PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – “He looks a lot like Joe Burrow.”
Clemson 10-year defensive coordinator Brent Venables on Kenny Pickett’s game in 2021.
“He’s really good,” Venables said. “He’s going to play in the NFL. We’ve seen a bunch of good quarterbacks and been beaten by them, like (Ohio State’s) Justin Fields. He’s a lot like Burrow from an experience, calmness, accuracy, can run, makes all the right decisions.”
“Having a heck of a year; got a good compliment of players around him, just like Joe did. In a good system that takes advantage of his skill set.”
“This guy is a NFL player,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said of Pickett. “There is no doubt about that. Very accurate thrower. Very confident, he’s got more of a complete group than the team we saw last year.”
As noted by Venables, Swinney believes Pitt’s offensive success is not just because of Pickett.
“That offensive line is a very experienced group and he’s playing with a lot of confidence behind them,” Swinney said. “He’s (Pickett) a freed up player. He’s a sixth year guy. He’s very confident. He’s incredibly well coached.”
“There is no greater teacher than experience and he’s got all of this experience to draw upon and he is applying all the lessons he learned in his career. You see that.”
“He’s a special player. The game is very slow to him. He knows where everyone is. He is a master of the game within the game.”
Venables, a veteran of 25 years of coaching without a losing season and coached in eight national championships games, said the key for Clemson is to get Pickett off rhythm. He likely will mix up his coverages and be aggressive coming after the Panthers QB.
A two-time national championship coach, Swinney said Pitt sophomore receiver Jordan Addison is ‘great’. He believes Lucas Krull is one of the top five tight ends in the nation. It’s also the fastest tempo they’ve played against this year.
Swinney said his offense has been pressing, currently 114th in FBS in scoring. He does think quarterback DJ Uiagalelei made a big turn last week. Calling it his best game at 21 of 34 for 181 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions and sacked twice in a 17-14 win at Syracuse.
He also thinks their running game is clicking going for 852 yards and a 4.3 average, which Swinney noted was the same as their 2016 national title team. They are just missing layups on offense. The plays are there, they just aren’t executing.
His biggest message to his team is to block out the outside noise, saying ‘it’s a very loud world that we live in’.
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them,” Swinney said. “They sink because the water gets in them. You let all of that garbage in. Who are you going to listen to? Who are you going to believe? That’s your choice every single day. If you let that stuff in, it will get you.”
True seniors on this team are 43-5 in their careers with a national championship. Swinney believes their defense is playing at a championship level. They’re used to winning, he thinks that will help them going forward.
“The good news is, we are still Clemson and we have a great group of guys,” Swinney said. “They are just not very confident right now.”
Dabo Swinney has only been to Pittsburgh once, last year when receiver Justyn Ross had season-ending surgery to correct a spinal issue. He thinks it’s cool the Tigers will be playing in the same stadium as the Steelers.
Like we hear from the Pitt fan base, Clemson is calling this the biggest game of the year.
Venables says he is telling his players, at 4-2 there is still a lot in front of them. They can still have a special season.
Unranked with all of the doubters around them, the Tigers have lost twice to a pair of ranked teams, including number one Georgia by a touchdown.
Both teams are looking to prove something. Kickoff at 3:30p Saturday on 93.7 The Fan.