Dabo Swinney Press Conference vs GT: What we Heard

“I think it’s fun. As a competitor you like opportunities like this to play and have a national audience,” Swinney said during his Tuesday press conference. “As a coach I’ve always liked to watch the Thursday night games. That’s kinda neat. It’s good for our guys to get a couple of days break at the back end of it. It’s a challenge – I don’t like the short weeks, and I would rather have some time before but it is what it is. It’s the same for both sides. This is a hard thing to do – two games in five days. But it’s fun, too. We embrace it. At the end of the day, you like to play. And so we get to turn right around and play and that part of it is good.

“We are fortunate that we are pretty healthy. We embrace it, and I enjoy it more when we play well. We look forward to playing in front of the country Thursday night, and hopefully we continue to improve.”

“Their offense is very good led by their quarterback. He’s a three-year starter who knows all of the nuances of this offense,” Swinney said of Thomas. “He knows where all of the crooks and crannies are, and he doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to throw the football. You want to watch the tape and not see a good, accurate thrower, but that’s not what you see. You turn on the tape, and he’s making back-shoulder throws. They had a 4th-and-20 against Boston College, and he completes a seam route right down the middle, stops the receiver with the ball. Scored on the first play of the game against Vandy on an 81-yard touchdown pass.”

“Excited to get started in ACC play this week and chase our next goal, which is to win the division and that’s what we’re focused on,” Swinney said. “Definitely have a tough challenge. It’s a difficult turnaround for us – and them. It’s hard for both teams to get ready really in three days. Today is a Thursday practice for us and we travel to Atlanta tomorrow. It’s been a crazy few days getting ready. I love how our team has handled it and how they’ve responded from a preparation standpoint. Georgia Tech is always an incredibly difficult team to prepare for, but even more so when you’ve got a short week to get ready. Had a great practice last night. These guys are dialed in and excited about starting conference play, having to play our best game to this point. They know that’s what it’s going to take to have a chance to win this game.”