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Swinney and the Highway Patrol Officer race against each other on the field.
Dabo Swinney is a creature of habit, but if the Tigers run down the hill this Saturday before the Virginia game, Swinney will take a different route to the sidelines.
When Clemson ran down the hill in the last home game against The Citadel it was different. The cheerleaders and the band were on the hill instead of the field, and the Death Valley playing field was eerily empty. Swinney didn’t notice – he was up on the hill pumping his fists, enjoying another day of play experience.
As the cannons roared, Swinney was walking down the hill at his usual breakneck speed. It seemed to viewers that Swinney was running to the 50-yard line with his bodyguard, a member of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. When Swinney reached midfield, he found that things were a little different.
That means he’s going to change something this weekend.
“This is called creature of habit. I have to train myself, “Swinney told TigerNet. “I just came down the hill and like I usually do, you run through the band, go down there and turn left. I usually turn around and whack the guys up while they run through the band. So, I come down there and then suddenly I turn around and I’m alone – there is no one there and the team, like most normal people, just continues on the shortest route to the sidelines.
“So, yeah, I’ll go down the hill, but I’ll probably go a little more to the sidelines because there really doesn’t make any sense in going to 50 and then going left. At least our guys don’t think that makes sense if nothing goes through. So that’s what we’re going to do and it’s going to be fun. “
Clemson takes on Virginia at 8 p.m. on Saturday (ACC Network), and although fewer fans are in the stands, this is another chance to play a night game in Death Valley. The Tigers host Miami a week later (7:30 p.m.) in a matchup of the top 10 teams.
“It’s going to be great,” said Swinney. “Sounds like we probably have a couple of those night games on the way. But I just look forward to every game, no matter what time. You can tell us we’re playing at 10am and I would be just as excited. But it will be cool. It will be nice. It’s going to be a great atmosphere, prime time, all that kind of thing. Whatever juice our fans can bring, I know it will be in the stands, that’s for sure and a lot of excitement.
“So it will be fun, it will be fun to look forward to. We already had a night game at Wake, but nobody was there. This will be a slightly different atmosphere for us, and in this climate and in this world in which we operate, it will likely be as good as you can expect. This will be fun for our boys. ”
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