Clemson Football: Dabo Swinney wants a CFB Preseason
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney wants a College Football preseason. Who would the Tigers scrimmage against and is it a good idea?
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney thinks a College Football preseason would be an excellent idea.
Officials have toyed with the idea for years and it seems to have gotten some traction over the last couple of seasons, but preseason matchups, or scrimmages, are still a far way from being introduced into the world of College Football.
Obviously, every football fan would be in favor of seeing games, even if they didn’t count, early.
Swinney was on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday and here is what he had to say when asked about the idea of a College Football preseason, according to NFL.com.
"“Man, I would love to have the opportunity, even if it wasn’t in public, I’d love to have the opportunity to go scrimmage another opponent. Someone you don’t know much about. (Teammates) know all each other’s nuances and when you’re on a practice field day in and day out. … It’d be nice to be one team on a sideline and play against another opponent. I think it’d be awesome. That’s why the NFL does it. They go practice, they have preseason games, because you can only get so much done in practice.”"
Who would Clemson football play in a glorified scrimmage?
In my humble opinion, I’d think you see the Tigers matchup against smaller FBS or FCS teams or Power-5 teams like Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, or others that are from the same general area.
It’d ‘s a great opportunity for fans- assuming the games would be public- to see the progress of their respective teams before the official season begins.
The main setback?
Injuries.
If you have more playing time, you’re going to have more injuries. While a scrimmage can be beneficial to teams to see where they’re at, it can also be costly if star players go down with injuries.
I think you’d see College teams take the same approach as most NFL teams.
You would see the freshmen and walk-ons play a lot and the veteran starters play very little. All that being said, a College Football preseason would have been very helpful to Clemson football this season.
Next: Who will be Clemson's MVP in 2017?
Coaches and fans alike could’ve gotten some much-needed answers at the quarterback position and several other places, as well.
What do you think, Clemson football fans? Would you like to see a College Football preseason? Who would you like to see the Tigers play? Comment below!