Dabo Swinney impressed with team toughness during first scrimmage

CLEMSON, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Clemson donned the pads and headed to Death Valley for the first scrimmage this year.

The Tigers treat this time period kind of like the NFL preseason schedule, says head coach Dabo Swinney. It’s an opportunity to get better without a win or loss being put up on the record.

Speaking of winning, Coach Swinney had a surprising winner for the day. He said usually these time periods are dominated by the defense. And considering the Tigers likely will have one of the best in the country, that was the assumption for the first scrimmage.

But no, it was the offensive line taking home the win in the trenches. Again, this is just the beginning of the process, but coach Swinney feels like he learned a lot about his team.

“I think this is a tough group,” Dabo Swinney said. “I thought they would be a physically tough group but until you really go play and you really turn it loose, the game’s just different when it’s all on your feet, thud type contact.”

“It’s physical, it ain’t like this. And we’ve got a tough group. We’ve got a tough group. Both sides of the ball. So, I’m pleased with that and I think I got confirmation on that today.”

Some unfortunate news from the scrimmage, defensive end Xavier Thomas sustained an injury and was seen carted off the field. No official word has been given yet as to the extent of his injury.

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