ESPN's Tom Luginbill, long a respected voice in college football, recently visited Clemson and watched the entirety of an August-camp practice.

He came away impressed with what he saw and heard.

Luginbill says there is a different edge to Dabo Swinney in the wake of last season's six-loss debacle that came nowhere close to the Top 5 expectations just about everyone had -- including Swinney himself.

Luginbill is also high on Clemson's offensive line. He says quarterback Christopher Vizzina is managing the offense crisply, and he loves the dynamic that freshman Tait Reynolds can bring with his size, arm strength and ability to run the ball.

Luginbill believes this team is every bit capable of getting back to Charlotte, challenging for an ACC title and landing in the College Football Playoff.

Roddy Jones recently spent time at Clemson's football facility visiting with Dabo Swinney and others.

Jones is high on this team's chances of getting back to the ACC championship game, but he still senses uncertainty after last year's six-loss disaster.

"I think they think they're good," said the ESPN analyst and SiriusXM Radio co-host. "But I don't know if they know they're good yet. And I understand how that feels as a player. You wouldn't say this out loud, but LSU is going to prove to them that they're good or it will confirm some doubts they have. I think it's a team that's cautiously confident."

Jones played A-back for Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson from 2008 to 2011. He ranks first in the school's record books in career games started (52), third in career games played (52) and 12th in career rushing yards (1,846).

Jon Blau has been in Baton Rouge for two months. It feels more like 10 months.

Seems there's a new controversy every other day involving Lane Kiffin and LSU football. Blau's job is to follow it all in his new position covering Kiffin's program for The Advocate/Times-Picayune newspaper.

Blau, who spent the previous five years covering Clemson for The Post and Courier of Charleston, shares why he decided to make the move.

He also shares that he hasn't had an introduction to Kiffin because Kiffin isn't much for one-on-one conversations. Quite the change-up from the always approachable Dabo Swinney.

Blau has spent years covering games in one Death Valley. This Saturday he'll get his first experience in LSU's Death Valley when Kiffin plays host to Swinney.