Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Was Happy to Get Back Out Recruiting, Eating Grits

After close to a year of being off the road, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was ecstatic to be back out recruiting.

Jason Priester All Clemson

Lost in all of the news of changes to his coaching staff over the past couple of weeks was the fact that for the first time in almost two years, Dabo Swinney was back out on the road recruiting for his Clemson Tigers.

It's been a wild couple of weeks as the longtime head coach had multiple in-home visits, as well as visiting committed prospects and their coaches at their individual high schools.

"It's been a fun couple of weeks recruiting," Swinney said. "You know, first time I've been on the road since January of  '20. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around that. You know head coaches go on the road December-January, so last time I've been on the road was in January of '20."

Swinney has long been known for his recruiting prowess and is considered by some to be one of the best "closers" among all college football coaches. With all the staff turnover the Tigers have experienced over the past week or so, that reputation has been put to the test.

After Brent Venables officially accepted the job at Oklahoma, Clemson quickly lost three verbal commitments from the 2022 recruiting class, and Swinney has been out trying to ensure that the Tigers do not lose anymore ahead of the early signing period that begins on Wednesday.

"To be able to get out for the last two weeks and go all over the place, get back in schools, get back in homes, it was awesome," Swinney said. "I had one Mama, she said 'I'm sure you probably like to zoom.' I said 'oh no, you don't get these grits through zoom, I enjoy every second of it.' And again, just realize how much you miss that part of this job. So it's been a great couple of weeks."

Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, staff writer Will Vandervort and recruiting analyst Jason Priester on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!