Dabo Swinney Extremely Optimistic About State of Clemson Football Program

Head coach Dabo Swinney is extremely confident that the Clemson Football program has a very bright future and is set up for long-term success.

ORLANDO- Don't tell Dabo Swinney that the Clemson Football program's best days are in the rearview mirror.

Despite the Tigers failing to make the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2015 and despite Clemson seeing its run of six consecutive ACC Championships come to an end, Swinney maintains that the future is extremely bright for the Tigers.

"We got a great young nucleus of players," Swinney said on Tuesday. "Got just about everybody (coming) back."

Looking ahead to the 2022 season, this Clemson team loses very little. On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers get almost everyone back up front, lose only Justyn Ross from the receiver room, and should be in better shape at quarterback a year from now, at least from a depth perspective.

Swinney's defense is likely to see a little more attrition, although not nearly enough to suggest that his program has taken a step backward. The longtime head coach is more than convinced that the Tigers are going to be just fine and that at some point the 2021 season will be viewed as nothing more than a temporary setback.

"There's not a single lineman that's gonna play (in the Cheez-It Bowl) that won't be back," Swinney said. "The running backs are back and initially we'll get all these receivers back. We got an unbelievable tight end room. We got a great young quarterback that's gotten better and better through the year we got a great recruiting class coming in, with nine midyears."

"We gotta pretty good defensive line, we might lose one, but they could all be back. Everybody inside is back. We may lose a corner, definitely lose one. Lose a safety, a couple of linebackers but we got all those great young guys that have gained a lot of experience. We got our kicker back. He's pretty good. We got a couple good young snappers nobody knows about that zip that sucker back there, and still got another Swinney to hold the ball."

While the Tigers no doubt failed to live up to expectations in 2021, Swinney has faith that this season has just been another step in what he considers the process. That every obstacle his team has faced this season can be used as a learning experience. Not to mention having what he considers one of the best coaching staffs in the country, as well as a roster littered with elite-level talent.

"I mean, we got a great coach and staff," Swinney said. "We still are in Clemson, South Carolina. We got the best game day experience/environment in the country. I mean, I don't know what else I can say. We just won nine football games. And you know, we were a couple plays away from being in the playoff. Our team competed, every snap, all year, and never made any excuses. And they're all here. So, I mean, if I can't get excited about that, I don't know what else there is to be excited about."

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