Swinney appeared on The Roar FM on Thursday night to preview the upcoming season and named several areas that give him encouragement about a more explosive Clemson offense.
“Our quarterback definitely needs to take another step,” Swinney said. “We need to create continuity with the guys around him. That’s been difficult the last few years. We’re in a really good position right now and we’re really excited about the depth and competition we have at our skill positions. Our offensive line is made up of a lot of experienced guys and we think we recruited well and Matt (Luke) has done a great job there.”
He was an offensive playmaker last season and we will see a lot more of him in the future. Phil Mafah as well as.
“More mafah, more is better. If a little mafah is good, more is better… It’s that simple… He’s a damn horse,” said Swinney. “All right, we’ll saddle him and ride him as far as we can. I said CJ Spiller that this is his last year (as a player). I said we’re going to saddle you up and that’s exactly what we’re going to do with Phil Mafah. He’s built for it. He’s ready for it. And if he stays on the field for all 12 games, he’s going to have a hell of a season – there’s no doubt about that.”
Swinney revisited the origin story of Clemson’s five-game winning streak to end the season last year and is a big reason why he is optimistic about his team’s future.
“If you look at our team from last year … and why I said you better buy some stock in Clemson, you saw a team that had its back against the wall, a lot of adversity at 4-4 against a team that kicked our teeth in the year before (Notre Dame). Step up and show the character of this program,” Swinney said. “Show the heart of this program. Adversity reveals character. And that’s why when I saw what I saw in that Notre Dame game, I said, ‘OK, all right, let’s go.’ And you saw a team grow up. You saw a quarterback mature. And they took that into the offseason and now I’m excited about those guys. Yeah, we definitely have a tough schedule. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s never easy. It’s never easy, but I like it tough.
“And I have a group of guys who are committed to trying the hard thing, and that’s exactly what we’re preparing for.”
The Tigers (number 14) and the Georgia Bulldogs (number 1) will face off on August 31 at 12:00 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
