The ACC Kickoff is always a fun time for Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, and 2023 was no exception. Bringing quarterback Cade Klubnik, offensive lineman Will Putnam and defensive lineman Tyler Davis to town, Swinney was all smiles throughout his media availability.

Alongside the press conferences, ESPN’s ACC Network hosted their show from inside the Westin and talked all things football heading into the season. All Tigers in attendance made an appearance on the show, and Swinney joined the crew for an extended segment to talk about Clemson heading into 2023.

Swinney hired a phenom in the offseason with TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. After helping lead the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff, he brings that genius to Tiger Town and former Clemson lineman Eric Mac Lain asked him about why he made the hire.

“It’s always about timing and fit and it just felt like we needed to re-instill a little bit of confidence. I felt like we had lost a little bit of confidence,” Swinney said. “Garrett was the right guy at the right time and he’s done just that. We really came out of this spring, even though we had a lot of guys not available, but we came out of the spring with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of confidence.”

A large reason for the Riley hire was his fit with Klubnik. Coming into this season as the starter, Klubnik is building chemistry with Riley, and they already knew each other from recruiting him when the Tigers ended up landing the Texas native.

“He’s a great fit for Cade. He recruited Cade some out of high school so it’s been a smooth transition there,” Swinney said. “It’s still the same house, just new paint job, cleaned out the closets, put in some new flooring and some new cabinets. Everybody feels good about him.”

While Riley’s hire is a heavy cause for optimism heading into 2023, the returning talent is another piece that makes the Tigers very threatening this season. On the defensive line, two elite pieces in Davis and Xavier Thomas are back and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin is spoiled in the front seven.

Swinney referenced this when talking about his stance on the transfer portal and how Clemson hasn’t had to reload too much this offseason. Instead, he can look forward and brag about the pair of game-wreckers he has back in the middle.

“Two of our d-linemen got second-round grades and they came back,” Swinney said. “And again, they all have their degrees so they didn’t come back to hang out on the lake for another year or hang out in Clemson or to graduate…they came back with a very distinct purpose both individually and then what they want to do as a team. That type of leadership and focused leadership has really driven our offseason.”