sports and
it needs to be valued. But Clemson values it. A
ninety eight percent success rate for the twenty fifteen through
twenty eighteen cohort. That's a two national championship cohort and

(38:43):
Clemson is the only FBS program to post a ninety
eight or better rate in each of the last three
cohorts and stands with Harvard Harvard as the only Division
One program to accomplish that feat Clemson and Harvard. Now,

(39:05):
listening back though to what Sammy Brown is saying there
brings a level of frustration for me because if you
are terrible on Saturday, the way Sammy Brown said it there,

(39:25):
it makes it sound like, oh, no big deal. Listen
to it again.

Speaker 4 (39:30):
You know, it gives you comfort. It gives you comfort
to know that like what you do is not performance based.
Like I could go out on the field and do
absolutely horrible, but coach Shwene still is going to respect
me as a man and respect me as a person,
you know, give me the opportunity to be.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
Able to graduate. Okay, great, I do respect you as
a man. I do want you to graduate. But performance
based means you're gonna sit your here in on the
bench if you're not getting the job done. The job
done right. I think anybody that hears that as much

(40:09):
as you might love Sammy Brown, you go, wait, what,
it's not performance based. It should solely be performance based. Now,
whether you graduate or not is not performance based. Whether
or not you get kicked out of the program shouldn't
be performance based. I agree with that, but bn the

(40:31):
way that came across, and sometimes it can be the question. Yeah,
I mean, you know, the reporters do the best they can.
Let's hear the question leading up to it, though. Maybe
that'll help clear up some of my misconceptions with it.

Speaker 6 (40:50):
Coach Williams telling us yesterday that you know, it's still
the foundation of his program, that's till graduation to be
part kind of what does that.

Speaker 3 (40:57):
Mean to players?

Speaker 1 (40:58):
To hear that, then you have.

Speaker 4 (40:59):
That assurance no matter how you play, if you're gonna
have that opportunity, you know.

Speaker 2 (41:05):
So, Okay, I'm gonna give I'm gonna give Sammy the
little leeway here. I'm gonna backtrack a bit because the
question from John Blowie is quite leading down the path
of what does it mean about the fact that you're
gonna be able to graduate? And that would be the
reason you would say it's not performance based, like graduation

(41:25):
is not performance based. But man, when you hear it
in the when you hear it in the wild, it's like, wait,
isn't it all performance based? So i'll i'll, I will
grant Sammy a little leeway on the response because it
was a pretty I don't think in court you can
ask that question that way. I'm pretty sure you can
get your honor leading the witness A zero three four

(41:49):
five h zero zero eighty six. Coming up on the
program in our number two are good Buddy, and now
Clemson Hall of Famer Tim Berray joins us. We'll talk
about Limpson and will get his reaction to the crazy
finish at Louisville this past weekend as well, and talk
a lot more about this Clemson Tiger football team as

(42:12):
we head towards the final two games of the regular season,
with a matchup against Furman and then right here in
the midlands of Williams. Brice Stadium against South Carolina just
after Thanksgiving next week.

Speaker 1 (42:26):
Each time for Clipson Sports Talk with Lawton Swan.

Speaker 2 (43:07):
It is our number two. That's drivetime right here on
the show. The shakespare south Land Clemson Sports healt log
and swam with you on a Thursday. Former Clipson sid
Clympson Hall of Famer Tim Beray joins us in just
a minute, and of course, our number two brought to
you in part by our good friends at Mets Plumbing
mets Plumbing dot com two two six seven one A wait,

(43:29):
that's Mets Plumbing two two six seven one zero eight.
All right, out of the gates hour to Tim Beray
on Twitter at tim berat Tim Welcome in Hope. You're
having a great week so far.

Speaker 3 (43:44):
I am, it's been a great week of weather. I
was in a golf shirted practice last night. You know,
see that pass in November fifteenth that often. But yeah,
it's been good.

Speaker 2 (43:55):
Yeah, no, no kid. Then you guys, we talked about
this going into Friday's matchup against Louisville and then the
quick turnaround for you all to go over to Washington,
d C. To see the Tigers and Georgetown. I would
imagine that's a quick one to two step for you,
and I guess it was what you It was Don

(44:16):
Munson and Graham nef is that the three of you
on the plane that did the track there? Did anybody
else go with you?

Speaker 3 (44:22):
Guys? Kevin Kevin White, the associate athletic director in charge
of basketball and football was on the plane too. Okay, Yeah,
that was a great trip, and Don and I both
felt like when we got back, we felt like we
had been on the road for five days, but it
was only for thirty hours. Just we just had a

(44:43):
lot of different trips and a lot of places to
go to.

Speaker 2 (44:47):
Oh man, that's awesome. And and again, look, we could
talk about basketball in football, but I want to begin
with the game there in Louisville, and maybe more specifically,
I don't know, tim the final minute and forty five seconds,
the ebbs and the flows, the ups and the downs.
I mean, it was a wild finish in a one
point win for Clemson. Have you ever seen one quite

(45:09):
like that one?

Speaker 3 (45:11):
You know, it's funny along the same lines when I before,
you know, I always kind of thought to dabble before
we do the postgame interview. And I told them, I said, coach,
they were like five times I thought, well, right, we
won this game, and then five times I thought, oh,
we're going to lose this game. Back and forth, back
and forth was just crazy plays, mistakes, penalties or whatever.

(45:33):
But certainly glad that Tigers, you know, got the one
point win. That was Punch's first one point win since
the twenty nineteen North Carolina game and in Chapel Hill.
So but yeah, I mean, there have been two games
this year that I thought we deserved to win and
we didn't. There were mistakes on both sides in that

(45:54):
Louisville game, but certainly is glad to win a game
like that.

Speaker 2 (45:58):
Well, it's funny you bring up the one point win thing, Tim,
because I actually started to go through the all time
list of victories and losses to see how many times
Clemson had been involved in a one point game and
the other thing I was really looking into. Once I
get all that compiled, I want to dig a little deeper.

(46:19):
Has Clemson ever won or lost by one point the
same weekend that South Carolina also won or lost by
one point? Other than when they played right, Clemson got
beat by South Carolina a few years ago thirty one thirty.
Obviously that would be one where both teams had a
one point win or loss. But when they're not playing

(46:40):
each other, has it ever happened? Because one point losses
in this sport, from going through the record book are
few and far between.

Speaker 3 (46:47):
Yeah, they are basketball. They happen all the time, but
football and baseball they happened all the time. But football, yeah,
that's kind of rare because you don't have any one
point like there is in Canada. Canada, you can score
what's called a rouge. If you punt the ball out
of the back of the end zone, you get credit

(47:08):
for a point. But yeah, you don't see that in
college football. So yeah, the only way to do it
is to go through and write down each schools all
of their one point games and just compare the dates.
That's the only way to do that. Take a while,
but yeah, I was thinking as plumps, I ever had
a season in which they lost a one point game

(47:30):
and won a one point game? But that has happened
this year. Also, that might have never happened either.

Speaker 2 (47:37):
Well, I'll tell you what, as I go through the numbers,
I'll let you know if I stumble upon a situation
where it did happen. Now, Tim, you have to enlighten
us a little further on this rouge. I'm not up
on my Canadian football. So is this if I'm I
punt it out what we would call basically a punt

(47:58):
out of the back of the end zone, bar opponent, right, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (48:04):
Like you know the direction you're going, you're trying to score,
you're driving, And that used to be the rule. I
don't know for still is today, and I believe the
same thing is the I remember you got a twenty
five yard end zone in Canada ten so so but
I believe, yeah, it's just it's just one point so
at one point if you knock it out the back

(48:25):
of the end zone when you've got possession of the ball,
So it's great. I think there's a crazy rule in
Canada also that you can actually field a punt and
punt it right back to the to the other team
that just punted. So yeah, there's that. Of course you

(48:46):
got there's no InMotion thing. You can run towards the
line of scrimmage before the snap. Yeah, there's only three
there's only three downs. Uh so it's it's it's got
the craziest. I'll have to check and see if the
rouge rule is still in a SEO.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
I have never I've never heard that, although I have
always been a big proponent. I want us to change
the way our officials signal field goals being made to
more of the Australian rules football style where the guy
takes a step out and hits the little double fingers
pointing forward. I think that's got a little more, a

(49:25):
little more zest to it, add a little more to
the game, if you will.

Speaker 3 (49:27):
Well, I haven't put Australians football on ESPN in many years,
but I remember I remember watching some of those games.

Speaker 2 (49:33):
Yeah, it's it's been a while, but the the goal
scorer for that is also just beautiful. Tim Bearay with
us here on the program and just looking back at
that game, Tim, and and you know what, what frustrates
I think the fans the most is that it feels like,
as great as it is to win these games, Clemson

(49:54):
doesn't feel like they're going out there and taking these
victories as much as they're just sort of fall into
their laps. And I think the fan base looks down
the line at South Carolina and the meltdown that happened
at Texas A and M. It thinks, man, if the
team that played against A and M in the first
half shows up in Williams Brice Stadium, based off the
way CLEMPS has played, it could be a long day.

(50:17):
Not this coming Saturday, but next Saturday.

Speaker 3 (50:21):
Oh yeah, I mean they played greatest hint sexas A
and M in the first the first half without a doubt,
and showed what that Kate team is capable of doing. However,
you know, they they have been, they have that was
that was their best half of the year, without a doubt.
So but you know the second half, they really I

(50:41):
mean it was the same team. So, I you know,
I don't know what happened. I don't know how to explain.
I mean, I've seen some sings, wings and games, and
you know, the one I remember the most actually was
a game we lost. Was we were down thirty to
h in Nancy State in nineteen eighty seven, scored twenty
eight points in a row is to come within thirty
to twenty eight and had the ball basically at midfield

(51:05):
and then and then and then it failed on downs
and NC State won the game thirty to twenty eight.
So that was that was kind of similar.

Speaker 2 (51:14):
Yeah, it's it's it's a weird dynamic. You see it
in sports. You see it a lot in the NCAA
tournament where a team, maybe it's the team that's favored, right,
will come out a little bit flat, they'll fall away behind,
and then they just kind of steadily make a run.
And that's what it felt like a little bit there.
I think for South Carolina and Texas A and M

(51:35):
is that once A and M kind of stole the momentum,
I think South Carolina started to realize and they started
to press and then they became what A and M
was in the first half. And when that momentum flips
on you, it is incredibly difficult to swing it back again.

Speaker 3 (51:54):
Yeah. Well, you know that nineteen eighty seven NC State game.
Clemson came back in that game because they stay went
with a real high risk reward defensive pressure. I remember
Michael Dean Perry had five tackles for lost in three
sacks and that in that game, and it was like, Okay,
we're getting we're getting bet here. It's just risk it

(52:15):
and just blitz on almost every down. Now I don't
Texas A and M, I take, got much more aggressive
on defense also, and then you know when you do
that and then you don't click like you did in
the first half again, have a momentum shifting situation, and
that's what happened. The thing that just surprises me is

(52:36):
it's how much Sellers gets sacked. That just you know,
that just surprised me. I think they're fourth in the
nation and most sacks are allowed so far this year,
so that was the problem obviously, And I got to
watch the second half of it. I didn't see the first half.

Speaker 2 (52:51):
Yeah, Clepson's really got to get after him. And honestly,
a lot of that first half Marcell Reid the quarterback
for A and M, and he was off bad and
probably should have thrown two or three more interceptions, one
of which would certainly have been returned for a pick.
And then you know when your quarterback's kind of stressing
your wide receivers get the drop season they hit conception

(53:12):
on the transfer from from NC State right in the
hands and he just he has dropped it right in
the end zone. It was kind of wild. But anyway,
back to Clemson and this matchup coming up against Furman,
the Tigers' oldest opponent back in eighteen ninety six. Apparently
that fourteen to six win by Clemson, from what I understand,
wasn't upset at the time. And from there, these two

(53:34):
programs have played what fifty eight times I think over
the years, and certainly being as close as they are,
these two fan bases kind of running tandem with one another.
It ought to be a great day and Death Valley
with all the purple from Furman plus the Clemson fans
wearing purple. I mean, this ought to be a great one.

Speaker 3 (53:53):
Yeah, it's got as strange, isn't it that it works
out that we play. I don't think we've ever played
a team at war of Purple on our Military Apprecition
Day Appreciation Day. Plus on top of that its Senior Day.
I don't think we've ever had Military Appreciation Day on
Senior Day either that I can remember. So, yeah, it's

(54:14):
gonna be be an interesting day. There are a lot
of ties between Clemson and Furman over the years. We've
got it on our even on our staff Mike Dooley,
who's been with our program for twenty one years. He
actually had a sack against Clemson in nineteen ninety three,
I think in ninety three or ninety four. Wow, And

(54:37):
so you know we've got some other question now. It's
gonna be the last game for Joey Batson before he retired.
He was the strength coach at Furman before he came
to before he came to Clemson. Jordan Searls is our
general manager for football and he's two for over six
thousand yards in his career at Furman, was a terrific
quarterback there. So yeah, so it it'll be a fun day.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
Yeah, really cool connections there. Back to Firman again. Tim
Bray with us on Twitter at Tim Beray. Tim let's
shift gears for a minute talk about the Clemson basketball team.
Obviously still very early in the year we taught last
time you were here, though, I like the different, you know,
personnel groups that Brad Brownell has been willing to play with.
And he's going a little bit deeper I would say
than he has in most years with his bench. And

(55:22):
I don't think it's because he has to. I think
it's because he can. But the thing that I've noticed
a little bit, and I think people are catching on
pretty quickly, Zach Foster. Tim looks different. He looks like
a different player that I haven't seen at Clemson maybe
in a while. And what I mean by that is
over the years of following Clemson basketball, rarely has there

(55:45):
been a player and I know he's young, but rarely
has there been a player that I thought, when you
need a bucket, that's the guy that can go get it,
and he's early in his career. Tim looks like a
guy that has what it takes to be that type
of player. Clemson. I'm excited to see where this kid's
game can go. He he looks the part to me.

Speaker 3 (56:05):
Yeah, no, you're You're right. Just five games in, you know,
the other night Agains North Florida, he was a leading
scorer with fourteen points. He had six assists, no turnovers,
four rebounds. I think, so yeah, I've been very impressed
with him. Also, Non and I both after the games.
He's going to be tough to keep outly out of

(56:27):
the lineup, but I think he's going to see his
playing time go more and more, and so it's nice
to see him as a freshman. I think east Buckner's
played pretty well also. But yeah, you talk about the
different lineups. We played eleven different lineups in the first
half of the game against North Florida, and so through

(56:48):
the first five games, a different player has letters is
scoring each of the first five games. It's another thing
I haven't looked up yet, but I'm not sure that
that's ever happened. At the first five games that the
season has been five different leading.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
Scorers yeah, I mean, it really does kind of speak
to the versatility of this group. And there were a
lot of unknowns obviously for everybody coming into the season.
But even with the loss at Georgetown, I think you
saw the way they fought back late in that game.
They'll get another matchup this weekend Friday down in Charleston
against West Virginia. That's a six thirty tip. It'll be

(57:22):
on the ESPN. You should be another, you know, another
good matchup I think for Clemson before you get into
Atlantic Coast Conference play and matchups against Alabama down the line.
But yeah, I'm excited about this season. And it's weird
because of the way the portal was. I mean, honestly,
until I saw the product, I couldn't tell fans what
they should expect, and I kind of like what I've

(57:43):
seen so far.

Speaker 3 (57:44):
Now you're one hundred percent right. And I probably went
to ten practices over the summer and I still couldn't
y to expect. I always got came out of those
practices there. I wonder who the leading scorer is going
to be this year, and obviously through the first five
games there's been five different leading scorers, so it's kind
of the that way. But you're right about playing ten players.
It's he doesn't. It's not because he has to has

(58:07):
to because I think he has that luxury. And there's
a lot of guys who deserve to have playing time.
And we're going to see that.

Speaker 2 (58:15):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (58:15):
The problem that they or the issue that did come
up and is could have learned some things about your team,
uh early in the in the season is that you know,
Georgetown's veteran muscular guards did beat our guys off the dribble.
They overpowered our guards and and got to the basket

(58:36):
and drew fowls and that, and that's what Georgetown does.
I'm gonna be fascinated to see what Georgetown does over
the course of the season. Uh. And Brad did finally
did make the switch to his zone with about seven
or eight minutes to go. We cut a ten point
lead to two bye by doing that. So I don't
know if that's something we're gonna have to do more
of this year, play a little more zone, or whether yes,

(58:58):
Georgetown's two veteran go are just as good as we're
going to see throughout the season. That's going to be interesting.

Speaker 2 (59:04):
You know what frustrates me about basketball, and this throughout
the year, Tim, and I know you guys see it
right there is you get a big man right for
Georgetown in foul trouble and you attack him time and
time again. And it's there are some what I would
call somewhat obvious fouls they don't get called because refs
start eating the whistle to keep a player in the game.

(59:25):
That kind of stuff just drives me and saying it
sometimes will benefit Clemson, for sure, sometimes it doesn't. But
I just think it's for whatever reason human nature, you
don't want to take a kid out of a game
unless it's just blatantly obvious.

Speaker 3 (59:40):
Well, you know, you're right. I'll give you a fact
to back that up. What we saw in that game.
So George and had two seven foot centers. Those guys
had nine files between him in the first thirty two
minutes of the game and none the last state minute.
You go, you just wonder how how that can be.

(01:00:02):
And and the backup guy scored what proved to be.
So we're down two and they got the ball with
under thirty seconds to go, and they feed him in
and they get them the ball on the post and
he it's what proved to be the most important shot
because if he missed, we would have had the ball
down to the chance to tie the game. And then
we came down and miss and they made another free

(01:00:23):
throw to the final margin but five. But it was
really a two point game with thirty seconds to go.

Speaker 2 (01:00:29):
I tell you it's it has happened for years and years.
Referees for whatever reason, officials in the you know, in
those moments, they don't want to take a player off
the court. I think sometimes coaches take the players off
before the officials came right. They're like, you got to
come over and sit by me. Feel they're going to
fail you out. But it's so rare that it happens. Anyway,
We's all more about Clemson basketball with Tim Beray for

(01:00:51):
sure over the next few months as the Tigers get
geared up. Tim enjoy the week. We got two big
soccer matches coming up tonight, the men and the women
getting underway, and postseason played with the women in the
second round. Now it's a busy, busy time to be
a Tiger. And look forward to Clemson and Firman and
you Don Munson, Reggie mary Weather on the call, and
we will talk to you next Thursday.

Speaker 3 (01:01:11):
Don good speaking with you.

Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
They go. That's the great timber Ray here on a
Thursday afternoon. Have to think about it for a minute.
Eight oh three four five zero zero eighty six Clemson
Sports Star right here on Fox Sports Radio fourteen under
the Midlands. Of course, you can listen to the show
anywhere in the world on the iHeartRadio application. All right,
we'll head back up to Tigertown for some more comments
from the players as they get ready for their matchup

(01:01:36):
against Furman Again. Timberrey mentioned it Military Appreciation Day, Senior Day.
Gonna be facing a team that wears purple, and Clympson
is gonna be wearing purple as Firman University rolls in
to Tiger Town again. Right here on Fox Sports Radio
fourteen hundred Clemson Sports Talk each and every afternoon. Hey,
don't forget about our friends at Alumni Hall right there

(01:01:57):
on the corner of campus on College Avenue in downtown Clemson.
It's Alumni Hall for all your officially licensed Clemson merchandise, hats,
T shirts, tailgate, garmore go check them out today or
online at alumni haul dot com. It's Alumni Hall where
Tiger fans shop quick. Great, we'll come back with more
here on a Thursday afternoon, London, swan Clemson's sports. I thawt.
That was Tim Murray before the break eight O three

(01:02:20):
four five O zero zero eighty six. Always great to
catch up with him to talk about your Clemson Tigers man.
A rouge in UH Canadian football a one point score
for the kicking team when a punter miss field goal
enters the opponent's end zone without being returned. This can

(01:02:41):
also happen that the ball goes through the end zone
and out of bounds without being touched by the receiving team,
and the receiving team will then get a possession of
the ball, but must start their drive from their own
forty yard line. Here here's the other thing. Tim told
me that teams, because I haven't watched much Canadian football

(01:03:01):
in my life, but teams will actually kind of give
up the rouge. They'll just they don't worry about it
because that the end zones are larger in the Canadian
Football League and so you might attempt to return the rouge,
but in doing so you might get tackled at like
the three or the five yard line, and you don't
want to be pinned in deep, so you just take

(01:03:22):
the you give up the point to get the ball,
kind of thinking that, well, well we'll get our own
rouge on the back end of this deal. So that's
kind of how Tim explained it to me. It's it's interesting,
kind of fascinating stuff. You know, the rules that they
have in that league are different. Got the run up
and all that as well. But anyway, yesterday, interesting conversation.

(01:03:51):
We got a chance to hear from Clemson's long snapper,
which you'd never get to hear from you a long snapper,
but heck, we got to hear from two holding. Casperson
also got a chance to meet with the media, and
he was asking about what he'll take away from his
time at Clemson.

Speaker 6 (01:04:07):
Uh, just a giant blessing. Honestly. I dreamed of coming here.

Speaker 7 (01:04:14):
I set out some goals for myself in high school
and I knew this is where I wanted to be.

Speaker 6 (01:04:18):
I mean, I grew up in a Georgia household. Both
my parents went.

Speaker 7 (01:04:21):
There but came on visits here and I just felt
something different here. Like everyone always says there's something here,
and it's true, and it's kind of crazy to think
it's all wrapping up now, but it's just a blessing
from being able to play here for the past four years,
five years, and then all the opportunities.

Speaker 6 (01:04:40):
Outside of football. It's special, it really is. It's a blessing.

Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
So cash Person was asked about what it was like
when he received his offer to play at Clemson and
did it feel like it was just yesterday?

Speaker 1 (01:04:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:04:53):
I mean it's they're saying the years are the days
are long, but the years are shorter, exactly true. I
mean I still remember the moment I got a call
from Coach Spiers, like you said, and ran downstairs and
told my mom and she just starts bawling, crying, and
I mean, that's I still remember that moment like yesterday
because and then I called my trainer at the time

(01:05:13):
and he's like, well you commit. I'm like, because he
knew was my dream school. Was like, no, not yet.
So I called Coach Spiers back fifteen minutes later and
was here ever since. So I mean, like, it's it's
crazy how fast it goes by, and it's pretty surreal.

Speaker 6 (01:05:27):
I got to I just feel blessed, honestly.

Speaker 2 (01:05:29):
So and Casperson, if you're wondering is the snapper for
field goals, whereas Philip Lorenzo the one we you know,
the snapper we talked about yesterday and listened to yesterday.
I actually wrote an article on Lorenzo, going to put
it out in the morning on you know, his just

(01:05:51):
the work ethic and everything that he kind of talked about.
He does punts, so he's the long snapper for punts,
and I would imagine a pinch. Either one could do
the other job, but they have two guys that are
sort of customizing their role probably better over the long
haul holding. Casperson was also asking about how Clemson became
his dream school.

Speaker 6 (01:06:12):
In your dream school, I just think what coach Sweeney
stands for.

Speaker 7 (01:06:15):
I remember watching the twenty eighteen Natty and just hearing
his postgame press conference and he's talking about God, talking
about his culture of the program, and I was like,
that's kind of first sparked my interest. And that took
visits to all over the country, and I went to
Clemson and came here on a camp visit, and I
just stepped on campus and just knew something was special here.

(01:06:35):
I knew everything they were saying on TV is exactly
what I saw here. In person and now being here
five years, I fully agree with that, Like what you
see is what you get here, and like Coach Sweeney
cares about as more as people, not just players, which
I have friends all over the country and some people can't.

Speaker 6 (01:06:52):
Really say that.

Speaker 7 (01:06:53):
So it's just like I knew something was different here
and I can confirm that's what I saw.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
So was also asking if he was involved in the
miscommunication that took place where Philip Florenzo thought he wasn't
gonna be snapping the next time out for Clipson, if
he had a part in that or was was privy
to it. Here's what he said about the situation.

Speaker 7 (01:07:13):
Yeah, I had a coach come up to me. He's like,
you're snapping this punt. So I was like, okay, So
I was going out on the field, there's a timeout,
and then here Coach Sweeney. He was like, no, I
want I want Florenzo going in. And I don't blame him.
I mean, Flow's been an amazing snapper here, me and
him both like, I mean, I don't there's never been
a bad snap, and I don't blame him. I would

(01:07:33):
I would be kind of upset, honestly if they would
have taken him out over one thing. Obviously, he was
a crucial playing the game, and I don't think he
should have been taken out for it. I'm glad he
didn't because you saw the snap after and then he
A lot of people don't even see it. He got
a holding call in the play as well, like he
threw if you go watch the film, he threw a
dude on the ground and it gave him pushing him
back ten more yards as well. So I'm just happy

(01:07:54):
he got an opportunity to go back out there and
redeem himself honestly. And obviously we won the game well too,
so that's a huge blessing as well.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
Now here's the crux of the question of the big
question of the difference in snapping for a punt versus
snapping for a field goal.

Speaker 6 (01:08:12):
Yeah, but I mean you trained both. I've trained both.

Speaker 7 (01:08:15):
Twenty twenty two, I did punt, so I was ready
to go in compete. It would have been wouldn't have
been my first time.

Speaker 6 (01:08:20):
I was ready. If you call my number, I'll be ready.
And it's a little different.

Speaker 7 (01:08:25):
I mean you obviously fifteen yards versus eight, you got
more power on that. But now I mean you just
rely on your technique fundamentals at.

Speaker 6 (01:08:33):
The end of the day, So.

Speaker 2 (01:08:35):
Fifteen yards versus eight fundamentals and technique, says Holding Casperson.
All right, final thing he was asking about what it's
like knowing that one mistake as a snapper can't have
such a great impact on the game stake.

Speaker 6 (01:08:48):
That's what everybody's going to be talking about it.

Speaker 7 (01:08:50):
Yeah, I mean that's the nature of a position. I
like to say, if you don't know your snapper's name,
you probably have a pretty good snapper. So you just
kind of got it laying the weeds and not get
your name called often. But yeah, I mean that's the
nature of our job. But we have a great coach
here to coach. Ryan Allen's just he's really I mean,
you have an eight year vet, three time super Bowl
champion and he was on the sidelines like, I mean,

(01:09:12):
I dropped a pat to start out a super Bowl
that we ended up losing by a couple of points.
So he's like, I've been there, I know what it's like. So, uh,
it's it's nature of her position. But I mean I
have the most confidence everyone in the room and our
abilities as well, So you just live and you learn.

Speaker 6 (01:09:27):
I guess, so.

Speaker 2 (01:09:28):
There you go. How awesome is that? Huh? No, kidd,
I don't. I don't typically chuckle over the conbo, but
that was too good not to when he said that
just a few seconds ago. All right, with a quick break,
we'll come back with more here on a Thursday afternoon.
Stay with us on Fox Sports. Are you fourteen? Walton

(01:09:49):
Swamp back with you a Thursday. Man, What a great
What a great statement from Holding cash Erson. If you
don't know the name of your snapper, you probably got
a pretty good one. Whatever that whatever that line will
that was spectacular again. The clyps of Tigers in the
firm and Paladins facing off on Saturday. It's been a
lot of fun the past couple of days to get
to hear from some some new names, new faces, et cetera,

(01:10:11):
et cetera. Holding Casperson got a chance of a couple
of weeks ago to hear from punter Jack Smith Philip Lorenzo.
We did get a chance to yesterday to hear from
Dabo Sweeney briefly. He didn't didn't talk much, but Sweeny
did meet with the media after Clems's practice on Wednesday,

(01:10:32):
as they get ready for this game against the firm
and Paladins, and he was asked the sixty four thousand
dollars question given the losses of Braden Jacobs and Walker Parks,
when he was asked about what kind of constitutes success
for this offensive line group heading into not just maybe
this weekend's matchup, but certainly the South Carolina game in

(01:10:54):
a couple of weeks.

Speaker 5 (01:10:55):
Yeah, everybody just you know, knowing their job, not having
any busted assignment. I mean, you know, you've got no
chance if everybody's not on the same page. So, you know,
our first five, those guys have played a million snaps.

Speaker 6 (01:11:07):
So that's a that's a veteran group.

Speaker 5 (01:11:09):
And you know the you know, Dietrich's a guy that's
been around here. He should be able to get in
there for us as a backup. He's played a lot
of ball. Ronan O'Connell has has has you know, he's
a red shirt freshman. He's gotten some experience, you know,
this year, and when he's been.

Speaker 6 (01:11:26):
In there, he's played well.

Speaker 5 (01:11:27):
So and then we got a couple other guys that
have not played as much on game day, but they've
practiced well and they know what to do you know
they our twos get the.

Speaker 6 (01:11:35):
Same amount of reps as are as are one.

Speaker 5 (01:11:37):
So the biggest thing is just everybody be on the
same page, communicating, not turning guys lose, having everybody targeted properly.

Speaker 2 (01:11:43):
Sweeny was also asked where he feels kde club Nick's
mobility is at this point in the season. Yeah, he's better.

Speaker 5 (01:11:49):
I mean, he's he's best he's been in a while,
for sure, you know, way better than he was two
weeks ago, better than he was last week.

Speaker 2 (01:11:56):
Sweeney was also asked about Clympson defensive Linemans defiling Green
and whether or not he's been practicing or how many
snaps even he's been practicing this past week.

Speaker 5 (01:12:04):
Yeah, I'm not gonna get into how many snaps guys
are practicing. I mean, but he's out there practicing every
day and back available for us.

Speaker 2 (01:12:12):
Sweeney was also asked about the conversations that he said
that he would have with freshman and sophomores, you know,
along the way late in the season. Here's what he
had to say about how that's gone thus far.

Speaker 6 (01:12:23):
I mean it's great.

Speaker 5 (01:12:23):
Yeah that's tweet me in the players, But yeah, I
met you know, I meet with guys all the time,
but specifically, you know, where we were at that point
in the season, I really wanted to, you know, kind
of meet with each group first year, second year, third
year guys, and I meet with the seniors.

Speaker 6 (01:12:38):
All the time twice a week as it is. But
it was good. It's very very good.

Speaker 5 (01:12:43):
That's one of my actually one of my positives from
this season is as I've been able to have some
conversations that might not have had if everything had gone
exactly what we want. So a lot of growth in
those guys and you know, good communication.

Speaker 2 (01:12:58):
Debo. Sweeney was also ask about his relationship with Clemson
staffer Lorenzo A. Ward, who's currently a special assistant. Lorenzo
Ward has spent many years coaching college football. He was
the defensive coordinator at South Carolina from two thousand and
nine through twenty fifteen. Some of those really great South

(01:13:21):
Carolina defenses, but he's kind of been a point in
his life where you know, he's not one to coach
the same way as he once did. Maybe and he
and Dabo Sweeney were you know, on a staff together
at one point at Alabama, played together at Alabama and
know each other well, and Sweeny had this to say
about Whammy, if you will.

Speaker 5 (01:13:41):
I've known him since nineteen eighty eight, so I've known
him a long time.

Speaker 6 (01:13:45):
We were Gas together.

Speaker 5 (01:13:46):
He was one of my coaches when I was playing,
and then we were Gas together for a year and
just you know, been friends for a long long time.
Just haven't had an opportunity to work together since Alabama.
But you know, it was at the point in his
career where he was he was kind of ready for
the role that he's in. I mean, he's great, he's
very smart, he's you know, he understands offense and defense,

(01:14:10):
and he's been a great addition and a great asset
to our staff and to me.

Speaker 2 (01:14:17):
So that's Dabosweeny again talking about Wammi Ward, Lorenzo Ward
Clemson's special assistant. Let me see what they officially label
him on the website? Is it special assistant? Special assistant
to the head coach and special teams coach second season
Nick Clemson. After joining the program back in the spring

(01:14:39):
of twenty twenty four, bringing thirty years a full time
coaching experience to the table. Coach D'Angelo Hall, Stefan Gilmour
and Jaire Alexander. Those are just some of the some
of the players that he coached over the years. Taking
a look back, Lorenzo Ward played strong safety and live

(01:15:00):
backer at Alabama from nineteen eighty six eighty nine, then
was a GA at Alabama in ninety one. I don't
know where he was from ninety two to ninety four,
but he pops back up at Chattanooga for a few seasons,
then at Virginia Tech. Coach a DB's from nineteen ninety
nine to two thousand and five with the Raiders six

(01:15:20):
and oh seven at Arkansas and No. Eight and then
with the game Cocks at nine through twenty fifteen, ventured
out the Fresno State. Spent some time at Louisville. I
was actually the interim head coach. I did not remember
that in twenty eighteen at Louisville. And so now they're
in Clemson and enjoying his opportunity to be around the

(01:15:42):
Tigers and to be at a little different stage, be
a different stage in his life. Is Wammy Ward coaching
at Clemson looking to see Bobby Petrino. Louisville fire Bobby
Patrino after a two and eight start in twenty eighteen,

(01:16:03):
and then Ward was named the interim head coach for
the final two games. Okay, so there you go, final
two games of the oeight season. I didn't remember that
at all. A zero three four five h zero zero
eighty six text line phone line. Don't forget about our
friends in Alumni Hall right there on the corner of
campus on College Avenue in downtown Clemson. For all your

(01:16:24):
officially licensed Clemson merchandise, hats, T shirts, tailgate Gary Moore,
go check them out today at Alumni haull dot com.
Or if you're downtown Clemson, go in the store check
out their cool hat wall. And don't forget to ask
them about the Alumni Hall rewards program so you could
save a little money and earn rewards while you shop.
And don't forget, speaking of saving money, Clemson students, faculty

(01:16:47):
members in all military get ten percent off of shopping
in store at Alumni Hall. It's Alumni Hall where Tiger
fans shop. All right, man, hard to believe. The Thursday
edition of the show comes to a conclusion. Here we'll
recap just a bit of what we talked about with
Tim Bray. Plus I got an update on the Clemson
women's soccer match from tonight. I'll tell you what's going

(01:17:10):
on with that when we return. Keep it a lot
right here on Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred and of
course around the world on the iHeartRadio app. It is
the show that shakes the Southland Clemson Sports Talk. What
have you done for me lately? It's a fair question.

Speaker 6 (01:17:29):
Just don't lose sight of the bigger picture. Don't forget history.

Speaker 2 (01:17:37):
Lucky for us at Clemson, the answer to the questions
what have you done for me lately? And what have
you done?

Speaker 3 (01:17:42):
Always are the same.

Speaker 2 (01:17:49):
We win final segment on a Thursday. We met with

(01:18:40):
Tim Murray a little bit earlier and talked with him
about several different topics. I do want to play a
portion of our conversation with him though in just a second.
But I do have to tell you the Clemson women's
soccer match that was scheduled for tonight. Uh, that soccer
match has been postponed due to weather there in Nashville,

(01:19:03):
and so the women's soccer game will be postponed. That
second round matchup will not take place until Friday at
seven o'clock, So that game has been postponed. A little
update there Clemson men, though, however, will be playing tonight
at historic Riggs Field. There you go, while you're there,

(01:19:24):
Alumni Hall right there. You can see it from the field. Basically,
they will be playing tonight as they get underway in
just a few minutes. Again, it'll be Clemson taking on
Western Michigan at six o'clock this evening, and the matchup
is available on ESPN Plus. Clemson Soccer is eight five

(01:19:49):
and three. Michigan or excuse me, Western Michigan is seven
nine and four, and the Tigers are in the what
thirty eighth I think appearance in the postseason, and looking
at the NCAA Tournament bracket, kind of an interesting scheduling

(01:20:12):
nugget here. If Clemson wins tonight, they will face Furman,
who is the sixteenth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers will face Furman at one o'clock on Sunday,
so you could have back to back games of Clemson
and Verman in football, one being European football and the
other being American football. The bracket portion that Clemson is

(01:20:36):
in would pair them eventually down the line with Vermont,
and I would imagine that for this Clemson Tiger soccer team.
This is an awesome opportunity in front of you. Number one,
you got your first match at home. Number two, your

(01:20:56):
second match is against Furman, who is a better seed
than you, but you don't have to go across the
country to play it. And then thirdly, and I don't know,
Vermont is the number one overall seed in the tournament,
but Vermont might face Syracuse or Hofstra they play today

(01:21:19):
as well at six, but let's say that it's Syracuse
and either vermon or Syracuse. I think if you're Clipson,
you feel good about those two teams, like there's a
chance here. Now, Clympson has got to play better. I
want to say this unequivocally, Clemson has got to play
better than they have played thus far. I mean, honestly,

(01:21:45):
the way Clymps is played has been pretty disappointing this season,
given the talent and the expectations of the year. But
I like where they currently sit and they have a
chance to put together maybe a pretty special And I
really like anytime that you get the first swing at

(01:22:06):
the top seed in the tournament, and I think Clemson
if they can get there, Like I don't know what
Vermont's soccer team looks like but I would venture to
guess that kind of like the conversation that the Southeastern
Conference has about football, I would venture to guess that

(01:22:26):
Vermont has probably not played the same level of competition
from starting to finish that Clempson has in the Atlantic
Coast Conference and against now who he plays, how you play,
and it doesn't mean that you're just gonna waltz in
there and beat Vermont. They're undefeated fourteen to hino five

(01:22:48):
this year. But I'd like to get the swings. I'd
like to get the at bats and the only way
you get those at bats is tonight by beating Western
Michigan and tomorrow beating or excuse me, then Sunday beating Furman.
So for Mike Noonon and this Clemson Tiger soccer team

(01:23:09):
a big, big couple of days here, and if they
win both of those games, the possibility that they could
face the number one overall team in the tournament and
kind of reset the storyline for this year. I'll take it.
It's been a disappointing season. It really, it really has been,

(01:23:30):
and Clemson has got as much talent as anybody, and
not to mention Mike noonon Recruits not it's it's not
a hey, this is not a United States team. This
is an international soccer program. The Clemson's running and so
if you get a chance tonight catch them on ESPN Plus.
It's a fun group to watch. When they're playing well there,

(01:23:55):
they are as good as any soccer team in the country.
The problem is it just haven't quite on the back end. Defensively,
they've had some lapses. I think those guys, to me,
take too many unnecessary fouls. And then they've really just
kind of struggled to generate some scoring at times this year.

(01:24:15):
But if they get going in when they are clicking,
I'm telling you they're good. So I'll be locked in
here in just a few minutes on Clemson and Western
Michigan on the ESPN Plus. I hope you will too.
All Right, we gotta get out here. We'll be back tomorrow.
We'll talk about that matchup as much more as we
get you ready for Clemson and firm and until then,
as always, y'all take care now and go Tigers.