Swinney on Derion Kendrick, looks ahead to Georgia-Clemson

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney joined former Georgia head coach Jim Donnan and Dayne Young of UGASports for an exclusive interview Wednesday afternoon.

There was plenty to discuss.

Along with his take on the Sept. 4 opener between his No. 2 Tigers and No. 5 Bulldogs, Swinney also went in depth on former Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick, expected to play a key role this fall with Georgia.

A member of the first-team All-ACC squad last fall, Kendrick brings a wealth of talent and experience to the Bulldog secondary. Ironically, his first game with the Red and Black will be against his former team.

“I love DK, he’s a baller, there is no doubt about that. DK loves to practice, and he loves to play,” Swinney said of Kendrick. “Sometimes in a relationship you need a change, you need a fresh start and that’s kind of where we were. I’m happy for him.”

Last year Kendrick started eight games for the Tigers, finishing with 20 tackles, six pass breakups, a sack and an interception and a fumble recovery that he returned 66 yards for a touchdown.

“I hate we’ve got to play him because he’s a great player, but I’m happy that he’s at a good place where he can finish up the right way,” Swinney said. “Hopefully, he’s grown to the process and can be the best version of himself this year. He’s a baller, there’s no doubt about that.”

Other highlights of the interview include:

Swinney: “They’re a complete team, especially with a couple of pieces they were able to add this off season. I don’t know, maybe there’s four or five teams that have a chance to win it all, the type of things you need, quarterback, depth, etc., and they’re one of those teams for sure. This is a heavyweight matchup. They don’t really have any weaknesses. The quarterback they’ve got who came on last year, the backs, the offensive line, the defensive front, and they’ve shored up their secondary. They did lose a great receiver (George Pickens), but you check the recruiting rankings, they’ve got plenty of players over there.

“But it’s exciting. I’ve always said Clemson and Georgia should play every year. We’ve got to go to Texas to play Texas A&M, Georgia’s got to go out to play UCLA, Oklahoma, whoever. I grew up watching the Georgia-Clemson game. This was one of those games you always watched. It’s tough. It’s a tough matchup because you’ve got a high likelihood to get beat in a game like this, but it’s exciting because there’s an edge when it comes to opening with a game like this.

“This is one of my frustrations with college football, we don’t get preseason games. You’ve got to figure it out. In the NFL, you get to play a couple of games, evaluate, and try to figure some things out. Here, this is a top 5 matchup, maybe a top 3 matchup right out of the gate. To me, the hardest game of the year is always the opener because there is so much unknown in the opener. You’ve got new people and you don’t have any video evidence of anything. You’re just going in the dark and hope that things will be similar to last year and you’ve had way more time to prepare for this game than you have at any other time in the year.

“So, there’s always unknowns, plus you throw in the fact that you’ve got two really, really talented teams. It’s going to be a good one.”

Swinney: “The first thing is our backup quarterback. Tyson Phommachanh tore his Achilles in the spring. The good news is he’s practicing every day. He’s doing all the skelly, team stuff, indy. We’re not letting him go live yet but he’s going to be back sooner rather than later. I’m really excited because I thought he was going to be out for the year when this first happened, but he looks great. But who is that backup I the immediate? Getting the backup and ready to go in, to win for us. We’re one rolled ankle away from him having to go, so that’s probably the biggest thing for me.

“The second thing is, we’re so much better in the offensive line than we were this time last year. We had six guys I felt we could win with and this year I think we’ve got a chance to have nine, 10, 11 guys. So, getting that sorted out who is the best five, who is 6-7-8, we’ve got a lot of work to do there, but the good news is we’ve got competition and some good pieces.

“The next thing for us is we’ve got a lot of guys. We’ve got 20 guys who have started games for us on defense, including seven starters on the defensive line. But the one area that we’re thin at is corner. We’ve got six guys on scholarship, so I’m hoping we can stay healthy at that position as we go throughout the season.”

Swinney: “With DJ, that just shows you, his mentality. He probably could have started at 125 schools last year, but he wanted to come here, and he wanted to learn. He wanted to see Trevor and he wanted to be in that room with him. I think that shows you the self-awareness of DJ and how he thinks from a long-term perspective. So, he’s been special. Coach Streeter has done a phenomenal job coaching those guys; I think our culture has done a good job helping to prepare them for that position and all that comes with it. I just think we’ve been able to evaluate and condition at a very high level at that position. I think DJ is on his way.”

Swinney: People always ask me that question and my answer has been the same since the BCS. I was fine with the BCS. I think the BCS got it right. I just think college football has always been different. It’s always been different. And going this route, which is where it’s going to go, so it doesn’t really matter what I think. If it’s fan-driven, money-driven, whatever… I’ve just always thought college football was unique. And the unintended consequences when we went from the BCS to the four-team playoff, nobody was opting out when it was the BCS.

“Those bowl games were important, finishing your season, all those type of things. I think, the more you do this, you become just like the NFL, or even the NBA. Football is not a tournament sport, first of all. This thing isn’t built that way. I think there’s going to be more and more unintended consequences. I wouldn’t be surprised to see kids opting out of the playoffs if you go to 12 [teams in playoffs], to be honest with you.

“My big thing is, now all of the sudden, again, you’re undefeated, you’re in the playoff, and you got this rivalry game at the end… Well, yeah, you want to win the rivalry game, but do you really want to play Trevor Lawrence in that game? And you got the playoff next week, and you know you’re in it? Just like what you see if the NFL. It’s all about the playoffs.

“Just like in basketball… No one watches regular-season basketball. They watch the playoffs. But, if that’s the model we’re going to, I think there’s going to be some changes. Ultimately, I think there’s going to be some type of mega-conference—40, 50 teams, or something like that… 12, 14-team playoff.

“Whatever the rules are, we’ll embrace them and go to work on them. I’m just not a huge fan of it. And some people will get mad and say, “Well, you’ve been in the playoffs.” And, I always say, “If we can get in with four [teams], we can get in with 12.” So, it’s not going to decrease our odds. It makes it more of the same [as basketball, NFL, etc.] than different and unique. And, college football has always been different and unique. That’s just my opinion. I’m in the very small minority when it comes to that.”

Swinney: “It was amazing when Justyn was cleared. These guys have watched him for 18 months and everybody knows what his potential is. The injury was something that no one could see, and yet he looked so normal—everything looked normal with him. It’s really a blessing we had that situation occur, and we found out the situation he had since birth.

“His doctors were unbelievable. Justyn has really grinded for 18 months to get back. And they watched him all year and not knowing, 50/50 at best going into this. And, so, when he was cleared, it was a big, big thing—and everybody was happy for him. He’s a great player. But it’s more about his opportunity to do something that he loves to do, and he’ll be a part of the team in that aspect."

“As far as Coach Donnan, it was a big deal to meet a head coach out on the road recruiting. I was kind of the Lone Ranger over there, going against Mickey Matthews, Jim Donnan, Rodney Garner, and that whole crowd. It was like they were ganging up on me in Sandersville, Georgia. But I got a couple [recruits] out of there. I’m not sure they (Matthews, Donnan, etc.) wanted them. That’s where I first met him (Donnan). Of course, I’ve followed his career—an unbelievable career. I still remember that banquet we had over there that night at Washington County High School, and he was the speaker, and I was out there by myself. I thought, well, I’m probably [up] against it here. I’ve always respected him. And we have some mutual friends, as well, some friends that I’ve met, and played some tennis with. And then, again, I’ve just kept up with him, his whole career

“I know that he just went through a loss in his life. Coach, I’m thinking about you with that. I hope you’re doing well. Coach Donnan represents a lot of great things. There’s been a lot of lives touched through the platform of football. I hope, one day, I can be retired and have great relationships with my players, and still be able to go play some tennis, and some golf, like Coach Donnan can.”

Swinney: “This (Georgia-Clemson) will be a great game—two great teams. Obviously, we want to win, they want to win, but this is what college football is all about. And guess what? There’ll be a game the next week. So, whether you’re 1-0 or 0-1 (record), that one (game two) is going to matter too. This will be hopefully an awesome crowd, an awesome environment, to kind of kickoff this thing off for both teams.”