Tommy Bowden Press Conference Audio

Sept. 16, 2003

Head Coach Tommy Bowden met with the media on Tuesday for his weekly press conference. Clemson’s head man discussed a variety of topics including the Georgia Tech defense, Clemson’s no-huddle offense and more. Click to listen to the audio.

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Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden Georgia Tech Press Conference

Overall impressions of Georgia Tech: “Defensively, they’re really playing at a high level of intensity. Even though they won the Auburn game and lost the Florida State game, I think they played better defensively against Florida State than they did against Auburn. It looks like they have a good defensive scheme. Auburn and Florida State both tried to run, but could not.”

On the significance of Saturday’s game: “It’s most significant in that it is a conference game. It’s getting difficult to win in the conference period, much less on the road. You can see what’s happening from week to week, not only in this conference, but in all of college football. To win a conference game in the ACC, and now on the road, is much harder than it used to be.”

On the running game: “I was impressed with Kyle Browning last week. Duane Coleman gave us a nice big play on the touchdown catch. Reggie Merriweather came in late and ran hard at the end of the game. Then we’ve got Chad Jasmin lined up at tailback in short yardage situations, and he did a good job. Those guys all understand their roles and have been unselfish. The most discouraging thing is that through three games Charlie Whitehurst still has our longest run. We’ve got to find somebody that can break a long run.”

On Airese Currie and the receiving corps: “He never red-shirted and played as a true freshman. I think if a guy works hard and has enough skills, he has a chance to be productive. Our wide receivers had 24 knockdowns Saturday, which is probably more than we’ve had since I’ve been here. They’re playing at a high level of intensity without the ball, and Airese is a big part of that.”

On quarterback Charlie Whitehurst: “I think he completed 82 percent of his passes Saturday. He played really well. It’s hard to be critical of someone who was 23-28, but there were some minor mistakes. The Middle Tennessee game was a pretty good game for him, there’s no doubt. There are still looks he hasn’t seen yet, and he’ll get some this week. The bullets will come faster this week against Georgia Tech. He’ll have to make quicker decisions, and that can only come from more experience.”

On Clemson’s defense thus far: “I’d like to play better on defense. We gave up too much running yardage Saturday. I thought we did in the first game and in the third game. Against Furman, we held them to 175 yards and 25 of that came on the last play. I thought our defense played really good defensively that day. We’re not to the point where I feel comfortable going into conference play. Our run defense is not good enough right now, and there’s a higher level we can play