Clemson coach Dabo Swinney added a little edge to the buildup before LSU and Clemson meet, and he did it while weighing in on a bigger issue in college football.
During a Tuesday press conference, Swinney was asked about former professional athletes trying to make their way back into the NCAA. He made clear he’s not a fan of where the sport is headed, and he didn’t hide how he felt about the current landscape.
“Rarely am I at a loss for words, but I’m at kind of a loss of words. I would just say it’s kind of embarrassing where we are with college football.
And I don’t blame the kids and people trying to take advantage of the system. I just think it’s embarrassing where we are with college football… We just kind of, no pun intended, we just stay in our lane, here at Clemson.”
That final line landed with obvious force. LSU and coach Lane Kiffin have been among the most visible programs tied to the effort to sign former pros, and Swinney’s comment was clearly aimed in that direction.
With the season opener only days away, the remark adds another layer to a game that already had plenty surrounding it. If those players wind up on campus, they’ll also be hearing that their situation was described as “embarrassing,” even with Swinney saying he doesn’t blame them.
LSU already had motivation to get off to a strong start, and that pressure only grows from here. The attention around Kiffin’s arrival had already made the Tigers a target for plenty of outside noise, and the new controversy gives critics even more to grab onto.
Rather than push back against that image, LSU has embraced it. The football administration building now features a graphic that reads, “if you want to win at the highest level, you have to become a villain in someone else’s story.”
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