The Clemson football team cranked up preseason camp on a hot Thursday in the Upstate as the Tigers began the countdown to their season opener against Georgia. But despite the miserable temperatures, head coach Dabo Swinney was “All-In.”
“Mo hotta, mo better,” Swinney confessed. “Ran about four miles today at lunch. I love the heat. They practice in it; they train in it all summer long. It’s nothing new to these guys.”
Ultimately, it wasn’t the heat that was the problem; it was rain. A thunderstorm pushed into the area as the Tigers and Carolina Panthers were hoping to venture outside. The Clemson players waited out the relatively brief storm by stretching in their indoor facility before heading outside for the start of practice around 5pm. Meanwhile, the Panthers had to delay the start of “Fan Fest,” which was also taking place on the Clemson campus. Gates for that event opened around 5:30 p.m.
Prior to the start of practice, Swinney met with the media to preview the start of summer, er, fall camp. The veteran head coach touched on a wide array of topics, including the injury situation, the position battles that will take place over the next month, and one former Gamecock he wished he’d been able to get on campus sooner than today.