CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney welcomed UNC’s Bill Belichick to the “ROY Bus.”
Swinney — who has used the phrase to describe the group of teams that had to compete with Alabama for a national championship during its time under coach Nick Saban — explained its origins. When Swinney was a walk-on at Alabama in 1989, he said there was a locker room and bus for the regular team, and a locker room and bus for the “Rest of Y’all.”
Swinney, entering his 18th season at Clemson, has used this saying throughout his tenure, and told Belichick that the Tigers and the rest of the ACC are still on the “ROY Bus.”
“We’ve been on the ROY bus for 16 years. The ACC, we’re the ROY Bus . . . ” Swinney said to the six-time Super Bowl winning coach. “SEC, Big Ten and the Rest of Y’all.”
This was among numerous topics Swinney and Belichick discussed during an hour-long conversation with ESPN’s Rece Davis on May 12 at the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida. The special aired on ACC Network on May 28.
Here are other takeaways from the conversation between these two legendary coaches.
Dabo Swinney on college football landscape, pending House settlement
Swinney described the current name, image and likeness (NIL) landscape for football as “complete chaos” because there is no cap for paying players, and schools can’t handle issues directly.
Still, he is optimistic that the impending House settlement will create “order” and “clarity.” It received preliminary approval from judge Claudia Wilken in October 2024, which would provide $2.8 billion in back damages to athletes who could not profit off their NIL between 2016 and Sept. 15, 2024, and bring revenue sharing to college sports starting July 1, with a projected cap for 2025-26 of $20.5 million per school.
Athletic departments are operating under the assumption that Wilken will approve the agreement.
“Right now, there’s no rhyme or reason for really anything. It’s just whatever feels good in the moment,” Swinney said. “You can do it, and anybody can be involved. So I think we’ll have some clearer rules, more clarity, and I think a little bit more order coming sooner than later, and I think it’s going to be a great time to be in college football.”
Bill Belichick’s favorite Clemson football players he scouted in the NFL
Belichick was the New England Patriots coach from 2000 through 2023 and has scouted plenty of Clemson players. The player who stood out most was defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who played with the Tigers from 2015 to 2018 and was taken by the Miami Dolphins as the 13th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
“Character, playing ability, all-around player. He could rush, he could run, he was very good at the point of attack, (and) he was great, personal character, really smart kid . . . ” Belichick said. “We had a hard time blocking him at Miami twice a year, so I didn’t like that.”
Another player Belichick said gave his team fits was wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who played at Clemson from 2010 to 2012.
“We double-covered Hopkins as much as any player I’ve ever coached,” Belichick said.
Dabo Swinney on Clemson facing ‘New England Patriots’ in 2025
Swinney said Clemson will try to beat the “New England Patriots” this season when it faces North Carolina on Oct. 4 and Boston College on Oct. 11. Belichick is in his inaugural season at UNC and Bill O’Brien enters his second season as the Eagles’ coach. O’Brien was with the Patriots in various capacities from 2007 through 2011, and in 2023.
Yet Swinney said he has a secret weapon for both games in special teams player development/specialists coach Ryan Allen. He was the Patriots’ punter from 2013 through 2018, winning three Super Bowls with them.
“He’s our specialist coach, and my secret sauce in finding a way to beat the Patriots in October,” Swinney said with a laugh. “We brought him in last year, and so we’re going to lean on him heavily to figure out how to defeat y’all.”
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
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