When you are the starting quarterback for the defending national champions, things can get weird at times.

Kelly Bryant is discovering this every time he goes to class. These days Bryant is getting a lot of extra attention, which he is okay with. He understands it comes with the business. In fact, on his way to meet with the media on Monday, a young lady on the student transit bus asked Bryant if he would take a selfie with her.

Of course, he obliged. However, Bryant has learned that sometimes people take pictures of him without asking or even when he is not looking.

“I’ll be in the hallways getting ready for class, and somebody may walk by with a camera and take a picture of me,” Bryant said. “That’s probably like the weirdest thing I’ve seen… I mean, it’s not weird, but at least let me smile or something before you take a picture.”

Good lesson for Etienne. Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was asked on Monday what lessons freshman running back Travis Etienne can take away from the Virginia Tech game, when he rushed eight times for just 19 yards (2.4 average), his lowest output of the season.

“I think now he’ll understand why I’m hard on him and why I’m trying to get him to understand how we do things and how things are blocked,” Elliott said. “Because he’s unbelievably quick, unbelievably fast, very, very talented, but at the same time too, at this level, you have to be able to play within the system.”

Etienne also understands why it so important that he protects the football.

“Putting the ball on the ground there — even though he was ruled down, the ball did come out, and he admitted it and said I put the ball on the ground — just understanding that there’s consequences for your actions and you have to be disciplined,” Elliott said. “And as we get into the meat of our schedule and down towards the end of the year, every area is magnified, and you have to play within the system.”

Tigers need to finish. Elliott says there was not too much he could complain about in regards to Saturday’s performance against Virginia Tech. However, there is one thing he wants the offense to do better.

“The area we have to improve upon, especially from last week, is when we get off to a fast start, let’s make sure that we finish the way we’re capable of finishing,”  he said.

Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) racked up 271 total yards and 17 points in the first half against Virginia Tech, but had just 61 yards and one touchdown in the second half.

“We put ourselves in a bind in the second half with a couple of negative plays… We’ve just got to eliminate those negative plays down the stretch and finish with a dominant performance like the way we started.”

How hungry are the Tigers? Clemson cornerback Mark Fields was asked what the driving force for Clemson was, as far as motivation, over the offseason during summer workouts and fall camp.

“Just to get better and do it again,” Fields said. “The ultimate goal is to win a national championship again, so really that’s all the motivation we need to come out here and compete and get better.”