Watch Coach Swinney’s Press Conference Live on TigerCast Tuesday at 11:00 AM

Sept. 15, 2009

CLEMSON, SC – Video of Head Coach www.clemsontigers.com via TigerCast on Tuesday, September 15. The press conference will begin at 11:00 a.m. and is free to all viewers.

Coach Swinney’s weekly press conference will be broadcast live on TigerCast each week throughout the 2009 season. Sign up today and watch Coach Swinney preview the game with the media each week!

Click on the link below to watch the press conference on TigerCast:

Swinney Press Conference – September 15, 11:00 AM

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Swinney Press Conference Quotes

Opening Statement: “We are off to a good start for Boston College. We had a good practice last night. We had a good meeting Sunday night to put the Georgia Tech game to bed and watch that film. The response was very good and the energy was good on the practice field.

“This is our first division game, which is obliviously very critical for both teams. We are excited about getting back to Death Valley in front of the home crowd. If you look at this team it is a typical BC team. Coach Spaziani and his staff have done a tremendous job.

“Defensively they are what they are. Every year they are one of the best defenses in the conference. They are a hard team to consistently move the ball on. They are one of the best against the rush in the conference. This year it doesn’t look any different. They have six starters back. They don’t beat themselves. They are a defense that plays sound fundamental, technical football.

“They have a nice little pressure package as far as scheming up your protection. They do a very good job every year. They have some young linebackers this year, which is a little different from what we have seen in the past. Their young linebackers look pretty good to me.

“Just looking at them the first couple of games, they have the number one scoring defense in the conference and only give up 3.5 points per game. They have only had one touchdown scored against them, so we have a big challenge there. They have held their opponents to 19 percent on third downs so they have done a nice job defensively.

“Offensively the first thing that jumps out is they are very balanced. Gary Tranquil is the new offensive coordinator, and he is a very seasoned football coach. They have six starters back on offense as well with four of their five starters back up front. The biggest thing this year is they have two quarterbacks. They won’t change their system for either one, although number-seven seems like a guy they would want to run some zone reads with. We will prepare for both of those guys.

“They have a good running back in Montel Harris, who is a very good player. He was Jamie Harper’s teammate in high school. He is not a very big guy, but a powerful runner. The biggest thing that jumps out about him is he gets good yardage after contact. They have a veteran wide out in Gunnell. He has played a lot of ball and caught a ton of passes, more than any other active ACC receiver.

“We have to cut down on giving up big plays defensively. They are averaging 14.3 yards per catch so we have to make sure we do a good job. Scoring 44 points a game and only giving up 3.5 will make it an interesting matchup, and they have the number one punter in the conference. This is not a team that usually beats themselves so you have to knock them out.”

On every game in the series coming down to the end: “Well Matt Ryan is one reason. He beat us three years in a row in close games from 2005 to 2007 and he is a pretty good player. We have been pretty competitive teams first of all with our styles of play. It is a division game with teams that have been fairly matched in the past. I think our fans have a genuine respect for one another. We expect Boston College’s best and they expect our best. There have been a lot of good players who are laying it on the line whenever we come together. Usually this game has meant something, and fortunately we were able to get one up there last year.”

Seems like the team is in a positive mood after loss, what does that come from? “We have a great coaching staff and leadership on this team. You don’t fool football players. These are smart guys, they watch the film and know where issues are. They know what you have done well and not done well. They understand things they can control and the things we can’t control. Every one of them wholeheartedly believes that we are a better football team now than we were at this point last week.

“It is one thing to think you are doing the right things, but it is another to know you are. If you want to know what “all in” is then you watch that ball game. You see a group of kids that believe and are committed to a standard of excellence. That doesn’t mean that we are going to be perfect, but if we can maintain that type of commitment and effort then you have a chance to be a pretty good football team. What you saw the other night was our effort and will to win that is uncommon. They are a close football team.

What did you learn about yourself last Thursday? “I learned that we are doing the right things, that we are on the right track , that we hired some good coaches. These are things that I knew, but confirmed them Thursday night. I learned that I am human and I make mistakes too. I also learned that there is nothing less important than the score at halftime, it is never over until it is over, and you just fight with everything you have and that is all you can do. You do your very best and that is what we will continue to do.”

Does Boston College do anything unique? “No. Here they are, come get you some. They are what they are and do what they do. They don’t try to trick anybody. They line up and play sound, fundamental football. They have pressures and they will have NCAA blitzes. They are not exotic by any means. They don’t give you huge opportunities as far as getting behind them, so you have to take advantage of those chances when they do come. That is something I think we have done a good job of in the past against these guys. We have gotten behind them a time or two, but most of our big plays against these guys have come when we have just gotten in space and guys made a play.”

On Kyle Parker’s development: “He is exceeding my expectations for sure. He has very high expectations for himself. I really didn’t know until I watched him in the spring because he really didn’t get a rep. Kyle came here in his first spring (2008) and played baseball. All last fall the majority of the time all he did was stand there. He may have had five or six snaps of work.

“This spring he really studied and got serious about football. When we hit practice he was ready, you never would have thought this was his first significant playing time at quarterback in college. He is making some mistakes and made some minuses. I love his demeanor and I love his response. He is competitive. He doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but he is just a confident kid and has great skills. I think he brings out the best in those that are around him.

“You just feel like you have a chance. He can throw the ball anywhere at any time, which can sometimes be a negative. He has great awareness in the pocket. He has a good feel of when to step up, when to shuffle, when to bail. We have not had many sacks, which is a good thing and I think he is a big reason for that. I am very impressed with him. He is just going to get better. I am glad we got him.”

On seeing CJ and Jacoby’s speed in high school: “I have never seen anyone as fast as Jacoby. I have seen some Spiller speed in my day, but Jacoby speed is another deal. The interesting thing is you can tell how fast CJ is when you watch him, but you can’t with Jacoby. He is such a powerful, smooth runner. Speed is a hard thing to coach against and we have to continue to recruit those guys. These two guys are just blazing fast and they take a lot of pride in it. I think track has been great for them. I think our track coaches have done and super job and they get a lot of confidence from that.”