Tigers Get Back To Work

Tigers try erasing 2-3 start

By: Clemson Athletics | WSPA-TV
Published: October 06, 2009

Clemson, SC—Clemson returned to the practice field on Monday for a 90-minute workout. The Tigers have two weeks to prepare for their next game, the October 17 contest with Wake Forest at Clemson’s Death Valley. The game has been set for a noon kickoff and will be televised by Raycom.
Clemson has lost two in a row and has a 2-3 record entering the open date. All three losses have been by four points or less, including the 24-21 loss at Maryland this past Saturday.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney did not announce any drastic personnel changes on Monday. “Our biggest issue is we have to focus on fundamentals the next two weeks. We have to coach them better. There is a perception and there is a reality. I know what the reality is because I live in the reality. We have to teach them how to win.
“It is very disappointing right now. But, we’ve got to execute better. We must do a better job paying attention to detail. That means eliminating bad penalties on both sides of the ball, eliminating dropped passes, taking bad sacks, missing tackles, and missing assignments. We’ve got to correct these mistakes.”
Swinney and his coaching staff will have two full weeks to prepare for the Wake Forest, who will play Maryland on October 10. Plus, next Monday and Tuesday is fall break at Clemson, so there will be no classes those two days.
Swinney feels the open date will come at a good time. “We will get Chris Hairston back at tackle and the time off should get C.J. Spiller back to 100 percentage. We need the additional time to correct our mistakes. We will work on Wake Forest, but we also need to focus on us and our fundamentals.”
Clemson is 0-2 this year in the games Hairston has missed and 2-1 in the games he has played.
C.J. Spiller will be limited in practice all week as he recovers from a toe injury. Scotty Cooper was limited in practice on Monday. He suffered a slight concussion in Saturday’s game and hopes to be back at practice on Wednesday. Chris Chancellor sat out Monday’s practice with a strained back.