Harris Sewell started preparing for his role at center long ago.

The senior offensive lineman has logged well over 1,000 snaps during his career at Clemson, but all of them have come at guard. However, he’s long known he might be the next man up at center, so even while he was lining up at guard, he was approaching each snap as if he was already playing center.

“The last couple of years playing guard, I would kind of go through the process before every snap as if I was playing center,” Sewell said. “Just understanding the play and the defense and what is going on. So mentally, I would say the only difference is communicating with the whole O-line.”

While that has made the transition a little smoother than it otherwise might have been, there is another factor also in play that is helping him prepare for his new role up front.

Ryan Linthicum, who was the Tigers’ center for the past two seasons, is back in Clemson as a volunteer member of the staff and having him to lean on is proving to be very beneficial.

“It is really good just because he has done it,” Sewell added. “When they give us a front that is funky, he can kind of give us his opinion and what he would have done. So it has been really good to have him and good to have him around.”

The position change isn’t the only thing that is different. Summer workouts were some of the most physical the team has experienced in quite some time under new strength coach Dennis Love.

The goal is to be more physical at the point of attack, which should rejuvenate a running game that struggled last year. So far, Clemson’s new center believes this group will be well-prepared for doing just that when the season kicks off against LSU on September 5 in Baton Rouge.

“We have been really physical,” Sewell said. “Whether practices are inside or team or whatever it is, the whole O-line and D-line have been physical. I think that has been a point of emphasis this year. Just being able to run the ball and the mentality up front.”