The "Red Bull and Bubble Gum" Edition

Swanny is joined by former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris to talk college football. Also, Morgan Thomas stops by the show.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Each time for Climpson Sports Talk with Lawton Swan.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Finally, Clemson Sports Talk has come back to drive time.
Hello everybody, and 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

(01:05):
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dog gonet. That's clympses Sports Talk dot com. ETO three
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Don't forget about our friends at mets Plummin' mets plumbin

(01:27):
dot com for all your plumbing needs. Two two six
seven one o eight Give them a call today two
two six seven one oh eight. That's Mets Plumbing online
at metsplumbing dot com. All right, last week we were
joined here on the program by our good buddy Morgan Thomas.
People loved it. We've got Morgan back in the saddle today.

(01:49):
Also our number two wait for it, Chad Morris, former
Clempson offensive coordinator, former head coach at SMU and Arkansas,
stepping into the arena to go one on one with
the great one. We'll have him on every Wednesday. Want
to pick up what a coup here for you, the fans,

(02:09):
the listeners, especially in a year where Morris was just
a part of this staff a couple of seasons ago,
his son's coach are at playing is Human quarterback up
at Virginia Chandler. And then more importantly a year where
there were such high expectations for the Clemson offense and
they really stumbled out the gate. So we'll's talk with

(02:31):
Chad Morrison now number two. But first, the man who
slices up the passing charts, he is none other than
Morgan Thomas Morgan. What's up, buddy? How are you doing good?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
How are you doing man?

Speaker 2 (02:42):
I'm great. Look probably better than the fan base feels
the Clemson offense is doing after a second week where
they sputter out of the gates. I did put out
and I don't know if you saw it or not,
my thoughts on it. I mean, Morgan, you've been around
the game a long time, You've watched it for many
years you've covered it for the same I mean, what
do you make of what you saw? Maybe not just

(03:05):
this past weekend, but even with some of the things
we saw last week in that LSU matchup.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, it is frustrating as a fan. You know, I'm
a little bit jaded because I'm I'm a fan and
a graduate, so I have a vested interest in the
in the university and the school doing well. Uh So
I'm not gonna pretend like I'm not a little bit biased,
but it does get frustrating from that standpoint to look
at your team and and really, I think one of

(03:32):
the questions that I asked is why are why is
everybody so frustrated? And I think everybody, you know, to
the point of getting of booing. And they even Dabbos
said he was in on it.

Speaker 4 (03:43):
He bowed too.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
You know, I don't I don't know if that's necessarily
true or not, but he definitely was was feeling the
pain of the fan base. And I would say, I
think the biggest frustration is the lack of lack of progression.
You know, you you would this was supposed to be
the year. This is supposed to be the year of
a senior quarterback. You know, you had a good rotation

(04:05):
of running backs, albeit new. You had a good rotation
of tight ends, and a really great rotation of wide receivers.
You had, you know, seniors and juniors all along your
offensive line, really only replacing one offensive lineman. And you
look like you don't know what you're doing. You look
like you can barely get to twenty one points again.

(04:26):
And it's the way it feels. It feels as if
it didn't know how to swim forward. They just know
how to tread water. And so they've got to figure
something out. And I'll tell you though, at first, I
was very frustrated, very jaded by it. I felt like,
you know, we you know, the team did not is

(04:47):
not living up to expectations. But as I would listen
to other shows from other teams, you know, South carolina
didn't have a good game last weekend, Michigan's you know
what Michigan said right now. I went on one of
their message boards. Man, our quarterback just can't get it together.
We're spending so much money on him. Our offensive line

(05:07):
doesn't seem like they've ever worked together. Our play calling
just needs to go back to the basics. Well, guess what,
that's exactly what Clemson sounds like. So there's a lot
of other teams out there dealing with the begin early
season blues, if you will, But it was not supposed
to be this.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Way again, Morgan Thomas joining the program here on a
Wednesday afternoon, as we talk about this Clemson Tiger football team.
The thing that I really thought caught Clemson this weekend
more than anything was how everything sort of played out right.
And that was my take on it. And I've been
around this game a long time, Morgan. I've seen slow starts.

(05:46):
I've seen games where you go through the half and
you just can't quite get it. There's a little hitching
the gidea up, you might say. But what I think
really hurt Clemson more than anything is that they had
so much criticism a week ago about all of the
little plays late in the game that maybe cost them
that matchup against LSU, and then they gave up a
five play, seventy five yard scoring drive and then promptly

(06:07):
went three and out before an hour and a half delay.
I think that hour and a half delay had much
more to do with Clemson's issues. The lack of fans
in the venue after that fact and all of that.
I think it was just, you know, sometimes you have
this collection of issues that are kind of going against

(06:28):
you in it's very difficult to turn the tide. And
what you saw is once Clemson did turn it, they
took over that ballgame. And that's what it was for me.
I'm not so sure if we don't have an hour
and thirty two minute delay that Clemson doesn't get that
ball right back and end up, you know, scoring and
feeling better about themselves. But they had to stew on that, dude,

(06:51):
and I think that was tougher than people imagine.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
Yeah, and I could.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
You know, when it comes to being just a human being,
we all have these feelings of things what you want
to do versus things that you have to do. And
you know, you you obviously take on challenges and overcome,
you know, obstacles and find new ways, new solutions when
you when you want to do something, when you have

(07:17):
a desire, when you have a bigger reason behind that.
But as young guys and myself, I mean, there are
times where you go into work or you go into
your hobby and you're like, I just feel like I'm
having I have to do this right now. I don't
get I don't want to do it. I just have
to do it. And it does seem like in a way,
they went back in the locker room, as you mentioned,
kind of stewed on it, and then they kind of

(07:39):
came out. Maybe they had this and I'm totally just
you know, assuming here, but maybe they had this kind
of on their back foot feeling of we got to
go back out right.

Speaker 5 (07:51):
You know.

Speaker 3 (07:51):
Maybe they wanted to go back and play some video games,
maybe they wanted to go have dinner. I don't know,
but it just definitely seem like, oh, we got to
go back out here, we started on the wrong and
that kind of thing. We don't talk about it much.
Mickey does it on the Roar a lot where he
brings in Milt Louder, you know, doctor Milt Louder for
Clemson and they're sports psychologists. There's a lot of there's

(08:13):
a lot to that. You know, what happens in your
brain and your mentality and your focus and your motivation,
you know it can mess with you and and and
then what happens out of your brain. You know, your
arms don't move like they should, your legs don't move
like they should, so you know, maybe there was there
is some to that.

Speaker 5 (08:33):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
The biggest frustration, though, I think is our concern bigger
than that is, is just that you know, now you've
got two games where you know you didn't have that
last season. It felt like, Okay, Georgia was a huge letdown,
but then Appalachian State they scored like crazy, so it
kind of erased a lot of those thoughts. But in

(08:57):
this Troy game, it kind of was a little bit
less of that. It's more of another continuing to not
really know what to do again.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Follow him on Twitter at the Morga t Show Morgan
Thomas hanging out with us here on the program today.
I think it's I think it's great what you talked
about there with Mitchell Louder and the job that you know,
the sports psychology aspect of it all and what goes
into that, and then you know, from there, I think
you carry that over into Okay, well, Clemson was like,

(09:27):
what a nine and a half point favorite at one
point during the off season over Georgia Tech. Now it's
down to like three and a half, and there feels
like all this momentum around the Yellow Jackets. But really
the team that should feel should feel I think pretty
positive about the way they're playing right now is probably
this Clemson team because of the way they finished this
past weekend, and I think that probably could have a

(09:50):
big impact maybe on what we see over at Bobby
Dodd Stadium.

Speaker 3 (09:56):
Yeah, they can't forget that. They came out the gate
and scored what I believe it was what twenty four
uninentered points or something along those lines. So they definitely
turned it around. And as I mentioned on my radio
show last night, it's got to be dirt raid Lawton.
That's what we were promised, that's what we were sold on.
We were sold on Garrett Riley was going to come

(10:17):
in and be dirt raid. And what does that mean. Well,
that just simply means that you start with the foundation
of a solid running game and that will open up
your massive, explosive, you know, get off of your seat
type of passing place. We haven't really seen that yet,
but what we did see in the second half of

(10:39):
Troy is that they gave the ball to the running back.
They started to actually trust him and let him let
him open up some lanes. Adam Randall, he's not a
running back in the truest sense. He's figuring it out still.
But I tell you what, this guy from Little River,
South Carolina, he puts his heart and soul into being
the best player he can be. He doesn't matter what

(11:01):
position he plays. And that's the kind of guy you
want on any team, whether it's the Game Talks, Clemson, whoever.
You want guys like that that are hometown guys that
want to do their best no matter what, every single play.
And that's what Adam Randall is. He's not going to
be the best running back. We know that. He's still
going to be a work in progress. We know that,
but he's going to give you that one percent that

(11:23):
Frank Howard used to say. And so that's what you want.
That's what any player want at high school level, any level.
That's the kind of player you want. So if they
start with him, I think he could be the spark.

Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
Look, I'll say this about the thing you're talking about
there with Adam Randall a few minutes ago. What I
love about Adam Randall is when he gets behind that microphone,
when he gets a chance to talk in front of
the Clemson nation. You know, at these press conferences, don't
you hear? Like the consonment student athlete in an era

(11:56):
where there's so much of chasing the dollar and the
transfer portal. Like to me, I just I'm hopeful that
we'll continue to see an upward trend for him because
of just the story.

Speaker 4 (12:10):
I mean.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
It is in an era where everybody leaves Morgan. I mean,
here's a guy that basically couldn't do the job at
wide receiver and has reinvented himself. And I think for
kids and for adults even that's a powerful message that
Adam Randall's potentially putting together.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, and if you go watch on Clemson Tiger's YouTube channel,
they have a special about him and his family and everything,
and it was really cool. And he also got to
play with his brother I think one year last season,
I believe, And so there's a lot of great, great
moments from those videos of him with his family and
just becoming a Clemson fan and becoming a Clemson Tiger,

(12:56):
getting his offer and everything. And he was a really
good high school football player. So for me, he's one
of those guys when you watch his clips from high
school from merle Beach, you just got to get in
the ball. It's kind of you know, not really sure
why it took so long to move him from one
position to another. Maybe it was just lack of him
wanting to do that. But as you mentioned, he wasn't

(13:17):
getting open, he wasn't getting the ball at the wide
receiver position, and he was slowly getting overlooked. And so
this position gives him an opportunity to just get the ball.
And when he gets the ball. You know how you
got guys like that. I mean they call them athletes,
you know, in their recruits because you don't know where
you're going to put them right and when you're talking
about I'm thinking too. Like on the defensive side. Tink Kelly,

(13:39):
you know, he came out today. We interviewed him today
and he was saying the same thing. He said, you
know what, I came to Clemson. I really wanted to
be a wide receiver.

Speaker 4 (13:47):
Man.

Speaker 3 (13:47):
I thought I could do great at wide receiver. But
then I realized, you know, I'm just not helping out
the team like I wanted. And you know, they said, hey,
can you try out defense? And now he's the starting
nickel and he said, you know what, I actually like,
I actually like hitting people. You know, you never know
where they work out.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, I'd rather be the hitter than the hit. E.
That's the way it goes sometimes. Now, right, let me
let me ask you this, Morgan, because again I think
it's also important when we talk about this matchup coming
up this weekend. I laughed a lot.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:22):
I like Brent Key, don't get me wrong. Like when
when he showed up the A SEC kickoff two years
ago with a flared collar and like a like one
of those I felt like it was one of those
necklaces your friend would get when they went to the beach.
It was kind of like braided with a seashell in
the middle or whatever. I was just kind of like,
all right, this guy's this guy's too cool for school.
And then they go over to Dublin and they they
kind of drug Florida State and lead the seminoles down

(14:44):
the path towards two and ten. But I could not
help as much. As you know, he's got this great clip,
you know, the you know, the one where he says,
run the ball. I got that one right here for you,
un I love it. But his press conference yesterday, every
time he was asking a question, I died laughing because
of how short, and I called it Bill Belichick esque,

(15:08):
I mean, what did you take away from that press
conference in Atlanta? And can you imagine being somebody that
has to actually write articles in preparation for Clemson.

Speaker 5 (15:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:21):
I think it was one of our friends, Will Van
Derbort that mentioned about how Dabo gave I think thirty
or forty minutes worth of content in his press conference
this week, and brient Key gave his people, I think
a minute in thirty nine seconds. So you know, I'm
assuming in the Georgia tech world, you're gonna get a

(15:42):
lot of the same articles this weekend, or maybe a
lot of just the opinion articles, because he didn't give
you any quotes at all this week. And you know,
to me, I felt like it was a little bit gimmicky.
But I can understand head coaches do certain things to
based on how they feel their team will respond, and
I'm assuming he's doing that because he thinks his team

(16:02):
will respond. I'd rather have that short and sweet and
to the point and kind of a little bit agitated.
Maybe who knows what happened before that press conference, but maybe,
you know, I'd rather have that than than doing the
the Jeff Collins waits on the sideline pregame because that's
a little bit too gimmicky, you know. So if his

(16:26):
team brings the heat, you know, then then you know
that he it resonated with his team. And maybe, just
maybe you saw that with LSU, they were super hyper
focused on Clemson at the first game. They came in
with the one and oh shirts on. They were extremely
focused about proving that they were the real Death Valley
and all these things, and they circled it. They talked

(16:49):
about it from March all the way to August, and
now they they're talking about just one game at a
time and then focused on that one game and not
looking at what their overall record is. I'm wondering if
Georgie and Brent Key's doing the same thing and really
having this laser focused mentality, and that gives me a
little cause for concern because you would hope that your

(17:09):
team also, Clemson needs to have the same fire and
be ready. If it works for Georgia Tech, I'm telling
you they're gonna win this game because they're hard nosed.
You know, we know that they're not the air raid team.
They've got Haines King and Jamal Haynes, and they're going
to pound you and they're going to want to control
that time of possession. And the way Clemston's been playing,

(17:32):
the time of possession is up for grabs, that's for sure.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Morgan, Thomas willis here on the program again. You host
the Locked on Clemson podcast. You can also hearing from
Tom to Tom on one in five to five to
Row in the Upstate. From there, Morgan, I want to
turn our tch to the defense and we got about
probably a little over two minutes, so not much time.
But are you surprised that the Clemson defense maybe hasn't
played better? Because to me, they're the defensive line may

(17:59):
be more specif they just don't seem to be jumping
off of the screen to me. But but maybe I'm
missing something.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
Yeah, you know, I got some flak on my last
YouTube chan video about saying the defense was one that
was elite and a lot of fans said, we don't
see it. Morgan, what can you prove to us that
that is true? Are you just saying that because that's
what you've always said for a decade And I think
I took a step back and thought, well, maybe I
am just saying that just because it's better than the offense,

(18:28):
you know, and that they did they did Ben Don't Break.
They're very much a Ben Don't Break team this year,
and they're going to give up a few big chunk plays.
And that's what is a concern against Georgia Tech, because
they're going to pound you, and they're going to control
the clock. They're going to keep the offense off the field.
But you're right, I keep hearing that the film on
Peter Woods looks amazing and he's getting double team, but

(18:49):
he's still fighting, scrapping one hundred and ten percent, you know,
very aggressive and violent. But Walton, the thing to me
is if he's getting double team and he's getting eat
up by two guys, then the other guys must be
in a one on one right, So where are the
other guys at you know, I think they only have
two stacks on the season. Uh, where are the other

(19:11):
guys that if Peter Woods is always getting double team?
That's my big question.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
I think it's a perfect question, and that's why we
ask it to you as well, sir. Where is that
defensive line? I agree? Follow him on Twitter at the
Morgan t Show. He hosts the Lockdown Clemson podcast Morgan Thomas, Morgan,
my man, always appreciate you, buddy.

Speaker 3 (19:31):
Thanks man. There you go.

Speaker 2 (19:33):
That's Morgan Thomas again. Hour number two will be joined
by former Clemson Tiger offensive coordinator Chad Morris. Here on
the show The Shakes the south Land. It is Clemson
Sports Salt right here well Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred
the Midlands. And of course you can listen to the
show anywhere in the world on the iHeart Radio application
or on your Amazon Echo and Google Home device. Rocking

(19:58):
and rolling along with you on a Wednesday, that was
Morgan Thomas before the break. Former Clipson Tiger off as
a coordinator. Chad Morris set to join the program an
hour number two. And you know that final question that
I asked Morgan Thomas, I think it's a legit one
at this point. Statistically speaking, yes, I think that's fair

(20:22):
when you talk about this Clemson Tiger defense. But also
just I think from you know, how you feel about
the way things are happening, Like I think everybody to
a person believed that the Clemson Tiger defense would be

(20:43):
so disruptive this year that in a game of the magnitude,
the Clemson ahead against LSU that you would see Garrett
nuss Meyer and scramble mode throughout the game. That's not
the case. As a matter of fact, it happened more
to K. Klebnick, who kind of reverted back to maybe
some of his younger mistakes of bailing out of the

(21:04):
pocket too early. Now on the final play. I gave
you my thoughts on that previously, but I just bring
that up because it feels like the like, like you
watch the game, you go, man the secondary, those dudes
are flying all over the field Ronan Hannafin, you know,
And that was a kind of a question mark. And

(21:24):
the defensive line was supposed to be this stalwart and
yet Troy at times early in that game finding gaps,
creating gaps, leveraging the Clipson defensive line and really making
me question, and I think other people question, just how

(21:44):
hard these guys are playing now. One is not without
the other. A great defensive line tends to improve the
way things look in the secondary. A bad defensive line
does the opposite. But I'm just kind of shocked at
this point that when I think about this Clemson defensive front,

(22:07):
I'm not thinking about or at least feeling that I'm
seeing the same type of players that I expected based
off of all of the hubbub during the off season.
I mean, am I off on that or do you agree?
Let me know what you think. If you're watching on TikTok,
I'd love to hear from you, because ultimately, you've got

(22:30):
two dudes in TJ. Parker and Peter Woods, who are
considered to be two of the top defensive linemen in
America bar none like these guys when you look at

(22:52):
the NFL mock drafts and the things of that nature.
These are the dudes that everybody in the country thinks
has a chance to be a couple of the top
picks in the NFL draft as juniors, not seniors. Not

(23:13):
guys have stuck around for four years as juniors. And
yet as we sit here and again, not necessarily statistically speaking,
numbers wise being the important thing, but just the impact

(23:34):
that you feel like you're seeing is surprising. Peter Woods
has played one hundred and two snaps.

Speaker 4 (23:43):
He has.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
Thirteen tackles and six assists. I mean, it's pretty good numbers,
don't get me wrong, But I don't feel his influence.
And then you go and look a little further down
the list, TJ. Parker ninety two total snaps, seven tackles,

(24:10):
one sack for Parker. You just don't feel that aspect
of their game just yet. I mean, will Help's been
a bright spot for sure, two sacks for Help, three
tackles for loss for help as well. And maybe these

(24:32):
guys will begin to pop and jump off the page
and this will be a perfect weekend for it, because look,
this Georgia Tech team is not some team that's just
going to be a pushover. I like Brent Key, I
thought this press conference was super weird, just odd. I
hate it for their media members, and that's what they

(24:53):
had to deal with this week. But you know, for Clemson,
that defensive line has got to eat. When Clemson went
over there in twenty twenty and beat Georgia Tech seventy
three to seven, you remember that, remember when that was
what Clempson was doing. That might be the other reason
that you kind of look at these offenses and go,

(25:14):
it's not as great as it once was. You were
beating people seventy three to seven. But I digress. The
thing about it, that defensive line just so menacing, just
all over the place, causing havoc, and heck, even two
years earlier when you went there in twenty eighteen, that

(25:35):
was kind of the changing of the guard from Kelly
Bryant to Trevor Lawrence. That was the fourth game of
the season and Kelly Bryant decided not to stay. But
in those games, the defensive line was just destroying their opposition.

(25:55):
And these guys that you see right now for for Clemson,
whether they're playing LSU, whether they're playing Georgia Tech or
South Carolina at the end of the season, when you
have the this aura around you of how great you're

(26:16):
supposed to be, and look, the quarterback k Club is
catching a lot of criticism. Quarterbacks do that. But I
feel like this defense doesn't just it doesn't jump off
the page at this point. And my hope is statistically speaking,

(26:38):
they've been good and certainly holding LSU to seventeen points,
I think LSU is gonna be a really, really good offense.
But I don't see that. I don't feel the disruptiveness,
and that's what's weird about it. Like I would feel
I feel like I should feel more disruptive play from
this Clemson defensive group, but I haven't am I wrong?

(27:03):
A three four five zero zero eighty six text line
phone line. That's the way you can be a part
of the program. Let me know what you think. We
got a break coming up that gives you a four
minutes or so to get in on the conversation. Plus
hour number two of the program, we will be joined
by none other than former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris

(27:24):
to get his thoughts on what he's seen from the
Tigers this year as well. All right, quick break, stay
with us, rolling along with you Clemson Sports tal laws,
and swan don't forget about our friends in Alumni Hall
on the corner of campus on College Avenue of downtown Clemson.
I was in there for the LSU game, checking out
all the sweet sweet merchandise in apparel. Those Nike dry

(27:46):
Fit shirts. Man, they are spectacular. Head over there. Don't
forget to ask them about their Alumni Hall Rewards pass program.
And hey, if you see me in there, say what's up, Swannee,
don't be afraid to shout me out right there, just
to stones throw away from historic Riggs Field. It's Alumni
Haul for the ultimate Clemson Tiger shopping experience. All right,

(28:08):
we throw it out to you the Texters before the
break about this Clemson defensive line and whether or not
they've been as disruptive as you thought they would be. Allison,
listening to the program in Greenville, says Swanee, I'm with
you for all the hype around Parker and Woods. I
just haven't seen the game wrecking plays that were promised.
The pressure hasn't been consistent. That's me. I'm with you. Like, Okay,

(28:33):
game wrecking. I love that terminology, like game wrecking, like
hitting the quarterback and the ball pops free and the
scoop and score. And I know we're only two games in.
I mean that's probably that should probably be noted. And
in game one you only gave up seventeen points to

(28:56):
what's likely to be one of the better offenses in
the country. I mean there's a there's some of that,
but game wrecking is what. Yeah, I think we're missing
game wrecking where you just sit back and go, holy moy,
that was insane what I just saw. And Peter Woods,

(29:16):
I think Morgan made a good point. Peter Woods does
a lot with his hands and the way he plays,
and he's kind of gnarly causing issues. But these guys
need to be ultranarially this weekend. Like that, to me,
you can be critical at Clemson's offense all you want,
but let me tell you something, until this defense makes

(29:38):
those type of plays like the offense if it struggles
without the defense kind of creating some momentum plays, especially
from that defensive line. And I like what the secondary's done.
But still I think game wrecking is the word Allison,
and that's what they gotta do. All right, let's see,
Jordan says, I think it's still early. Parking Woods are

(29:59):
getting attention from double teams, opening things up for the linebackers.
The sacks will come. Now, Jordan, you're probably onto something there,
because let me find those stats real quick. First off,
total tackles running Hannafin, who also has a couple of
interceptions this season as well. At the top of the list,

(30:22):
did you've got Wade wood ass with nineteen tackles and
Sammy Brown with fifteen, which could be a bit of
an indicator, could be a bit of an indicator that
those guys up front are doing. You know, back when,
back when the Baltimore Ravens were incredible on defense. You know,

(30:45):
part of the part of their success was big old
space eaters up front like Tony Saragusa, and he would
gobble up a couple of guys in the linebackers like
Ray Lewis and others were just making all the play
and those guys racked up stats and numbers, and Sarah
Gusa racked up the recognition from his teammates of the

(31:09):
job that he was doing up front. And so that
might be sort of what we see there, but I
still feel like, like if I think back to Cleveland
Ferrell and and think back to watching Heck, I'll go
to the guys from other schools, like when you watched

(31:29):
Davion Clowney, like you saw this instant impact play bang,
I mean just shot out of a cannon. And I
felt like we'd see more of that this year from TJ. Parker.
And in a game like the one against LSU, that's
when you really need it. Like it's one thing if
you can go collect all these numbers against some also rans,

(31:54):
but you gotta be able to do it on the
biggest stage. And I think I'm kind of waiting for
that to pop. I think I am all right. One
final text, don't forget you can get in on the
text as well. Eight zero three four or five zero
zero zero eighty six. This text message comes to us

(32:16):
from Charlotte area code says Swanny expectations might be the problem.
Clemson fans wanted a twenty eighteen type line, but those
don't come around often. This group is good, just not
dominate yet. That's that's not unfair. And I'll say too,

(32:38):
there's there is that transition that you've got when you
talk about bringing Will helt In. I think that's probably
a part of it. I love demonte K part, but man,
when you've got K part and Peter Woods on the interior,
you gotta be gnarly. Gotta be gnarly. So the you

(33:00):
create I'm going to go back to Allison's text, game
wrecking plays game wrecking. I agree. I do think people
wanted that twenty eighteen Taipe line. It has not materialized. Hey,

(33:23):
good news though. Jeremiah Alexander did play.

Speaker 4 (33:26):
Its excuse you three gaps so you know the thing
big occupying up and put them steps, you know, see
they war wint uh the big way. You know he
he made even three for his b Maybe you need
to start with em thing. The Senator Channel can't get

(33:46):
you looking to see you, switch boy.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
Coming up around the bend here on a Wednesday afternoon,
punter Jack Smith hit the podium Tigertown. We'll play a
little bit of what Jack Smith had to say for
you here on the program. Plus in our number two,
we will be joined by former Clemson Tiger offensive coordinator,

(34:13):
former head coach at Arkansas, and SMU Chad Morris. We're
gonna be all hopped up on red bull and bubble
gum when Chad Moore steps into the arena here in
just a little bit. Looking forward to catching up with him.
But we'll give you some of Jack Smith as he's
been a huge bright spot for Clemson in the punning game.
Dabo Sweeney has talked him up and he got a

(34:37):
chance to talk with the media today up in Clemson
as the Tigers prepare for their matchup over in Atlanta
against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. All right, quick break,
we'll come back with some of the audio from Jack
Smith in his time with the media up in Clemson
earlier today. And by the way, keep it locked on

(35:00):
our website because we will have Dabbo Sweeney's post practice
comments for you later this evening as well. Stay with us.
Final segment of our one coming up. Chad Morris, former
Clemson offensive coordinator. He was on the staff a couple
of years ago as an offensive analyst. We'll talk with
him about his son Chandler, his time at Virginia, and

(35:21):
much more, including this Clemson offense and get this market.
Put it in your calendar every Wednesday for the rest
of college football season. Chad Morris will be here on
the show. All right. Jack Smith a name that's about
as plain as they come, I mean, honestly, Clemson punter

(35:46):
whose season has not been played shockingly good. We talked
about the defensive line earlier, sort of feeling like that
was in the doldrums a little bit just not game wrecking,
Am I right? Game wrecking? Allison? I'm with you, But yeah,
Jack Smith is a guy that you know you'd be

(36:07):
saying his name or not. You had Robert Gunn and
a couple other guys like trying to win that kicking spot,
and Dabbosweeney even said at some point along the way
something along the lines of like, well, you know we
we punt run, punt one fifty yards and shank one
twenty or whatever. That comment was that Sweeney made and

(36:27):
that's all the guys. It's like, oh boy, But Smith's
had a good season so far, just a couple of
games in. Here's Jack Smith talking about when he found
out he was going to be the starting punter for
your Clemson Tigers.

Speaker 6 (36:40):
Well, I prepared the way that I was going to
be a start of the whole time, but Sweeney didn't
tell me for sure until like Thursday. He was like, hey, man,
I'm going to give you a shot. And I was like,
all right, man, that's what I came here to do.
So I didn't come here to ride the bench for
four years like I have the past couple. So it's

(37:01):
good to hear that. But deep down, I knew that
I was going to be the guy running out there,
and it paid off because if I prepared like the
backup guy, then I wouldn't be getting the results that
I've been getting right now. So yeah, it was it
was a lot, but I was prepared.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Jack Smith, Clemson punter, was also asked about how much
it kind of fueled him during the off season. There
were so many doubters about the position.

Speaker 6 (37:26):
Kind of like swhen he says, it's just fuel to
the fire. I know how good I am. I know
my potential and that's nothing anybody can add to or
take away. Kind of just like let off, let never
let what outside infect what's inside. Let what's inside affect
what's outside.

Speaker 5 (37:44):
You know.

Speaker 6 (37:44):
It was obviously you don't want to hear it. It
feels good to kind of prove people wrong, but yeah,
just a little field of the fire.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
Jack Smith was also asked to give some insight into
how he feels like all the time he's had to
practice is maybe you know, those routines and the things
he's done over the years has led to the results
that we're seeing now.

Speaker 6 (38:04):
I mean my first three years, it was it was
a lot of that, mainly our first two years, mainly
because we didn't have a special teams, like a specialist coach, right,
because we just had coach Buyers, and he couldn't coach
us like we can like coach Talent can now. So
it's definitely a lot of sitting around, getting in, a
lot of getting in your own head kind of thing,

(38:24):
like not a lot of outside perspective like hey try this,
Hey I think your drop's doing this like we have
now in the past two years, it's it's been totally
different during practice, Like I'm always always doing something and
that's like been the joke of the facility the past
couple of years is like, oh, y'all gonna just go
sit on your butt during practice and not do anything,

(38:45):
and I'm like, well, now we don't like But it's
definitely been huge having coach Aalen for sure. He's helped
out tremendously. And offseason for sure. Dawson Zimmerman, I don't
know if y'all know who that is. He was a
punter here a few years back, but he I trained
with him in Atlanta in the offseason and him those
they actually came out together. They trained with a personal

(39:08):
trainer whenever they were both coming out of college, so
they both have a pretty cool connection for sure. A
lot of work going on during practice and it's one
hundred percent paid off for sure, and got to keep
on earning it every week. That's been the main thing
for me is now that I'm starting to get results,
I can't get complacent and I got to earn it
every single week and I got to put in more

(39:29):
work and more work and more work every week. That's
the main thing for me.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
So if you had Dawson Zimmerman mentioned on your Bingo car,
go ahead and cover that spot. I certainly did not.
Jack Smith clips Deplatent was also asked about how his
mentality has changed, maybe coming into this season as well.

Speaker 6 (39:47):
I'd say the main thing that's changed for me the past,
out of from the five reps I got in three
years to the five reps I've gotten two games, is
my mentality. Like when I went out there in my
past the past three years, I was scared, crap list.
I had no idea what I was doing, And it

(40:09):
was mainly because I didn't have a coach who who
I could lean on, who's been to three Super Bowls,
who's had two ray Guy Awards, who knows success, he
knows what it looks like. So having that to lean
on and having that like him telling me like, hey,
like one of the main things that we've kind of
came up with or he told me, is just having

(40:31):
mental cues. So like when I'm going in the game
my first couple of years, like I'm not thinking anything.
I'm like, all right, I hope I catch this. I
hope I kicked good. And now it's like all right,
I already know I'm gonna kick good. I'm going to
focus on two things. I'm going to be focused on
being patient and I'm going to turn the ball and
I'm going to control what I can control and then
whatever result it is. And another like the main thing

(40:53):
for me has been just like I prayed so much
for this moment and that it would be stupid of
me to worry about it, like you know what I'm saying,
Like I have like dove into that so much and
it's one hundred percent paying off. But like I said earlier,
like I can't can't get complacent and I can't be

(41:13):
like all right, I got it now. I don't need
to I don't really need to worry about that anymore.
I'm gonna kind of worry about do it myself. Like no,
like I have to dive into it even more and
lean onto it even more, but definitely praying about it
like NonStop continually and then having like the mental cues,
and like when I went in there for the LSU game,
the first punt, I was like it all hit me

(41:35):
at once. I was like, all right, I I heard
my name on the big screen. I was like, all right,
I'm the guy like, wow, but I didn't feel any
like nerves because I knew I was prepared. And then
ever since then, I've just like I felt a presence
and a calmness that I haven't felt out there before.
And it's it's been, it's been very rewarding, to say
the least.

Speaker 2 (41:56):
How much do you love that? I can already tell
you we're gonna be slicing it dicing. Jack Smith up
on our social media channels writing an article about him
for sure wearing a Lift for Life T shirt. Man,
what a guy, What a story, all right? Coming up?
A guy who really didn't like punters because he wanted

(42:16):
to score every time he had the ball. Chad Morris
joins the program on the Flip Side Hour number two.
Stay with us.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
It's time for clips and sports talk with Lawton Swan.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
It is our number two. That's drivetime right here on
the show The Shakespeare Southland Clemson Sports tal Lot and
swanning up with you on a Wednesday afternoon, And man,
are we excited? Because Chad Morris former Clemson offensive coordinator
and he's had bigger titles than that head coach at Arkansas,

(43:26):
head coach at SMU. He joins the program in just
a minute, and of course the show that shakespare south Land,
brought to you in part by our good friends over
at mets plumbin mets plumb dot com two two six
seven one O wait call him today two two six
seven oneh eight that's mets Plumbing or online at mets

(43:46):
plumbing dot com. All right, without further Ado making his
first appearance former Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris coach, welcome in,
Glad to get you on the program.

Speaker 4 (43:59):
Glad to be here. You're and excited to excited to
be a part.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
Yeah. Look, so first and foremost, let's catch everybody up. Obviously,
a couple of years ago you were on the staff
at Clemson and then you spend a year at Texas State.
But this season special for you and your family because Chandler,
your son, has made his way to Charlottesville to be
the coordinator for Tony Elliott, a guy you're close with,
and so now you're kind of getting to be dad
again and travel around and have a good time. How's

(44:25):
that been so far?

Speaker 4 (44:26):
You know what, it's it's been great, you know, to
be able to watch him play what we think is
his final year. You know, we'll see how it all unfolds.
But uh, you know, play quarterback there for Tony and
uh to be able to to be able to watch
him and be in the stands, and it's a different
type of stress. I can tell you that I'd might
ray to be calling plays in front of one hundred

(44:48):
thousand people than watching your own son out there, you know,
you know, being the quarterback. But uh, you know, at
least on the field, I got some control, but when
your dad sitting in the stands, there's no control of
it all. So you live and die on every snap.
But but I tell you, though, I'm I'm blessed in
honor just to be able to go watch him. You know,
it's something that I'm I'm you know, I'm excited about.

(45:10):
I flew my wife all over the country last year
by ourself and didn't really get a chance to watch him.
And this year, I just made that decision.

Speaker 2 (45:18):
That's awesome, so awesome. And so you've got a unique perspective,
especially with Chandler's experience. I know, recruited by a ton
of teams, including Clemson, and he's kind of bounced around
a little bit. But you like me grew up in
an era where if you transferred, you you have to
sit as a dad. I'm sure you have opinions on this.
As a coach. I'm sure you have opinions on this.

(45:39):
I mean, what, what is your thoughts on kind of
where we are with the game and what I call
the free flowing movement of players. I don't necessarily disagree
that players should be able to move. I just wonder
about how we're doing it. But you've got two sides
of this story at this point. What are your thoughts
maybe from both perspectives?

Speaker 4 (45:57):
Yeah, you know, from from from being the coach and
having a having a coaching perspective, and and obviously now
from the dad's side of it. And I tell Channeler
all the time, he's what's wrong with college football? But
you know, he we just laugh about it, and he
laughs about it, and you know, it's just but but
but it's it's it is, it's it's you know, the
game has changed from where it was just three two

(46:22):
to three years ago, and with all the movement, and
and I do I firmly believe that guys should be
should be getting compensated. I believe guys should have ability
to move, but also think that there's got to be
some there's got to be some parameters on it. There
has to be some some way of regulating the pay
structure and you know, making an incentive based you know, hey,

(46:45):
look and this is just you know, just a thought
that I've randomly thought over and over and talked to
a lot of people about. Is you know, if we
can incentive base, Hey, you're freshman and you come in,
you get paid this. If you're a freshman and you start,
you get this extra bonus and any if you're play
nine games, you get this. If you're an all acc

(47:06):
you get this. And so but yeah, it's it is.
It is ever ever so evolving. And but you know,
and I've got a son that's that's moved around and
so he's definitely benefited from this. But you know, it's
it is. It's it's a challenging time right now for
for college football again.

Speaker 2 (47:26):
Chad Morris joining us here on the program talking about
his son Chandler. The thing that I think is so
beautiful though about his story and where he has now
ended up is the connection back to Tony Elliott. A
system that's very much like the one that you coached
in in Clemson in terms of the way they are
directing these program, the way they are developing these young men.
Tony and I go back to our days at Clemson

(47:48):
playing basketball at Fight for crying out loud, and I
just know this, if I was gonna let my son
go play college football for somebody, Tony Elliott's very high
on that list, if not at the top.

Speaker 4 (48:00):
Well, you know when we got to this point last
year and and I'll kind of rewind back for just
a few minutes, because you know, Chandler was started at
TCU and and was was had a couple of injuries.
You know, he beat out the three year starter, uh
two years ago or three years ago, and the Max
channel gets hurt in the first game of the year,

(48:20):
and Mix goes on and they have a magical year,
and and he finished the second the high six games
in having a really good year, gets hurt again, and
and it was just at that point, it was just
a time, you know, his mindset was that maybe it's
just time to do something different. And and I said, well,
you know, I know you're extremely competitive, you are a

(48:44):
really talented football player. And I think they get a
position of strength mentally, physically, and spiritually before we make
this decision of whether or not you're going to play.
So we fast forward now from December and now about
mid January, and of course there's all kinds of people
reaching out to Chandler. He just graduated from TCU, got

(49:06):
his degree, and I didn't know if he was going
to go back or not, and had several people. Anyways,
long story short, he wanted to go to North Texas.
And and I say all this because the year he
had last year, you know, I saw it where it
just really brought a love back to the game. And
and and Eric Morris did a tremendous job at North

(49:29):
Texas taking Chandler, cultivating him, bringing that love back, really
relishing on his talents. He finished his third fourth in
the country and passing, and and and and Eric had
coach cam Ward and Eric had reached out to me
in the middle of the season last year and just
told me, he said, look, I don't expect Chandler to

(49:49):
be back. He's going to be so well sought after coach.
Then I'm here to help you guys out. So I again,
that says a lot about him. And so so when
this process started, there was. I mean, there was a
lot of schools that had reached out to Chandler, but
Virginia kept circling back and and the connection with Tony

(50:13):
and several people on that staff, knowing what they stand for,
knowing who they are, how they developed the young men,
just like you said, was so pivotal in Chandler's decision
and knowing that he could go to a place and
literally helped kind of turn this program around and get
them back, get them going, get them in a bowl,

(50:35):
get them you know where they're winning a championship in
some regards and some some shape form or fashion, and
so that really excited him. But the trueness of Tony
and who he is and what he stands for and
he mine and his relationship that goes back was really
was really pivotal in this.

Speaker 2 (50:56):
Again, Chad Moore, we're hanging out with us here on
the program. Well, let's turn our attention coach to the
coaching aspect of the game. And obviously, as a guy
that was an offensive coordinator and a head coach at
the highest levels, you've been in the fire. You've had
people being critical of you, and I'm sure you've had
a chance to watch some of, if not all, of
Clemson's matchups with LSU and Troy. And you know, one

(51:18):
of the things that that comes out, whether it's you
be in the OC, whether it's Tony Elliot, Jeff Scott
being the OC when things aren't going right, this is
the thing people will say, They say, Dabo Sweeney is
meddling in that playbook. He's he's he's changing the plays.
He's not letting, you know, Garrett have free reign over
things as a guy that's done both. Right, You've been
the OC, you've been the head coach. How accurate would

(51:39):
you say a statement like that? Is that the head coach?
Maybe not Dabo Sweeney, maybe any head coach. Maybe you
medals in the plays coach? Is that a thing?

Speaker 4 (51:48):
Well, first of all, let me let me just say this.
I love my Tigers, and I am Clemson through and through,
and I man's that's that's that's a program that's so
passionate and so just deep into the Morris family and
who we are is so much about the Clemson Tigers

(52:09):
and so uh and and because of that, it's it's
coach twenty and and and and having been there on
two separate occasions, I can tell you this. And being
a head coach, first of all, head coach has full
autonomy to do whatever he wants to do, whenever he
wants to do it. And that has to be you know,
that's that's that's being a head coach to have the

(52:29):
the the the capability to step in in a leadership
role when things aren't going right, or maybe you're getting
outside of the lines and you and you, hey, look,
let's let's get this thing back inside the lines. But
having been there, having been in that and having been
in that hot seat and calling those plays and being there,
I can say this. You know, there's nothing that that

(52:51):
coach Sweeney would do to come in that would try
to meddle in anything. If anything, Coach Tweney is all
about everybody being aligned and on the same page in
all regards. And so you know, I'm just speaking from experience.
You know, Coach Winey would walk in and and we
would we would have many a talks and uh and

(53:13):
it would be Chad, what about this? What do you
think about this? And and you know, hey, what about
a screen here? What about this? And you know, and
that's what head coaches do. They see the game from
another angle, and they're able to make and and and
and off of that. Hey, look, I like a shot here,
I like a run here. And as a coordinator, I
wanted that you want to hear those things because you can't.

(53:36):
You know, as a coordinator sometimes you look you're looking
through a straw and and you got to have people
around you that are gonna be hey, look, hey, let's
think about this. Let's think about that. Maybe it's a
discussion we had through the course of the week that
the heat of the moment, me as a coordinator, may
have forgotten somebody says, hey, don't forget this, or hey,
let's look at that, and so uh as far as

(53:58):
meddling known, there's there's Uh. I don't. I don't agree
with any of that.

Speaker 2 (54:02):
Again, Chad Morris here with us talking about the Clemson Tigers.
The other thing I would ask you, and I've always
been fascinated by this, whether it's you, whether it's Lane Kiffin,
whether it's Steve Spurrier, guys that call the game from
the sidelines. Coach, I can't. I can't, for the life
of me figure out how you guys do that. I
know you're relying on guys in the box.

Speaker 4 (54:21):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (54:21):
In your career, did you ever call from the press
box or have you always been a guy that was
down there on the field.

Speaker 4 (54:27):
No, I've been. I've been on this, I've been in
the in the in the box, and I'll tell you,
you know, a couple of different things calling from the box. Obviously,
it's the calmness, it's you know, the it's less chaotic,
all right, because there's a lot of moving parts that
happen on that sidelines. I liked and all the years
that I was there, and all the years I've called place,

(54:51):
I liked being on the sideline because I could get
a feel. I could get I could look in my
quarterback's eye. I could see what Taj Boyd is thinking.
And if if, if, if Taj had a far away look,
I knew how to handle taje or I knew I
knew somebody on her on it was Donnie Michaelvine, which
was which was a walk on quarterback for us, had

(55:11):
such a great relationship with Taj that Donnie would come
to me or I would go to Donnie, go hey,
look talk to Taj. I'm gonna go there in just
a second. And so because you see these things, You
sense these things, You have a feel and that and
I like that. I like to feel the vibes of
the players on the sidelines. Now, with that being said,

(55:33):
you know, my guys in the box were so critical
for me too, and relied so much on those guys.
I know, Danny Pierraman was up there and it was
such a such a big asset to us as well.
And so yeah, that was just me as a preference.
And you know, I've done it both ways, and I
don't know if there's a right or wrong way. It's
it's and and every year may be a little different too.

(55:55):
You just don't know, because every team is a little
different too.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
Yeah, look, there's no doubt about that. And speaking of
this team, this Clemson Tiger team, the offense has kind
of been the thing that everybody's been shocked about. Whether
or not it's it's on k Clubnick being a little
bit late on some of his throws. You know, I've
got some theories on some of the stuff that's happening. Again,
I'm undefeated coach as an offensive coordinator. I'm also winless,

(56:19):
So let's just put that out there. But what have
you seen in terms of k Clubnick's play, and is
that the larger issue that you're kind of picking up
right now from Clemson.

Speaker 4 (56:31):
Well, I think the biggest thing right now. And I
recruited Kates. Matter of fact, we were the first off him.
I was at OC at Auburn. We were the first offer.
And I've known Kate and known as family and obviously
comes from a great program. You know. I think the
thing is, you know, as you go through and it's
it's no different. You could say Chandler Morris just as

(56:54):
you are saying Kate Clubnick, Okay, okay. And so the
the the older you get, the game slows down. But
what happens is is, you know, there's so much build up,
There's so much, uh just from from the media, from
the fan base, just the the the the pressure that

(57:17):
sits on on that quarterback and and and and sometimes
guys just gotta keep you gotta play through it. It's
kind of like basketball. I mean, when you're all offered,
you just gotta just keep shooting. It's gonna you're gonna
find your groove and it's gonna take and usually it
takes one or two really good plays and somebody around

(57:40):
you helping you out to really kind of get you
clicking and starting to move. And so I think I
think back to your original question. The first two games.
Obviously you got to give L s U a ton
of credit there. There they were really talented team, really
really solid defensively. Was there some missed opportunities? Absolutely, but

(58:00):
that's gonna be every game. But the thing is is
just you know, you gotta be careful, just just overreacting.
And that's what I would always sell. Our quarterback says, look, man,
it's but we don't want to overreact. Let's just because
overreaction cause us to make impulse decisions. And when we
make impulse decisions because we're trying too hard. So let's

(58:22):
step back, let's breed deep, and let's focus on three things.
And you know I would tell DeShawn the same thing.
You know, matter of fact, if you look at Deshawn's wristband,
he has ABC on his wristband when he was playing there,
and the ABC stood for three. It was three things.
So when things aren't going well, there's a thousand things
to think of, but let's focus on three things. What's

(58:43):
your A, what you're being, what you're c and if
you look at Channeler Channel's the same way. It's ABC.
What's our three things? Then we don't think of maybe
it's eye placement, maybe it's be as breathe and cee.
Maybe you know, it could be just a release point,
or it could be you know, just stepping up in
the pocket footwork. It could be anything of those three things.
But it's it's three things. And we usually started the

(59:05):
first of the week and we talk about each quarterback
because his three things are going to be different than
than somebody else's three things. And but but that's it.
That so me as a coordinator and and and you
know those guys. Of course Garrett is so well knowledge
about all this. But as a coordinator, at that point
you look at and you go, okay, when things aren't

(59:25):
going good, when or they're not going like we wanted to,
he let's let's focus on our three things. And I
usually had that written down on my call sheet, so
I was able to go to Taj and go, hey, man,
don't forget we talked about eyeplacement. Have you have you
lost sight of that? So let's let's breed deep.

Speaker 1 (59:41):
Let's let's let's let's let's let's.

Speaker 4 (59:43):
Clout our release point and let's move forward.

Speaker 5 (59:45):
And so.

Speaker 4 (59:47):
I do think I think, I think here's a tremendous quarterback,
and I think that things are going to work themselves out.
Sometimes you've got to go through some some challenging times,
but hey, you know what, it's uh, that's part of it.
They're they got scholarships too. On the other side of
the ball, I don't care who you're playing, and they
want to win too, And so you as a quarterback
have got to navigate those waters and and don't try

(01:00:10):
not to do more than what you try not to
do more than you can. Just just do do the
simple things really good and everything else will come into play.
But yeah, I think I I think everything's gonna be
just fine. And man, I'm like I said, I watched
the games, and you know, it's just it was a
it was a weird game. But man, they got got

(01:00:32):
it rolling in the second half, and you know, maybe
that was it. Maybe that's what takes this thing and
kind of kicks it into deer. I know they got
a tough opponent this week in Georgia Tech, but but
you know what, it's a they're all tough. It's hard
to win now, I'm telling you, at any level.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
No, I agree. I can only imagine. And I think
that's the hard part for guys like me and for fans,
is we only see the output, right Coach on game day?
All right, we're gonna put coach on the whole. We
got about a minute till the break, and I got
a lot to get to with him, and so I
warned him this could be the case. I'm gonna punch
his line down again. Eight oh three four five zero

(01:01:09):
zero eighty six. Text line and phone line. If you
want to comment, you want to Texas anything about Chad Morris,
your thoughts on his time at Clemson, you could certainly
do that, and we'll we'll mention those when we get
back again. As this is a new segment, and I
am so excited about it because I truly believe that

(01:01:34):
not just because of his experience as an offensive coordinator,
but being at Clemson in twenty twenty three is going
to present us with incredible insight into Garrett Riley, k
Klubnick Dabo Sweeney like, there's a lot. There's a lot
that I think we can unpack as we peel back

(01:01:56):
the layers with Chad Morris here on the program over
the next what, nine, ten, twelve weeks? However long we can,
I mean, as long as long as somebody doesn't hire him.
But I guess, you know what, he's going to be
traveling around and watching his son play. So I think
we're good for a while. I think we're good for
a while as he goes around and watches Chandler. All right,
quick break, we'll come back with more. Keep it a

(01:02:18):
lot right here on Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred, Welcome
back in to Clemson Sports Talk on a Wednesday. Chad
Morris on the guest line, you can text us too,
ah three four to five oho zero zero eighty six,
Ato three four five oh zero zero eighty six. Derek
hits us up at say Swain. It's really cool to

(01:02:39):
hear coach Morris on the show. Yeah, it's awesome. It's awesome.
And so coach with that, you were talking about how
difficult it is to win, and I think, like I
said before the break, I think fans kind of forget that.
But Dabosweeny always says that, Hey, you know, we don't
get preseason games. It's the only it's the only level

(01:02:59):
of football where you don't get preseason games. I mean,
how valuable do you think those types of games would
be for players? And would that maybe mitigate some of
the early struggles that we've seen it It's not just
been obviously k klubk. I mean even Leonor Sellers here
for our game cock listeners, I mean Leonor Sellers is
off to a little bit of a slow start. I mean,
do you think a preseason or at least a game

(01:03:22):
or so it didn't count, would be good?

Speaker 4 (01:03:25):
Yeah, you know here, here's here's the thing. And and
you know, I know, and I referenced by you know,
you look at some of the teams last year and
my daughter is a director von campus recruiting for lang
Iffing at o Miss and my son in law is
on that staff. And you know, when you look at
their season last year, and you look at the non

(01:03:46):
conference schedule they played, and you know, there was no challenge,
there was nothing that caused any any any any bit
of of of of of chaos on the sidelines of
what could continue consider chaos us or or you know,
challenging times during the game. And and then you get
into conference and you know they lost to Tucky at

(01:04:08):
home and that was really the first time someone had
really challenged them. And so as a coach, as a
head coach, and I don't coach win you the same way.
You know, no one wants to go through the tough times,
but sometimes you have to go through those to really
find out the identity of of who your team is.
What we got to work on, who our staff is,

(01:04:30):
who's going to handle the who's going to handle the
heat well, and then and then be able to make
those adjustments and find out, Okay, well we we thought
we were this in fall camp, but really coming out
and going through a couple of tough times, maybe we're
more this. And so you got to you know, with
with no preseason games, as you said, you really kind

(01:04:51):
of want something to challenge you in some regards at
least because you're still want to win. That. Don't get
me wrong, I want to win with it, but to
win and go through a few challenge times, you know,
to me, I think it kind of builds some result
within your team early in the year, and and you
hope that it pays forward going down the road. I
know it did for us all all the years that

(01:05:12):
I was at Clemson. I mean, you know, we might
have had some tough games early and and man, just
to be able to come out of it and uh
and be able to to keep keep putting our foot forward.

Speaker 2 (01:05:24):
He'll be on the road to Charlottesville to see his son,
Chandler Morris lead the Virginia Cavaliers against William and Mary
this weekend. That game's gonna be on the a SEC
Network at noon. He's Chad Morris, coach. We appreciate your time.
I cannot wait for Wednesdays to have you on the
show to not only talk about the Tigers, but talk
about Virginia and everything going on around the world of

(01:05:44):
college football. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Speaker 4 (01:05:46):
Well, first of all, it's just an honor to be
on here and talking Clemson Tiger football and obviously talking
Virginia Cavalier and talking, you know about Chandler And you know,
I'm just I'm excited and and man, like I said,
I'm you know, I think I think the fan base
in Clemson is as good as they get. I've been
all over this country and man, I tell you what,
it's just a good bad times that they're always going

(01:06:09):
to show up. And that's what you love about.

Speaker 2 (01:06:10):
That Coach have a great week and a great trip
to Charlottesville. We'll talk to you next Wednesday.

Speaker 4 (01:06:16):
You bet take care, go Tigers and go Wahoo's.

Speaker 2 (01:06:20):
Yes, sir, no doubt, coach, no doubt. Appreciate it. Coach
Chad Morris, Casey says, glad you brought Chad Morris on SWANEE.
A lot of people forgot he came back as an
analyst in twenty twenty three, still invested in the program.
And Casey, I'll say this, talking to him off the

(01:06:47):
air for a few minutes that we did get a
chance to speak, blew me away.

Speaker 4 (01:06:53):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:06:53):
I mean this guy in a positive way, like he
is jam up. And you know it's weird because sometimes
the fruits of your labor you don't get the payoff
of the national championship. But I would imagine, and maybe
this is something we could talk to him about, you know,

(01:07:15):
as we go along with him every Wednesday, how do
you compartmentalize those championships that Clemson got after you left?
Because like, as a graduate, I know how I felt
about it. As former players, I know how they felt
about it. You know, that would be a solid question

(01:07:39):
in my opinion for Chad Morris. You know, how do
you feel about and did you feel when Clemson won
those national titles? Those guys in that staff that you
were so close to and kind of knowing that you
helped elevate the trajectory of that program. But you're not

(01:08:03):
there when they do it, right, Like, that's that's the
other side of it. You're you're not at Clemson when
that happens. As a matter of fact, I don't even
know where he was when it happened. Let me go,
I gotta pull up his uh, I gotta pull up
his coaching career real quick again. So he's at s

(01:08:24):
MU when they won the first one, he's at Arkansas
when they won the second. Head coaching in both situations,
so obviously he would have preferred to win the title.
But when you've kind of helped build and and put
those pieces in place, how do you feel about it
at that point? I gotta I gotta write these down.

(01:08:47):
I've had I've had so many thoughts come to my
mind just having coach Morris on the show. I'm gonna
have to take better notes on this and again thanking
all the textures again. You can't do eight oh three.
You can text two eight three four five zero zero
eighty six. All right, we'll hit a quick break a

(01:09:08):
Texter that you all know well, he's more of a
caller these days, if you will. Yep, you got it.
He's on the guest line. He's on the hotline. I
guess maybe that's what it is. Double O joins the program.
When we get back. Keep it lock right here on

(01:09:30):
Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred the Midlands, And of course,
you can listen to the Show that Shakes the South
Lane each and every afternoon from four to six o'clock
on Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred or on the iHeart
Radio application. And don't forget about our website, Clemson sports
Talk dot com. Put the dot com on a dog

(01:09:50):
on it. All right, we'll be right back with more
of the Show that Shakes the South Land back at
it clipses Sports Talk on a Wednesday. I told you
before the break, he's with us. Double Oh, my man,
what's going on, buddy? How are you?

Speaker 5 (01:10:04):
Hello? Ladies and gentlemen? Booh, you guys out, they're gonna
I'm gonna make all you guys, I know you're feeling
kind of sick right now. I'm gonna make everybody well
I'm the doctor. I'm diagnosed it, and I've got the
correct medication for everybody. So don't y'all frett because double

(01:10:30):
Ow is here to save today.

Speaker 2 (01:10:33):
All right, Well, talk to me. I mean I asked
Chad Morris about it and how to right the ship
for Clemson offensively. I mean, what do you think, doctor,
doctor double Ow.

Speaker 5 (01:10:45):
The doctor says that we need to come out of
the fog that we were in the first two games
because of the build up before the start of the
year about how great we're going to be. Well, I

(01:11:06):
think it got Swoll Swoll up a few heads and
they got overconfident. And as you know Lawton Swan, when
you get over confidence, what when you go into a
battle and you're overconfident saying, oh I can handle it,
I'm gonna take this. It's gonna be a.

Speaker 2 (01:11:24):
What happens, Well, sometimes you get your butt cut, double o.

Speaker 5 (01:11:31):
That is a fact, Jack. So let me tell you
they're gonna right the ship. It's a hard task to
do at Georgia Tech's home field. You know, we you
know we've been down that uh that alley before Georgia Tech. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:11:51):
The good news is the fortunate thing is, though Clympson
is one. Well, they'll be looking for ten straight in
the series. But you're right, there was a time where
this was a three game series. He's every single season
and beating the Yellow Jackets was incredibly difficult.

Speaker 7 (01:12:04):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:12:05):
It definitely feels like, though, this is gonna be a
tight one because, for one, their head coach is a
guy that you kind of makes you want to run
through a wall.

Speaker 5 (01:12:15):
Yes, sir, And I think if I am, if I
see things happening properly, as I look and stare into
my crystal ball, I see that Clemson is going to
get this, you know what, to act together and writing

(01:12:37):
the ship as like you say it, and they I
think they're gonna go out there and really put a
uh a good hurting on on on the Jackets. A
defensive somebody, somebody, somebody like Dabbo Dabo would be great

(01:12:57):
have He would be good. He's great at this talking
to these fellas and explaining to them, you know, the
real reality of what's going down. And I think Dabo's
got what it takes to tell them what, you know,
the words they need to hear to get them on
the right path. Our defensive line. Uh we uh they

(01:13:23):
need to step start playing up to their potential. Like
you said, the defensive backs of flying around not a problem.
Offensive lineman needs to start blocking. There's no excuse why
they shouldn't be able to. You got one. You got
juniors and seniors. We lost one offensive lineman last year.

(01:13:45):
There these guys that have plenty of experience should know
how to get the job done. Run Adam Randall, give
him a whole or two. Get it. Get What Adam
Randall needs is a few good ten fifteen yard games,
break one open with you know, get him out of

(01:14:06):
that done. You know what I mean? Yeah, get getting
some snaps, getting getting going and getting fired up to
where he can have confidence in himself to get the
job done, you know. And that what that's gonna what's
gonna get that done for him is get you know,

(01:14:27):
break a few runs here and there. And if the
blind blocks for him, it shouldn't be a problem for
him to break a few runs here and there. Then
then everybody's gonna start playing ball once they see you know,
what's one guy that you know, the defense starts playing
up to their potential, then then the offense starts getting
the running game going and everybody saying, oh well, well, well,

(01:14:50):
well we really do have it, and we're really we
really are a good team. We can and we can
do this. Let's do it, fellas.

Speaker 2 (01:14:58):
Look, I'm with you, double man. Hey, look, I appreciate
your calling, and uh, I try to tell everybody they
can do the same thing you do. All you gotta
do is text me, right, you say, Swanny, I want
to call the show and we get you on. Is
that true?

Speaker 5 (01:15:11):
I I can bounce for you. Just anybody out there
wants to talk like I'm talking right now, it's just
text law in the message. He'll get you on the air.
Primish you fellas, y'all, y'all, y'all, y'all, don't be bashful.
Let it. Let Maud know how you feel, and let
let everybody else out there and how you feel. It's

(01:15:33):
not a hard thing to do, It's very easy.

Speaker 2 (01:15:37):
Well, double o man, have a great rest of your Wednesday.

Speaker 5 (01:15:42):
Look forward to here. Hey, Chad, Chad sounds good. Haven't
heard from him in a while. Chet, mister Morris, Uh
sounding bring in some good stuff on the air, you
know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:15:54):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:15:54):
Yeah, look, still hopped up on red Bull and bubblegum.
I think it was great catching up with him in
every Wednesday, Double Oh. He'll be here, so that's gonna
be fun for us.

Speaker 5 (01:16:02):
I looked forward to it.

Speaker 2 (01:16:03):
My man, take care of Double Oh. Whoa, whoa? Did
we just get a little papal from the man, the
originator of the double Oh love it man. That was

(01:16:24):
awesome catching up with Double Oh, catching up with former
Clemson Tiger offensive coordinator Chad Morris as well, looking to
can't wait really to get the opportunity to talk with
him more the rest of the season Asier three four
five zero zero eighty six. All right, when we come back,

(01:16:47):
we'll put a bowl on the show man. It was
a difficult night last night for the Clemson soccer program.
The number two ranked Clemson Tiger shocked, shocked at home
by VCU the Rams. Clemson a little stumble there. Long

(01:17:09):
season ahead, a great, great Clemson site, Clemson Tiger soccer team,
but they just had some mistakes on that back line
last night that cost them. We'll wrap up the show
with that when we return. Stay with us right here
on fox Portradio fourteen hundred.

Speaker 7 (01:17:30):
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.
Look you 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 (01:18:43):
Final segment on a Wednesday. So last night, the Clemson
Tiger soccer team suffered a rather surprising loss at the
hands of v c U. Again, look, it's soccer. I've
been around it enough to know. Uh, you go see
some crazy things. But that Clemson's first loss, falling to
three to one and one on the year two to

(01:19:04):
one loss. Clemson had the first goal of the match
when Wabu Wusa excuse Mehbumosa scored in the fortieth minute,
beautiful goal just before half. But VCU scored twice in
the second half in the fiftieth and sixty second minute
of action to give them the lead. The Tigers will

(01:19:25):
travel out to Dallas to face SMU. Kickoff set for
eight o'clock on Friday. The matchup will be on the
ACC Network Extra And honestly, like you know, again, it's
it's one of those things. Clemson was number two in
the country. It happens. You get beat, you get beat,

(01:19:46):
but you hate to see it because it's such a good,
good soccer team that Clemson has. We'll keep it with
some of the other sports as we get closer to
kickoff of Georgia Tech. You know what, thinking about the
thinking about uh oh Man, why can't what's called Brent

(01:20:06):
Key for a second, Brent Key, who gave us this
gym last season. Thinking about his press conference and some
of the clips that we've posted on social media, and
you know, we run Dabo Sweeney's press conference here for
you from time to time, right, and we'll have some

(01:20:26):
of his audio post practice on our website too today,
but we'll probably play some of that for you tomorrow
along with Kye Club Nick. Anyway, that's what I want
to say. I think I'm gonna play his press conference
for you. Like I could not watch it and not
just laugh. I couldn't watch it and not just laugh because, guys,

(01:20:56):
it was it was like you went to a press conference,
but the person that was there didn't want to be
there and didn't want to answer the questions. Now, some
people might say that, some people might say that it
was about keeping bulletin board material from Clemson. Maybe so,

(01:21:23):
but I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:21:24):
I think.

Speaker 2 (01:21:27):
I think there's an area between giving bulletin board material
and doing what he did. Like what he did makes
me feel like that's somewhat bulletin board material, and you
just have to tune in tomorrow to hear it, because
like when he's asked about Kay Kleinick, his response is like, yeah,

(01:21:50):
it's so obvious that he's not wanting to say anything deflect, deflex,
so to speak. Oh no, man, I'll let you guys
here tomorrow. We'll hear k Club tomorrow. We'll have some
Dabo Sweeny post practice today for you tomorrow, Tim Bray
as well, of course Friday, Tommy Bowden. I mean, I

(01:22:12):
don't know, I don't know that you're gonna find a
better lineup than that. And we got Qualk on Monday.
Mike Youva's now doing Coastal Carolina, so we'll have to
get a new game cock to peek over the fence
and hang out with us on Tuesdays. But now we've
got Chad Morris on Wednesday, Tim Bray on Thursday, and

(01:22:35):
Tommy Bowden on Friday. You name a show with a
bearline up than that, You can't do it not covering
your tigers. No, No, no, no, all right, So I
mentioned I was gonna talk basketball real quick. Brad Brown
now on the clempsticker Man's basketball team. Not this season,
but next season we'll play in the Maui Invitational. That'll

(01:23:00):
be a lot of fun. The forty third annual Maui
Invitational Arizona BYU Colorado State, Ole, Miss Providence VCU in Washington,
November twenty third through the twenty fifth. And the last
time that Clemson was in the Mali Invitational was back

(01:23:21):
in nineteen ninety eight. I remember that I was in college.
Back then, Clemson played in the Maloi Invitational with wins
over Shamanad in Kansas State. So Clemson not this year.
Don't think Swanny this year. No, no, no twenty twenty six.
But that news just coming out earlier today that Clemson

(01:23:42):
will be playing out in the Malui Invitational. We did
get though this week the ACC basketball schedule. Of course,
the ACC adjusted the schedule this year, pulling back some
in terms of number of games. Have time looking at
the clock only got forty five seconds in the show

(01:24:04):
here today, So I can't give you that information today,
but I might dive into some of those numbers and teams,
et cetera, that Clemson plays tomorrow on the program. How
about that? All right, So again, thank you to Chad Morris,
Thank you to Morgan Thomas Man. Looking forward to tomorrow
with Tim Bray as well. And again we keep you

(01:24:25):
covered like kudzu overre on our website clemsonsports talk dot com.
All right, we'll be back tomorrow at four o'clock right
here on the show that Shakes the south Land. Until then,
as always, y'all take care now, hey go Tigers.