Christian Wilkins admits it’s pretty cool to see himself pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Dexter Lawrence, Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant. The next issue of the national sports magazine that features Clemson’s starting defensive linemen will hit newsstands next week.

However, Wilkins thinks he will care more about it down the road.

“It’s cool now or whatever, but I feel like we’ll appreciate it more when we’re in our 30s and in our 40s and our time is done playing the game,” Wilkins said. “We’ll look back and be like man, we really had a good little run. We were a good group — not just us four, but the whole D-line. It’s something just looking back that we’ll definitely appreciate more.

“Now, it was cool for the time being. But I’m just focused on the season and trying to get better for sure.”

Clemson’s defensive front, and the team in general, enters the 2018 season in the spotlight. The Tigers’ defensive line is the first in NCAA history to have four returning players who have been a first- or second-team All-American previously.

Wilkins knew there would be a lot of hype surrounding the unit when he, Ferrell and Bryant decided to forgo the NFL draft and join forces with Lawrence for one more season. However, Wilkins says he and the Tigers aren’t getting caught up in all of the national exposure and attention.

“I get it, but personally — I don’t want to speak for other guys — but I feel like we just like to go to work and just handle our business,” Wilkins said. “We’re getting a lot of attention and a lot of publicity, but all that goes away if we don’t do our job this year and if we don’t play to our capabilities.

“We all came back with a goal in mind — whatever it is for each of us individually — and we’re going to try our best to achieve that. So, all that really doesn’t necessarily matter. We don’t think too much of it. We came back to do our jobs.”

Along with the rest of Clemson’s starting D-line, Wilkins was named to the 2018 All-ACC Preseason Football Team last month.

For Wilkins — a two-time All-American that has totaled 193 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and 43 quarterback pressures in his first three seasons as a Tiger — the goal for himself heading into this season is simple.

“The biggest thing is I just want to keep developing and put my best foot forward each and every day,” he said. “You’re never a finished product, no matter how good you are, no matter what you do. So, I just really want to keep developing in the areas of my game that are so-called ‘weaknesses.’ So, that’s just the biggest thing for me.”

A bold-letter caption on the cover of next week’s SI edition bills Clemson’s D-line as “The Best Ever.”

The expectations for the group are great because of what it has accomplished in the past. The four returning starters have combined for 47 sacks, 89.5 tackles for loss and 533 tackles to this point.

But Wilkins and the rest of the “Power Rangers” aren’t concerned with what happened in the past — their focus is on the present.

“We’re not satisfied. We still want more,” Wilkins said. “We still have a desire to be great and be our best. So, it’s something you’ll look back on… When it’s all said and done, maybe we’ll take a second to reflect and look back. But right now, we’re just trying to grind, we’re just trying to get each other better and be the best we can.”