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CUTrevor
2018-09-19 11:20:29
Audio for Dabo and Paul Johnson is below, and I'll have transcripts added in a bit! |
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CUTrevor
2018-09-19 11:27:56
DABO: For us, jumping into conference play this week, we've had three good weeks, kind of first quarter of our season, if you will, to grow our team, learn a lot about ourselves, things we got to continue to do well, things we need to improve on. I think it's the seventh year in a row we've gone on the road for our conference opener. This is going to be a tough challenge for us for sure. Georgia Tech is coming off a tough loss. Really they're a couple plays away from being 3-0 literally. This is a talented team, prideful team, a well-coached team. Atlanta is a place that's always been tough. This is a great rivalry. But we're excited about it. We know for us to achieve our next goal, which is to win the division, we're going to have to play well on the road in this conference as we start this eight-game stretch coming up in conference play. Like where our team is. So far I feel good about our week of practice, where the guys are in their mental approach to what we got to do this week. Q. How many days a week during the season are you in full pads? Does that taper off at all as the season progresses? DABO: Yeah, we will taper later in the season on certain things. But we're always in full pads on Tuesdays, then we go in shells on Wednesdays, which is just shoulder pads. Mondays, Thursdays we're in basically shorts. We do wear we call it a vest, just a little thin layer of protection on their shoulders, just protect them from bumping into somebody, if they fall. We're really only in pads on Tuesday, Wednesday, but full pads on Tuesdays. Q. Update on when you expect to get Jordan Williams back? DABO: He's kind of day-to-day, progressing well at this point. Q. The ACC and the CFP are celebrating Extra Yard for Teachers. Can you give us an idea of how teachers impacted your life. DABO: Oh, yeah. I mean, I grew up in a small town. Certainly when I was there in Pelham, Alabama. I was fortunate that I was able to grow up there in one place. I didn't have to move around as far as changing schools, things like that. Then I had two older brothers. I was the baby of three boys. I got to know a lot of the teachers along the way. By the time I got to the next grade or whatever, most of them knew me because I had been around, my brothers had been there and stuff. Man, I tell you, from my own just personal background as far as things that I kind of grew up in as a kid, my teachers were a huge part of just shaping me and encouraging me, helping create the drive in me and the discipline. I remember all my teachers, from my kindergarten teacher, Miss Payne, to my first grade teacher, Miss Puckett, my second grade teacher, Miss Wilder, my third grade teacher. I could go on and on. Another Miss Payne in the fourth grade, Miss Autry in the fifth grade, Miss Andersen in the sixth grade, Miss Smith in the seventh grade. I was so blessed. I had so many great teachers that really just poured into me. That's what teachers do. Then we call coaches coach, but coaches are teachers. They're teaching a game just like a teacher teaches a subject. A teacher may teach math, and coaches teach football. But you're using that to also prepare them for life. I've been so fortunate in my life, so many different coaches and teachers. A lot of them I'm still in touch with to this day. I'm very, very fortunate for the people who poured into my life academically and athletically along my journey. That's kind of what I see in myself today with the opportunity I have, I see myself as a teacher. Yes, I'm teaching a game, but I'm also teaching young people how to do what's right, how to become a man, how to handle adversity, sacrifice, be a good teammate, help them think through some things, see the bigger picture of life. Q. Could you kind of give us an update, K' Von Wallace, how has he developed for you, how important is he for you in your secondary? DABO: He's doing awesome. I mean, we're just really a total transformation. Played as a freshman, a good player for us. Last year you kind of saw him really kind of coming into his own. Just that experience and his understanding of what it takes, just the transformation mentally, his mindset this spring and this summer, what he has to do to be a great football player. It's been awesome. I mean, just watching him practice, he comes to practice with a lot of energy. He's just very confident in what he's doing. He has worked incredibly hard to develop his body. He's fast. He's physical. I mean, he's we feel one of the best players we have. He's one of the best players we've had come through here, to be quite honest with you. He has the potential to leave here as one of those better guys that has played in this secondary for us. The thing I like about him the most is just the fact of his energy, how he practices every day. He likes to play, and he's taken on a leadership role in this football team this year, which has been very needed. Q. We were looking at the end of the A&M game, he had the flukey play that led to a touchdown, comes back, makes a big play. What does it say about him that he's able to move on from something this didn't go his way there? DABO: Yeah, it's huge. That play is a great teaching lesson really for both sides, both teams. I used it that way for sure. If he doesn't just go the next play, if he doesn't give the type of effort there, then there is no drama. He created that drama. He went and he literally punched the ball out and created the whole deal. He didn't give up on the play. That's such a great example to his teammates. Q. Graham Neff, Georgia Tech graduate. What has he done the most for your football team as well as administrator? DABO: Wow, I'm getting a Graham Neff question. Is this like his uncle or something? I'm going to have to tell him about this (laughter). I love Graham. We keep him on a high alert when we play Georgia Tech. He's been awesome for Clemson, he really has. He's been awesome for Dan Radakovich. He's kind of his right hand man. Graham is such a great liaison. There's a lot of times I talk to Graham, if it's something I don't need to bother Dan with or whatever. He just has a great demeanor. He's very intelligent. He understands college athletics. He's just awesome to work with. First time I met him, I don't know, maybe he's been here four, five years. First time I met him, I thought he was a student because he looked really young (laughter). I think he has really enjoyed his experience here at Clemson. We certainly have enjoyed him and his family. |
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CUTrevor
2018-09-19 11:28:30
I'll have Paul Johnson transcript posted in a bit! |
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CUTrevor
2018-09-19 11:53:09
PAUL JOHNSON: Good morning. Certainly we got a huge challenge in front of us this week. Clemson is a very good football team. They're very talented. They do a good job in all facets. Certainly we're going to have to play better to have a chance this week. Having said that, we're looking forward to hosting them and hopefully we can turn it around, get ourselves going in the right direction. Q. Could you tell us a little bit about Nate Woody, your defensive coordinator, what he brings to the table for you? How does he differ philosophically? How much of a challenge is it preparing for two quarterbacks? PAUL JOHNSON: Well, I think first of all, it's a completely different scheme than what we've been doing. We're a 3-4 defense. In the past we've been even front. I think he would like to be aggressive, but not to say Ted wasn't aggressive either. I think he'd like to be aggressive. We're in the infant stages of putting the stuff in. I'm sure he can't do everything he would like to do yet. But we're excited about him being here. He has a really good track record at other places he's coached. As far as preparing for two quarterbacks, you really prepare for the system, then you start to look at the individuals. Both those guys are very talented in their own right. They both can run and throw. They're not a whole lot different actually as far as preparation. They're not going to vary much from their system when they play either quarterback. Q. At this point in the season, do you have benchmarks or things that you're looking to learn about the team? How has your team met some of those maybe questions you had going into the year? PAUL JOHNSON: The first couple games have been frustrating. The second game we played a good South Florida team on the road. Special teams and defense we weren't very good. The last game, the first half, we didn't bother to show up offensively. We were horrendous. We dug ourselves such a hole. We won the second half 19-3. We dug such a hole, we couldn't get out of it. That's been an issue. We knew going into the season we had a really tough schedule. We haven't done enough to win the games. We've got to do better. Got to coach better and got to play better. Q. Anything about the identity of this team that is different than you expected? Does that happen often in your career where you expect one thing and kind of get something else as the season unfolds? PAUL JOHNSON: Every team is different. There's still a lot of football left. There's nine games left. I think what happens sometimes is everybody either gets too excited or too down about the first two or three games. It's a long year. Every team is different. Each team will continue to develop their identity. Q. I know you were talking about some of the things to work on and whatnot. You said some people look at these first few games, go into that, don't see the whole season left. What are some of the positives you're looking to build upon from what you've seen from your team this season early on? PAUL JOHNSON: I think our effort has been good. I thought we played much better defensively in the last game, especially in the second half. The kicking game was better as far as the kickoffs, that kind of thing, a week ago. We continue to struggle place kicking, in some areas. We really ran an ill-advised fake punt that we didn't particularly execute very well. All those things you got to improve on. The major thing for us is we've historically been a really good third down team. We're not playing very well on third down on either side of the ball. We've got to quit turning the ball over. We're not good enough to turn the ball over. We seem to have done that in every game this year. Q. You mentioned Nate Woody. What can you say about the institution of his defense, how that transitions, how is that coming along, what you want to move this team forward? PAUL JOHNSON: Well, I think it's a learning process. Hopefully the more you play, the better you're going to get. You have to make some strides. I think our kids enjoy playing in it. You just hope to get better as you go along. Certainly this week will be a huge challenge. Clemson has a lot of great skill players. Q. This week the ACC and the CFP are celebrating Extra Yard for Teachers. Could you just give us an idea what role teachers played in your life. PAUL JOHNSON: I think just to kind of sum it up in a thing, teachers are probably the most important people we have in society. They spend a lot of time, more time, than anybody except maybe the parents with young people. I think they help to form their goals and aspirations, their character, all those things. I have the utmost respect for teachers. |
