Sunday night notes: Swinney breaks down OL play, Tyler Brown

Dabo Swinney said he was pleased with the way his team responded this week.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Oct 01 19:06:24 GMT-04:00 2023

One Clemson offensive lineman played his worst game, and Syracuse used the run-blitz to stifle the Tigers’ running game, but head coach Dabo Swinney is still pleased with the play of his offensive line Saturday.

Clemson defeated Syracuse 31-14 in JMA Dome to pick up its conference win of the season. Clemson (3-2, 1-2) hosts Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1) Saturday at 3:30 pm. An open date follows the Wake game, and then a trip to Miami.

Swinney opened his Sunday night teleconference by saying that he was happy with the way his team responded after a tough overtime loss to Florida State by going on the road and beating a Syracuse team that was undefeated and ranked in the Top 10 in several offensive and defensive categories.

The Clemson offense picked up 389 total yards – 263 passing and 126 on the ground – and Swinney was asked about the play of his guards.

"I thought Mitchell (Mayes) probably had his worst game. He can and will play a lot better,” Swinney said. “He got caught on some spin moves at times and didn't play with his hands like he needed to. He's much better than that. I thought Trent (Howard) played well, and I thought Harris (Sewell) played well. It was good to get them in there early. Trent has some length to him. He's a pretty good athlete in there and did some good things. Harris is a young guy we are super excited about. (Marcus) Tate played well.

"We actually did a pretty good job ... most of their pressure was blitz stuff, unblocked guys. Mitchell will improve and get back on track this week. We like our depth. We thought our tackles played well, all three of those guys. They continue to compete and be very consistent for us."

Swinney said the early struggles in the run game were because Syracuse used the run blitz after the Tigers ran over and through the Orange defense a year ago.

“It was definitely what Syracuse was doing. We rushed for 327 last year against these guys,” Swinney said. “We knew they were going to run-blitz us all night. We hung in there, but they had some unblocked guys off the edges. We knew we were going to have to throw the football, and we did. Watching the tape, I felt pretty good about how we did outside of a few plays. Most of the issues were just a few unblocked guys. The touchdown to (Troy) Stellato was a corner-cat, but you can't block everybody. They were bringing more than we could pick up. We hit some screens and a few big plays down the field. Cade (Klubnik) created some big plays with his legs. It was definitely an effort on their part to try to mitigate our run game."

On Adam Randall

"Inconsistency would be my biggest thing right now. He hasn't had as many opportunities. We just have to get him to cut it loose. He's a great talent and a great player. We just need a little bit more consistency from him in a couple of areas. He's just inconsistent with his motor running all the time. When his motor is running, he is a handful. On that PI, he ran right by the guy. We just have to get him to consistently cut it loose. When he does, he's a problem. He's still a young player who's developing and maturing. Same with Stellato, who is in his third year and maturing. It's no different. Adam is a relatively young player and is coming off an ACL last year. He's trying to fully figure it out and get his confidence where it needs to be."

On Tyler Brown’s calmness

"I would just say he's a very mature kid. He's got a level of maturity that you don't see in many freshmen. That's who he is and how he has been raised. We have had a lot of really talented players, but the maturity isn't where the talent is sometimes. He's just one of the more mature freshmen we've had. You never know, though, until you start coaching a kid. He has been a natural. We saw it in camp. It has been fun to see him blossom. Last year's class, we have a lot of guys that I just think are outstanding young players.

"Tyler is as steady and as mature a freshman as we've had. And he's got elite ball skills. We knew he could really run, but I did not know just how elite his ball skills were. He's not a tall kid but he plays long and plays with a lot of extension. He has great contact and collision balance. He has a good feel for the game with the ball in his hands. I'm glad he is just a freshman.”

On Brown and Antonio Williams contributing early after coming in during the summer

“Used to be that was the way it was all the time. That was the norm. It was always that way. Travis Etienne showed up in the summer. I could go on and on and on. The midyear thing seems to be more of a norm now. But that's why we recruited them. That's why we decided to offer them. We have a process that we go through in how we evaluate, and we've got strong conviction on that. Antonio is just a sophomore, too. It's a really good group that will continue to develop. I'm super excited about that side of the ball. Just one senior on the offensive line, too."

On the defense

"The biggest thing is red zone defense. We have to cut some of those touchdowns into field goals. We had the wheel route. (Jeremiah) Trotter just looked back. When you look back, it creates separation in coverage. We have to convert some of those touchdowns into field goal attempts. We need more situational awareness, and we have had too many missed tackles. We can do some things better from a disguise standpoint. We have some things we can clean up. We've had a bust in the red area over the last two games. But ... these guys are playing their tails off defensively. It's been five really good games all in all."