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Venables on his defense: If we don't work hard, we're going to get humbled

SUNSET – Alabama head coach Nick Saban doesn’t mind using the media to send a message to his players, and Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables took a page out of Saban’s book Tuesday when he spent almost an hour sending a very direct message to his defense.

You better come in ready to play.

By the times Venables’ portion of the interview was over, he was bathed in sweat. Part of that was from battling a swarm of wasps that kept interrupting the interview, but part of it was Venables’ own intensity, and he was direct and to the point about players who might think they are already a first round draft choice or can skate by on last year’s success.