Clemson star defender on Dabo Swinney: 'I trusted his vision wholeheartedly'

Peter Woods talked about the perception of Clemson's program internally and the family feel.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Friday, April 18 2025

Clemson defensive linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker were on The Pivot with Ryan Clark recently to talk all things Clemson Tigers.

Clark specifically asked the star duo about Dabo Swinney's transfer portal philosophy and how the team sees it.

"I think it speaks volumes about a coach who takes initiative telling his players that I'm here for you guys and I brought you guys in for a reason," Woods said. "You want to play for a guy like that. That's kinda like where we are in our careers. Coach Swinney has invested so much into us in our time there, and the guys who have come in either before or after us, and it creates a big family atmosphere when you feel like you owe something to a university that has poured so much into you. A lot of times you see college football and a lot of programs get a lot from players -- the players don't really receive anything, but I think in the place that we're at that we get poured into a lot and that shows on the field and outside in life."

Parker also sees Swinney believing in the talent recruited to be on the team.

"I think personally it builds the team. Like obviously, everybody that is on the team -- he recruited heavy. So that relationship is already there, and truthfully we've got the talent to go all the way with it, without using the transfer portal," Parker said. "Because we didn't really need anything. And obviously this year, he used transfer portal because we had some unfortunate situations where high schoolers coming in early but they got hurt or some people left and we didn't expect it, so obviously he isn't against using the portal. But he doesn't have to because we've got the talent already there, especially the guys in our room. We can take it to the next level and keep grinding, obviously get to where we need to get to."

Woods says the team recognizes that Swinney and the Clemson program take some heat from critics on being different.

"Y'all see the stuff. Everyone is a little funky on what Clemson's got going on, and we know that," Woods said. "If you look at the statistics and the stuff that Coach Swinney, even before we were there, was able to do. It's been ridiculous the consistency and it just because he never switched up. He never changed. Me coming in as a young guy to the program, I trusted his vision wholeheartedly, and that's something that I still do."

Watch more from Woods and Parker on the new age in college football and how they're navigating it, as well as Clemson bonding as a team: