Quote:One of the things that I’m really excited about is that last year we had 31 guys who did not participate in spring practice. We had 27 freshmen and some guys that were hurt so we were waiting on 31 guys to join our football team in the summer. This year we have 12 freshmen that will get here in July and 2 guys that are hurt, Tony Steward and Rashard Hall. A great majority of our team has been able to go through the offseason program and be able to use this valuable practice time during the spring. We have a lot of growing up to do on the offensive and defensive lines. That’s the big question mark, not necessarily a question mark but the major point of emphasis that we have on this football team. We have talented guys there, just not many that have played a lot of football at this level. It’s a great opportunity, should be an incredibly competitive spring, we’ll spend time working against each other and trying to separate those guys up front, there’s a lot of candidates and competition, it’s going to be exciting, very competitive. We’ve got a lot of bodies on both sides of the ball, we’ve got to get a lot of guys work and I hope we can come out of spring feeling really good about our two deep up front.

Quote:The Tigers’ made an offseason hire of defensive coordinator Brent Venables and Swinney couldn’t be more pleased with the move after watching him interact with both the players and staff members.

“He’s great,” Swinney said. “He’s fired up about working with them every single day, he’s been everything I thought he’d be and more, I’m just really excited about having him on our staff.”

What does Swinney want to see out of the defense this spring under Venables?

“First thing we have to get everyone on the same page,” Swinney said. “Making sure we develop our identity, get back to fundamentals and emphasize our position fundamentals and making sure that we’re simple enough that everyone knows what we’re doing and we have a chance to play fast and fly on the ball. Develop depth over there, find our best eleven, we have question marks surrounding our front, so we have to find who our best front will be. Is it moving a guy from end to tackle or moving a tackle to end? What’s our situation, we have to access that because there are a lot of unknowns. We have one senior with a lot of experience in Malliciah Goodman but the rest are a sophomore who have played enough to get their ears wet but that’s it. We have a lot of questions there. We’re not starting necessarily at ground zero but we have a lot of teaching to do on the defensive side this spring.”

Quote:The offensive line is another question mark for the Tigers’ heading into spring as they return only two out of five starters in center Dalton Freeman and swingman Brandon Thomas.

“We have a lot of openings, Dalton Freeman is an all conference type of player that we’re fortunate to have back,” Swinney said. “Brandon Thomas has been the MVP of the offseason; I’m so incredibly pleased with what I’ve seen from him. The light has come on for him. He played well for us at times last season, did some good things but now with a lot of guys moving on, he’s embraced a leadership role. He’s been great this off season. He brings flexibility to our line because he can play tackle or guard, really play either one effectively. We have to find the best five guys, if another guard or backup center deserves to be in the top five, Brandon can play tackle. He’ll be in at guard or tackle; I’m really excited about Shatley too. This is a great move for him and our team. He looks totally different on that side of the ball from an athletic standpoint. He goes from being an okay athlete to a very good athlete and he’s strong powerful and smart. He’ll start off at right guard for us. The question is who will be our tackles? And right now, Giff Timothy has played a little bit, had a good off season. Shaq Anthony had a good off season. We’re very excited about Joe Gore and Isaiah Battle; those would be the top four guys that we have to find out about at the tackle position. We’re not waiting on any offensive linemen, they’re all here. It will be a competitive situation and guys just have to step up and separate.”

Quote:One of the big questions this off season has been about Mike Bellamy, who had a hard time adjusting his freshman season and also was plagued with off the field issues. After being suspended for both the ACC Championship game and Orange Bowl, Swinney says Bellamy is back with the team and making progress.

“He’s been doing okay,” Swinney said. “He’s one of those guys you pull for; he’s a likeable guy and knows the rules. So far he’s doing what we ask him to do. He’s not perfect, which none of us are but he’s trying to really improve himself on and off the field. For a young guy that’s all you can ask at this stage. He’s had a good offseason, picking up weight and getting stronger. I’m excited about where he could be as long as he stays on track. My goal for him is to come in here in August for camp at around 186 pounds, which will be up from 160 something when he got here. He’s made a lot of improvement; we’ve challenged him in a lot of areas and so far so good.”

Quote:In the aftermath of the Orange Bowl, Swinney looks at it as motivation for this season but he’s also looking to start fresh.

“It’s a bit of both, obviously its motivation because bottom line we stunk it up the last time we played. That’s a motivating factor going into the offseason,” Swinney said. “But you also have to move on and erase the past, it’s a new team and although the 2011 team did a lot of good things, they weren’t great but good enough to win the ACC. We weren’t good enough to be undefeated, win a BCS bowl or the National Championship but we did win the ACC for the first time in 20 years. We can’t let one game make you lose sight of what was accomplished.”

Quote:Another player that Swinney has been impressed with so far is freshman Travis Blanks who has shown already his work ethic and maturity.

“You don’t find many guys like Travis he’s a young guy but smart, way wise beyond his years and mature,” Swinney said. “He’s over here all the time watching tape; he’s here on a Saturday back pedaling on a practice field. He’s focused on being a great player for us and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him get in the mix. He’s very talented; his body type is a little different, has a lot of length to him and is very physical. Could play corner, safety, and is physical enough to play nickel for us. Brewer gives us that flexibility too; we’re excited to have Travis here now going through spring practice.”