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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF MEDIA CONFERENCE

December 30, 2019

Dabo Swinney

Grapevine, Texas

THE MODERATOR: At this time we will open the line up for Coach Swinney to make some opening comments and then our operator will explain the process for media members joining us who would like to ask questions. Coach Swinney?

DABO SWINNEY: Okay, well, first of all, just really want to just recap the other night and just what an incredible game by both teams. Just an unbelievable fight and will to win by both teams, and just super proud of our guys for finding a way to get it done against a great Ohio State team, a team that was very well-prepared, very well-coached, and just came down to the wire.

In the end, we pride ourselves on trying to finish in the fourth quarter, and we had to go 94 yards against the best defense in the country to get the lead, and then we had to stop the No. 1 offense in the country to keep it. And so I'm just proud of our guys for how they fought, how they handled adversity. You get down 16-0, and then to come back and score 29 to their seven, it's really all you need to know about who we are as a team, the leadership of the team, the character of the team and the fight.

So just unbelievable night. Long trip back, but we're excited about being in this next game and having an opportunity to compete against LSU.

I've had a chance to see them a few times this year, and they've just played flawless, really, all year long. Unbelievable what their quarterback has done, and just a complete football team in every sense of the word. Haven't watched a play of tape yet, but everybody -- we got back late last night, so everybody has got a day today just to decompress, and then as coaches we'll get back at it tomorrow and start putting a great plan together to give our guys a chance to go compete.

But excited about it, and again, just really proud of our team, and happy for our seniors that they get this opportunity.

Q. Coach, just wanted to ask first if everybody is in pretty good shape from an injury standpoint, and second, that game kind of seemed like the National Championship game against Alabama a little bit defensively in which Ohio State was able to move the ball well, especially in the first half, but you really bowed up in the red zone and were able to force them to field goals. I know you have a great defense in general, maybe the best in the country, but y'all have allowed the fewest touchdowns in the red zone of anybody all season. I'm curious why you think your defense is even better in the red zone.
DABO SWINNEY: Well, it's a tighter state. Red zone defense and red zone offense are both something that we take a lot of pride in. It's hard to score down there. That's usually one of the keys that I thought coming into the game. I've said this a couple times, and I told our guys, both teams can make big plays. Just because you make a big play, that doesn't mean you score. We've got to be great on red zone offense, and just because you give up a big play, that doesn't mean they score, because we're going to be great on red zone defense.

I felt like how both teams played in those areas would be a real critical factor. But we take a lot of pride in it. And again, you don't have as much space to cover. It's hard to score against good teams in the red zone. You don't have a vertical threat, so it just comes down to being able to run the ball. Your quarterback usually has to make some plays for you, and then it's match-ups, being able to win the match-ups.

Our guys have done a great job there all year, and again, it was the difference in the game last night because again, obviously we did not start off very well. We gave up some -- gave up a couple poor really big plays where we just didn't do our job.

But I'll tell you, the play by Tanner Muse was probably as big a play as there was in the game because of his effort, and I think that one play is the epitome of our program, and just his effort and fight to go and just give it all he's got to try to get Dobbins down on that one long run there was awesome, because that gave us a chance to play red zone defense, and we held them to a field goal, which obviously at the end there changes things if they only need a field goal as opposed to a touchdown to win it.

So just really proud of our guys, and again, their poise, and did not panic or anything like that. Just kind of stayed the course, and then our offense got it going, made some big plays ourselves, and were able to finish when we got down there.

That's really it. Just details and guys doing their job.

Q. And no injuries to report? Ross's shoulder is okay and everything like that?
DABO SWINNEY: Oh, there ain't nobody okay. Are you kidding me? We just came out of a 15-round bout. Coaches are sore. We're all sore. Everybody is beat up. That was an unbelievable game.

But again, our guys finished. Everybody who got hurt came back. It was just unbelievable to watch.

Everybody will be ready to go on the 13th, that's for sure, but today everybody -- I hope everybody is still asleep. Like I said, long flight, getting back, and players are off today and tomorrow just to recover, and we'll get back with them on Wednesday.

Q. Dabo, can you explain to me how Nolan Turner goes from getting like no scholarship offers to making that interception in a CFP semifinal?
DABO SWINNEY: That's God's plan. That's all I can tell you. He's an unbelievable player. He's talented. Same reason Tom Brady is a sixth-round draft pick. I mean, people miss. It's that simple. Adam Humphries makes $9 million a year, and he had one offer: Us. One Division I offer. Grady Jarrett was a two-star D-tackle and a fifth-round draft pick, and he's probably the second highest paid D-tackle in the NFL.

It's more than -- just because somebody labels you as something or don't label you as something, that doesn't mean that's the way it's going to be. That's just the way it is. A lot of work. I think football is a developmental game. Guys get better. So I think the recruiting process is really not good because you have so many people making decisions on ninth and tenth graders and miss out on a lot of seniors.

You know, a perfect example is our roster. I didn't know who Isaiah Simmons was or K'Von Wallace was until 10 days before signing day of their senior year. Never heard of them.

With Nolan Turner, that 2015 National Championship, we weren't recruiting DBs. I didn't have any scholarships for DBs, and all of a sudden after that game, T.J. Green, Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse, Travis Blanks all come to me and tell me that they're not coming back, and so I didn't know until after the game.

Next thing you know, we've got, oh, about three weeks to go to find some DBs. You know who we signed? We signed Trayvon Mullen, who's now with the Raiders, we signed K'Von Wallace -- I knew who Trayvon was but I had never heard of K'Von. We hadn't recruited him at all. Nobody, we had never made one call to Isaiah Simmons, we got Isaiah Simmons, and then I went back and watched Nolan Turner's tape, and I couldn't figure out why -- because we didn't have a spot. We weren't recruiting Nolan.

All of a sudden now we've got a spot and we're looking, and I watched his tape, his highlight, and I'm looking at it and I'm going, this guy can play. I called his coach, and I was like, Why does he not have any -- and his exact words, he said, I have no idea, he's as good a player as I've had in 50 years here being the head coach at Vestavia.

So then I took it down and I took it to Brent, and I said, Hey, I want you to watch this guy. Brent watched it, and he's like, Man, who's this guy, where is he at, and I said, That's all I needed to know.

Like I said, just God's plan. Just working that out. That's all I can tell you.

And then Nolan has worked his butt off to become a good player. He had a big interception in the Cotton Bowl last year. But the biggest thing, I just love his heart. I love his fight. He's not afraid to make a mistake. He missed a couple plays, but man, when it came back, and the interesting thing was his interception was in the exact same spot that the touchdown on 4th and 2 was, almost -- his feet were almost in the same spot. I just think that's a great visual, that hey, sometimes God takes you right back to your failure, right? So it was really cool.

Q. You've been asked a lot this year about the narrative that's surrounded Clemson in the national media in terms of not wanting to give Clemson credit for the accomplishments this year because of the schedule. Wondering when you feel like the perception or the narrative about this team changed outside the program.
DABO SWINNEY: In what regard? What changed -- what are you talking about?

Q. The way people viewed Clemson maybe the last couple of years --
DABO SWINNEY: Oh, this year?

Q. Yeah, compared to this year. When do you feel like that maybe changed?
DABO SWINNEY: Well, I don't know, just started early in the season. Early in the season we -- I don't know who else we can do. We beat everybody we played. But we dominated Georgia Tech, we dominated Texas A&M, we dominated Syracuse, we dominated Charlotte it seemed like. Trevor threw a couple interceptions, and that seemed to be the narrative early, and then people -- we just started looking -- everybody just started focusing on our schedule. That's really what the whole story -- I don't know why or what, but I guess that just was the story that people wanted to hear. You turned on ESPN, instead of all the good plays, all you saw was the bad plays of Trevor throwing an interception, what's wrong, this and that.

And then we had one close game on the road, a tough North Carolina team that played great that day, and we didn't play very well. But we won the game, and it was just -- that was kind of the tipping point probably where all of a sudden we drop, and then it just seemed like it didn't matter what we did, at that point -- well, they only do that because we don't play anybody. The story was more about who we play, trying to create how bad they are as opposed to who we are and who we've been as a program for a long time.

Listen, I know that every year -- I'm the king of that. Every year you start over. You don't carry anything over. I'm a thousand percent on that. But at some point you also have to -- it's not like we just showed up for one year. And so at some point you have to give a program the benefit of the doubt. We're a young team. We're one of the youngest teams in the country, played the most freshmen of anybody in the country, and we just grew throughout the year. But we really dominated 12 of our 13 games prior to this playoff, and that's really all you can do is play the schedule that you have. But it just seemed like the conversation was so much all year about who we play our schedule, which we have zero control over. We've averaged -- we try to play about three SEC games a year to go along with our schedule, and then we've been in the playoffs. We've played -- I don't know who else you could play.

But it just seemed like that became the narrative. I really didn't say anything about it until the South Carolina game. I just didn't like the question that I got.

But anyway, we've played somebody now. I think Ohio State was pretty good, a pretty good team. Our guys still found a way to win. So hopefully all that stuff can be put to rest and these guys can be recognized for just an incredible run. I mean, to win 29 games in a row is -- it's historic. I mean, it's just unbelievable how hard that is to do in today's world.

I just felt like people were -- there were some people trying to diminish what these guys have achieved, and to be able to just get up every single week and play at such a high level, so consistently, it's special to be a part of, and I was just really proud of them the other night and how they competed, handled the adversity, finished, and now we've got our hands full. It doesn't get any easier, that's for sure. But that's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way championship football is.

LSU pretty much dominated everybody they played all year, too. So it's a great match-up, the two best teams for this year, and we're excited about being in it and having a chance to earn it on the field.

Q. You mentioned the flight yesterday and how long of a day it was for you guys, and also the physical football game you played. Is it going to benefit you guys instead of having six or seven days to play this game that you're going to get the two weeks because you've got to go cross country and you played a physical football game and LSU didn't have that? Not saying they didn't play a physical game, but they didn't have to travel as far coming back from Atlanta like you did.
DABO SWINNEY: Well, I'm thankful. Hopefully it'll benefit us, but I'm thankful that we've got a couple days to just recover, rest and recover and that we're not having to leave on Friday. You know, I'd prefer to just go play, to be honest with you, if I was writing the schedule out. But hey, things always happen the way they're supposed to, and in this particular case I'm really glad that we've got a couple extra days, and like I said, we can give these guys a little time to rest and recover because it was a long trip and very, very physical game.

But these guys are young. They'll bounce back, and look forward to getting out on the field with them a little later this week.

Q. I know you've been caught up in your season, but I was wondering what's impressed you about Joe Burrow this season. You said you hadn't watched any tape from this weekend, but what you've heard or maybe seen on the TV with him this season.
DABO SWINNEY: Yeah, I have not broke him down or anything yet, but just the couple games I've been able to see and highlights and all that stuff, and then also just kind of how he represents himself. He's just a very impressive young person. You can tell he's just an inspirational type guy, great winner. He has great belief, and you can tell his team is highly motivated around him.

But he's played in big games and just is very poised in those situations. Got a chance to see him the Alabama game in Tuscaloosa there, so watched that one, and just very, very impressive in how he's competed all year long.

Just going to be a challenge. He's easily just statistically what he did is unbelievable. They really just shred everybody, and it starts with him, and it's not just his ability to throw the ball. He's got great receivers, offensive line. He's had a great run game sport and all that kind of stuff. But he's made great plays with his legs, too. He can move. Just very confident, very accurate, and it'll be a huge challenge, another great match-up, two great quarterbacks. So again, that's the way a championship game ought to be.

Q. I noticed after Trevor was kind of knocked on the ground there and came out for a play, he was just a different cat when he came back in. He told us a little bit ago that it kind of pissed him off a little bit because he said he could envision Ohio State cheering the fact that maybe they had knocked him out. Does that show what kind of competitor he is, the fact that he was behind really for the first time in his college career, he almost gets knocked out? What did you see out of him, and does it show you anything different than you've seen before?
DABO SWINNEY: No, that's just who he is. I mean, he is a fearless competitor. He has an incredible will to win, which starts with his preparation. I mean, when you work so hard at something, you invest so much into something, you're not going to just -- you're not going to just give it up, and he prepares relentlessly and just pays the price.

All of a sudden -- you're going to fight for it. I just saw what I already knew, and that is that he is just an unbelievable competitor and a great, great leader, and he just has a will to win that's special. It really is.

He has a great belief and faith. He was a little mad that he had to come out and sit out a play, but he just kept attacking all night long. He just kept attacking.

We did not play well -- I mean, and that's really one of the positives in the game. I would -- really only because of how we finished there in the fourth quarter, I would give us a B- if I was going to give us a grade. I would literally give us a B-.

But the beautiful thing about that is we still won the game, and I think that's -- when you don't have to play perfect to win, we can take some confidence in that because we made a lot of mistakes. We did some dumb things and had some missed opportunities and stuff.

But we hung in there, and again, we found a way to win. But we'll have to play much better in this next one to have a chance to beat these guys.

Q. There were some experts I guess early in the game saying if Clemson keeps running Trevor Lawrence he'll get hurt, but there on that last drive, on that 11-yard run, he's delivering blows. Is he more physical and a better runner than people think?
DABO SWINNEY: Yeah, he's 6'6", 220 pounds, and he's strong. He's a great runner. He just ran a 67-yard touchdown against Ohio State and ran away from them, so I don't know what else you need to say about that. They've got a bunch of dudes that can run on that defense. That's what I've said all year long. He's as confident in his legs as he is his arm, and he's grown into that. But he can move. He can flat-out move.

That's really been the case all year. He's really made a lot of big plays with his legs, scrambling around, extending plays, and then also just running it when he needed to.

But he made some big plays. Had a couple scramble plays last night and obviously the quarterback draw was a huge play for us and kept him honest just enough to set up a few things, but we've got to -- we're going to have to play better across the board, again. But it's all about winning the game, and I thought that that was the best part of it. Had to go 94 yards against the best defense in the country to get the lead, and then you've got to stop the No. 1 scoring offense in the country to win it, and that's the way a championship game -- Trevor led us down the field, did an amazing job, just in four plays. Super proud of him, and we've got one more to try to go get.

Q. Dabo, four of the last five seasons you guys have ended in the National Championship game. Is that an advantage over a first-time program like LSU getting there, and how big an edge do you think it is for you guys?
DABO SWINNEY: No. I mean, it's always good to have experience, but we won the National Championship with a true freshman quarterback last year. That was supposedly a disadvantage for us, a guy who hadn't been there. So I don't buy any of that stuff.

I love having experienced guys that can lead, but we're a really young team. We've got, again, 80 of our 120 are freshmen and sophomores. So they haven't been in four out of the last five National Championships. Our program has, so from a program standpoint I think that it definitely -- from a preparation and those type of things and the seniors that we do have, these guys, these fifth-year guys have been here for four out of the last five. So they have a good clear visual, but we don't have many of those guys. We've just got a few.

So it's fun. But that doesn't give us any type of edge or anything like that. It comes down to who these two teams are and who plays the best on that night, those four quarters, and finds a way to get it done.

Q. I was wondering how you feel about the time between the games given how banged up you said everybody was earlier on the call.
DABO SWINNEY: Yeah, I mean, it's great. This particular year it worked out good. If you asked me before and even now, I'd prefer to go play. I think playing on Saturday and then playing the following Monday, I like that. But in this particular case, it's a blessing for us because we can kind of give our guys a couple days to just rest and recover, and also the coaches. I mean, it's been a grind, so everybody has kind of got a day today to decompress and unpack. We didn't get in until late last night, a long trip, we got delayed about three hours or so. So just a day for everybody to recover and then the coaches tomorrow will get back in there and get rolling and get the team back in there on Wednesday. So we're excited about these next couple weeks. It's going to be a lot of fun getting ready for this game and just being in it and knowing that we're at this point and we've got a chance to go compete for it and we've earned it. We're going to give it our best shot.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach Swinney, and again, congratulations. We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans here in a few days.

DABO SWINNEY: I appreciate it, and congrats to LSU, too, and Coach O, and look forward to competing against those guys. What an amazing season they've had. It's exciting. We've got two great Tiger groups coming together, and going to be an awesome, awesome night for college football.

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