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CUTrevor
2018-11-13 09:35:43
I've got a bad fever I must have caught on the plane from Boston, so I'm going to miss my first press conference in 4 years. I'll have the video for you, though, as well as quotes and player interviews so stay tuned! |
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CUTrevor
2018-11-13 13:13:57
DABO: We’re excited to be back at home and finish our season at home, first of all. We’ve been on an ‘every other week’ type of deal for a while, so it’s exciting to know that we’re going to finish here in the Valley. We’re excited about a night game here in the Valley. It should be a lot of fun for everybody. This is going to be a great week. This is always a special time. I cannot believe it’s game 11…it’s just crazy. It’s flown by so fast, and I’m just trying to enjoy it with this group of seniors that we have. I love being around them as people, every single day. Obviously, they’re great players, but [I love] who they are as young men. It’s Senior Day [on Saturday]…it’s going to be awesome, and I know we’ll have a great crowd to come out and tip our hat to these guys and what they’ve done. And, ironically, they have an opportunity to make some history…on Senior Day. There are several different cases of it. Obviously, they have a chance to get their 51st win [as a class], which is an ACC record, if they can take care of business. [Hunter] Renfrow has a chance to set history with one catch and career starts for a receiver. Same thing with Christian Wilkins…he has a chance to make some history with career starts at defensive tackle. Mitch Hyatt in career starts overall…he already has the snap record. So, there are a lot of neat things in play for these seniors this week. Not to mention, [they have] the opportunity to get an 11th win and stay on track for the postseason opportunity that they want to achieve. We’re excited about the game, and it’s Military Appreciation Day as well. That’s always an incredible day here at Clemson. I think our people do as good of a job as anyone in the country with that. But let me tell you, we have a good team we’re getting ready to play. Duke is 7-3. First of all…let me just say this…David Cutcliffe is as good of a coach as there is in the country. He’s a good friend and has been for a long time. He’s one of my good friends in this business, and I just have so much respect for who he is. But what he’s done at Duke has been unbelievable. The consistency that he’s established there…the program, the culture. Watching their guys play and how they play…as far as their belief in what they’re doing, it jumps out at you. That doesn’t just happen. David has done an unbelievable job. He really has. And this is a really good football team…7-3. We haven’t played Duke in quite a while and haven’t studied them as much…we haven’t had a ton of crossover tape on them. So I have to tell you…I enjoyed [the tape], but then I didn’t enjoy it. Really going through and watching all of their tape…this is a good football team, and a well-coached football team. They believe in who they are, what they do and how they do it. They put their guys in a position to be successful. Looking at them offensively, this quarterback [Daniel Jones] is spectacular. He’s as good as there is in the country. I haven’t seen everybody out there in the country, but he’s as good as there is in the country. I cannot imagine this kid is not going to be a high, high draft pick. He’s 6’5” and 220 [pounds], and he is accurate with great arm strength. He’s a special, special player. Last week against North Carolina, he had one run for 50 yards and another one for 70 yards…I mean, he can run. He can pick ‘em up and put ‘em down. I am incredibly impressed with their quarterback. Everything goes through him…the zone read and RPOs and stuff…everything goes through the quarterback, and he absolutely knows what he’s doing and knows where to go with the ball. And he’s surrounded by some really good players. Their receivers are really, really good. [Chris Taylor] is a very polished route runner. That [T.J. Rahming] is quick as a hiccup…he is fast as lightning and hard to cover in space. They have very good tight ends and are very cohesive in the offensive line…very well-coached. They’ll do a great job. I don’t know if y’all have watched much Duke tape, but y’all are going to be in for a treat watching this quarterback play. He’s a special player, and I don’t have any doubt that we’re going to have our hands full with him, especially with the skill around him. And then their running backs…[Deon Jackson] is a fast, explosive runner and is averaging 5.5 [yards] a carry. To me, this is one of the biggest challenges that we will have defensively all year with how they play, the people that they have and their scheme. Defensively, [it’s the] same thing. They’re well-coached and very well-positioned. They play a lot of man coverage. They challenge you and will mix in some zone stuff and try to disguise that. They have had a couple of injuries…[Dylan Singleton] is a great player for them, and I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to play or not after he got hurt last week. But again, this is a well-coordinated group defensively that is very seldom out of position. Their style of play will force us to have to win some one-on-one matchups and try to get the ball into some space and make some guys miss some tackles…there are going to be some unblocked guys with their style of play. But we’re excited about it. They have four road wins as well, including one of those road wins at Northwestern, and Northwestern just won their side of the Big Ten. They’ll be playing for their conference championship, and Duke went to Northwestern and won. That just gives you a little bit of insight into who they are and what they’re capable of doing. We’re excited about the challenge and look forward to being in the Valley on Saturday night and having a great atmosphere to honor our seniors. I know our guys are excited about it. [Also,] I’m really proud of our team for how they performed last week, finishing up our road schedule undefeated and being able to go up there and take care of business.” On how he met Cutcliffe and the duo’s relationship: He’s an ole Alabama guy, first of all…Banks High School. We never worked together, but [spending] 13 years at Alabama, you meet a lot of people that are connected to the University. He was always at Tennessee, for years and years, so we crossed paths many times over the years. Then, he was the head coach at Ole Miss, and Marion Hobby was a mutual friend. I got to know him even more through Marion. Marion was with him at Ole Miss and with him at Duke…I actually hired him from Duke. So, both of us have been in the coaching business for years and have the tie to Alabama…and all those years at Tennessee, and us playing them every year…I just got to know him a little bit. And, this is my 10th year, and he came in the [ACC] the same year that I got the interim job. We’ve kind of been together the whole time in this league. Over the last 10 years, I’ve gotten to know him really well. He’s always on the Nike trip and stuff like that, so I spend a good amount of time with him. I have a great amount of respect for who he is…he’s a great man and a heck of a football coach. He’s consistent and is all about the right things. He’s definitely one of the good guys in this profession. |
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CUTrevor
2018-11-13 13:22:43
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CUTrevor
2018-11-13 13:42:42
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