Clemson Tigers College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2018

You’ve been at this stage before. How much does that help you guys, if at all? It may not, but describe the experience of being on this stage before compared to a squad like Notre Dame that hasn’t. I would say just the experience. And when I say ‘experience,’ I’m speaking to just kind of having a calmness of mind and knowing you’ve been here before. You don’t have to play better than you have before or worse than you have before. This shouldn’t change anything that you’ve done with your preparation. Every game’s the biggest game as the next one, that kind of mentality.

Describe what you see in that Notre Dame defense when that guy wearing 2 (Jordan Genmark Heath) is on the field? I just think they’re a more dynamic team in general. He really brings that extra threat, the X factor in the team. In fact, he really runs that ball with a lot of force, a lot of downhill power. And when he gets away from people, he can really get away. He’s got a lot of speed to him. I think he just adds that much more fear, and the defense knows he can really get out there and run.

When it comes to the devotion and dedication of this particular team on this stage, is it true you guys went full pads on Christmas Day? Yeah. Tuesday practice was just like any day. We got our little Christmas brunch for about an hour, and we got there in pads and hit each other just like every other day. So Merry Christmas to everybody, I guess.

Do you think there’s a chance that Dexter [Lawrence] could play? I’m not too familiar with the situation.

You haven’t been told? No. We’re hopeful. Obviously Dexter’s a huge part of our team, and we want him out there just to kind of help us out. But we’ll see.

He’s really been a great leader for our team, helping the younger guys. So I feel like whether he plays or whether he doesn’t play won’t affect our preparation at all.

We’re going to get ready in the same way.

Are you guys preparing a lot of use from Notre Dame’s tight ends, maybe multiple at the same time? Yeah. I think they have some good tight ends and they play a good game. I think you have to account for them coming at those sets, not just passing as well. They’re good blockers, so you just got to be ready for them.