Dabo Swinney Finds His Voice and Speaks UP.

 "I am against anything that devalues education," Swinney said. "That's what I'm against. I am for anything that incentivizes education. People will come after me because I've always said that I'm against the professionalism of college athletics, and I am. Kids don't know what they don't know. That's a slippery slope if you professionalize college athletics, and now you've got salaries and taxes and you can fire kids on the spot and they've got to pay for their tuition and they pay for their housing and everything else.

"Athletic directors would sign up for that in a heartbeat. They'd save money."

Swinney, entering his 14th season as Clemson head coach, said it's a good thing that players can cash in on their name, image and likeness once they get to school and have a "platform" but added that it's nonsensical to think that the current NIL rules weren't going to be used as a recruiting incentive.

"There's no rules, no guidance, no nothing," Swinney said. "It's out of control. It's not sustainable. It's an absolute mess and a train wreck, and the kids are going to be the ones who suffer in the end. There are going to be a lot of kids that end up with no degrees and make decisions based on the wrong things."

Swinney said Clemson won't actively use the transfer portal unless there is a gap the Tigers need to fill on their roster. For example, he said the Tigers would look to add an offensive lineman in May.

"My transfer portal is right there in that locker room because if I'm constantly going out every year and adding guys from the transfer portal, I'm telling all those guys in that locker room that I don't believe in them, that I don't think they can play," Swinney said. "We're also not doing our job as coaches and recruiters if we're bringing in a bunch of transfers."

Athletes are humans too.   The way the system played Dwayne Haskins was wrong, making promises to the young man, then bringing in Mitch Trubisky to tell him he's be playing for third-string, at best, and chances were, this would be his last year in the league, despite having so much talent and promise still left in him...

"It is what it is will keep you at peace" was all he wrote.  Haskins and all athletes, but the young ones especially, deserve so much more than that as live human beings.  Let's hope his death changes things?  If only the way business is done, and career plans are communicated down?

The 23-year-old Ohio State product said he tried not to let his tumultuous week of attending his girlfriend’s birthday party with several people not wearing masks, photos surfacing on social media, apologizing to coaches and teammates, being fined and losing his captaincy affect his play. But he was clearly down in the dumps and despondent in a postgame video call he did after driving home from the stadium.

“It was definitely the hardest week of my life,” Haskins said. “I’m just going to bounce back and move forward, pray and get my life together.”

Washington’s previous regime drafted Haskins 15th overall in 2019, the third QB taken after Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones. He finishes his time with the organization 3-10 as the starter, including 1-5 this season, with 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

The team’s last first-round QB bust, Robert Griffin III, tweeted Monday: “Wishing the best for (Haskins). You are only 23! Learn from this and bounce back.”

 Thing is, Haskins was so talented with his passing arm, so young, he likely never was taught any bouncing skills.