Clemson Football Practice Report

Aug. 20, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson returned to the practice fields behind the Jervey Athletic Center for a two-hour and 15 minute workout on Friday. The Tigers were much improved over Thursday’s workout.

“We were much better today on both sides of the ball, and is a good thing that we were,” said Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney. “After yesterday’s poor performance I was looking for improvement and I saw it. There was a lot more energy. Maybe it was the music we played at the beginning of practice during stretching.

“We have some extra days built in to the preseason the way the academic calendar falls. We are installing some things during these three days that we will see over the course of the season. It is a good time to work so that when we are in the middle of the season, we will have some recall.”

While the Tigers in the middle of practice after practice without a game at the end of the week, Swinney felt some energy today. “It is getting closer so that you can almost smell it. We took a break in the middle of practice and you could hear the band practicing. That gets you excited for the season.

The Tigers will have a regular practice on Saturday morning, then will have Fan Appreciation Day Sunday at 3:00 PM at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The Tigers will be back to the practice fields next week. Tuesday’s practice will be a half scrimmage, the last scrimmage action of the preseason.

Rod McDowell was upgraded to a green jersey for Friday’s practice. He suffered a concussion last Tuesday during a scrimmage. Scotty Cooper missed the practice with a neck strain. Drew Traylor also missed the practice due to a sprained ankle. DeAndre Hopkins was limited, but improving due to a shoulder injury. He was in a green jersey on Friday.

After the regular practice, Swinney held walk-on tryouts for almost 50 Clemson students. The group ran through drills for about 40 minutes.