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Dabo Swinney feeling old thanks to two firsts for Clemson football coach vs Virginia
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- Dabo Swinney feeling old thanks to two firsts for Clemson football coach vs Virginia
CLEMSON — Saturday will be a festive day for Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney .
Swinney will watch his former running back, C.J. Spiller , get inducted into the Tigers' ring of honor pregame. Then, he and No. 9 Clemson (5-1, 4-0 ACC) will face his former assistant, Tony Elliott, and Virginia (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday (noon ET, ACC Network) at Memorial Stadium.
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"I'm actually growing up," said Swinney, who is 54. "For the first time in my career, I got two firsts coming up: my first player going into the ring of honor ... and then my first time to coach against one of my guys in coach Elliott, so a special weekend all the way around."
Swinney became Clemson's wide receivers coach in 2003 at age 33 and Elliot was a leader in the room in his senior season. Their relationship blossomed when Swinney hired Elliott as the Tigers' running backs coach in 2011. Elliott climbed the ranks to become the team's co-offensive coordinator from 2014-20, then full-time offensive coordinator in 2021.
Swinney said he remains in contact with Elliott and even their wives, Kathleen Swinney and Tamika Whitner, still communicate. Elliott said this week Swinney was a father figure to him when he coached him, then turned into a mentor when he began coaching before becoming a colleague when he became Virginia's coach in 2022.
Still, Elliott knows Swinney well and expects Clemson to bring its best when the game starts.
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"I'm pretty sure pregame there'll be some smiles and some laughs, but once they blow the whistle and kick the ball off, it's like any other game," Elliott said. "... One thing I know is when it's go time, (Swinney's) going to try to put it on us."
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Virginia has Clemson ties besides Elliott too. Running back Kobe Pace, defensive back Malcolm Greene and tight end Sage Ennis played for the Tigers before transferring to the Cavaliers.
Virginia's head strength and conditioning coach Adam Smotherman, offensive analyst Maverick Morris, director of recruiting Justin Speros and director of football operations Lindsey Morris are among staffers who spent time at Clemson with Elliott.
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"It'll be a well-informed group coming in here to challenge us," Swinney said.
Swinney on CJ Spiller being inducted into Clemson's ring of honor
Spiller committed to Clemson in 2006 and played four seasons with the Tigers. He earned ACC player of the year and All-America honors at running back and kick returner in 2009. He tied the NCAA record for career kickoff return touchdowns (seven) and logged 7,588 career all-purpose yards, which rank third in NCAA history, with 50 touchdowns.
Swinney said Spiller was his first five-star recruit, first player taken in the first round of the NFL draft, first NFL Pro Bowl selection and first college football Hall of Famer. Now, Spiller, who is Clemson's running backs coach, will be Swinney's first Clemson ring of honor inductee.
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"If there's anybody who deserves to be in that ring of honor, it's this guy right here because he changed things," Swinney said. "He was just that first little fuel on the fire if you will — we had a little bitty flame, and man, he was that first big spark that kind of led to where we are today."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: How old is Dabo Swinney? Clemson football coach feels age vs Virginia
