Gamecock Digest

Everything Dabo Swinney Said About South Carolina & The Palmetto Bowl

The head coach of the rivals of South Carolina's Football team, Dabo Swinney, met with the media on Tuesday to talk about the upcoming game.

Andrew Lyon

Everything Dabo Swinney Said About South Carolina & The Palmetto Bowl
Everything Dabo Swinney Said About South Carolina & The Palmetto Bowl /

General Thoughts On This Week

"This is a week we all look forward to. Rivalry week all across the country. If you're a college football fan, this is always a special week. Truly the whole week. It's always something [that's] fun to be a part of and something I certainly appreciate and don't take for granted, and I've been a part of a lot of these. I guess this is my 20th one of these and [was a part of] 13 Alabama, Auburn games. So, you know, a lot of fun to be a part of. You know, games like this that really matter to so many people."

On If Gamecocks Dashing Their 2022 CFP Hopes Gives Them Any Extra Motivation, Along With Them Fighting For Bowl Eligibility

"It's always juiced up, regardless of what the ramifications are. I mean, you know, it's always a a big deal every single year. I mean [it] really is. I mean you just you want to win this game whether you're 0 and 12, 0 and 11 or 11 and 0, you know you want to win the game. So yeah, I mean that hurt us last year for sure, and we got what we earned."

On Spencer Rattler's Escapability

"They do a good job of, you know, he doesn't just sit in the pocket very often. I mean, it's, you know, swap boots, setting edges. You know they got tight ends in there all the time creating edges for him to get outside the pocket to extend time, and then he's an explosive player. I mean, if you give him time, he's incredibly, incredibly accurate. He can make all the throws but when he gets out of the pocket, you know, and he doesn't get enough credit for his running ability. He can run; he can really run. He's crafty when he runs. He's a smart runner. He does a good job protecting himself, but he can go," Dabo explained. "They don't just leave him in the pocket, you know? I mean they'll max protect and give him time to let some of these crossers [develop]. They run a lot of deep shot cross country, you know post backside, you know deep crossers, they run a lot of those type of plays, and you know those things take time. So they will Max protect or they will boot him and get him outside the pocket to allow those types of things to develop. And then he can throw it on the run, or he can pull up and let it go. So I think he's a very good player. I think he's played really well. I mean he's made good decisions, and he does create a problem for you, you know with his legs and his arm. You know, similar to Drake [Maye], who we just played, and he can extend, you know, - and I think I think Rattler's a lot like that. 

On His High School Evaluation Of Xavier Legette & His Development

"Yeah, I don't remember like specific evaluation at at the time, him coming out of high school, but I think he's developed incredibly well. I think he's going to be a big time pro and you know, he's a great reminder to everybody that this is a developmental game. I mean that's just the way it is," Swinney Lamented. "Legette is is perfect example of that. I mean he's just put the work in; he's gotten better. Obviously he's been well coached. I mean he's just you know he's put the work in the film room, the weight room. I mean he's a big strong presence and then his confidence grows and next thing you know you look up and here's this, this senior that's a monster."

On What Makes The Palmetto Bowl Unique

"From my perspective, coming from Alabama, you know, growing up Alabama, Auburn my whole life, you know, it's just coming here to me was just more of the same, you know, very normal to me. I think what makes it unique is the same thing that makes Alabama [versus] Auburn unique, and that there's no pro sports in this state. Even if you're somebody that just moved into this state, like if you moved to Charleston, there's a lot of people who moved to Charleston, right? You moved to Greenville. You're not going to be able to live in those areas long without going, 'Ok, what's going on around here? These people are crazy!' And you're going to you're going to get sucked into it one way or the other. You're going to have to [choose a side] or otherwise you're going to lose some friends. You're going to have to make a decision. They're not going to let you ride the fence. Even if you're a fan of another team, you're going to have to get invested one way or another. So, it just means a lot to this state. I mean, it's college football, and it's high school football in the state of South Carolina and, again, that's normal to me having grown up, not to diminish any other rivalries or anything like that, but a lot of these, you know, you mentioned Ohio, I mean it was a lot of pro sports in those states, right? But that's just not the case here, you know? So it's all about college football and it's an old rivalry. This goes back a long time. So it's got deep roots, just like Alabama, Auburn. I mean again, it's very similar to me. When I first came to Clemson, you know, I didn't really know what to expect. Certainly, I never lived anywhere. My whole life, 33 years, I lived in Alabama, and we move up here, remember going out on the road that first spring. And I was excited to get out of my house, the PD area. And so, you know, down in Horry County and Florence and, you know, Cheraw and all up Hwy. 9, and Lamar and Chesterfield and Mcbee and you know, Sumter, you know all of that area, Loris and Lakeview, where there was no lake and Lake City where there was no lake. I remember thinking that's going to be great. I'm going to Lake City. Well, there was no lake. I'm like, I can't wait to go to Lakeview. There was no lake. But you know, going to all these areas in my PD area and it was crazy because you people don't know who you are. They don't know you. They don't know you from Adam. They have no idea. But they judge you instantly when you walk into school, and you got on the logo. They hate you. That's just the way it is. So all I can tell you is that's probably what makes it different. It's just really personal in this state and vice versa. You walk in, it's a Clemson person, and they're your the best friend they've ever met in their life, even though they just met you. So it's a rivalry.

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Andrew Lyon
ANDREW LYON

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