Monday Morning Reset: Back to Work for Swinney, Clemson Football

Clemson's spring practice and the quest for another national title begins Wednesday, but that's far from all that's going on during one of the busiest athletic stretches of the year.

For the second consecutive year, Clemson football enters spring practice with a terrible taste in its mouth. 

A program of this caliber expects to compete and win a national championship every season, so when the Tigers came up very short in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ohio State, the Sugar Bowl memory has to be wiped from the brain. 

The problem is, the media is going to be asking the players and coaches about getting over the loss, and that storyline will live on for much of the spring. But there will also be plenty of football to talk about: D.J. Uiagalelei takes over for Trevor Lawrence at quarterback; the running game turns to someone not named Travis Etienne for the first time in years; the defense returns nearly all of last year's production but errors to correct. 

All that truly matters when Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney take the practice field Wednesday for the first time since that fateful Jan. 1 night in New Orleans is 2021 is getting better. The Tigers will once again be a major contender and expectations of a CFP return on valid, but the road to redemption starts this week with the focus of rebooting. 

Here are some pre-spring football stories you might've missed from the All Clemson team:

Quarterback spring preview

Receivers spring preview

Seniors to watch

Juniors to watch

Sophomores to watch

Redshirt freshmen to watch

True freshmen to watch

Football is king at Clemson, but it's far from all that's going on, including a baseball team that swept Cincinnati in the first series of the season. In one of the busiest athletic stretches of the year, here are five storylines to watch this week:

1. Big man speaks: Clemson didn't have a National Signing Day press conference in February because the class was complete, so Swinney hasn't addressed local media since New Year's Day. He'll end that drought Wednesday with updates on his personnel and goals for the spring. The first three practices have a few periods open to the media, so there will be plenty to report on this week. 

2. Rivalry renewed: Clemson and South Carolina haven't played in a major men's sport since the baseball teams' series finale on March 1, 2020. Football and basketball had their games canceled, so there will be plenty of juice and appreciation when the Gamecocks come to Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday. Players, coaches, and a limited crowd, in Clemson, at Greenville's Fluor Field and Columbia's Founders Park, will get to enjoy this spirited rivalry. 

3. Basketball back?: Brad Brownell and the Tigers haven't played a game since Feb. 12 and their three-game winning streak was halted by COVID-19 issues and protocols within the team, but they're scheduled to return Wednesday night at Wake Forest. The last time the hoops squad had a COVID hiatus, it lost to Virginia by 35 following an 11-day layoff. The Demon Deacons won't be as challenging, but kicking things into high gear on the road could be for the Tigers. 

4. Love lost on Lawrence?: There are still two months before the 2021 NFL Draft, but draft pundits and media are trying to find ways to keep people interested in the No. 1 overall pick that Jacksonville has by coming up with quarterbacks who could leap Trevor Lawrence. There's pretty much no way that would actually happen, but Zach Wilson and Justin Fields are being hyped to keep people interested. It isn't going away and All Clemson will take a closer look at it this week.

5. Softball sweep: John Rittman's second-year squad is off to a winning start in the early going of the season as the Tigers won three consecutive games at Georgia Tech on Saturday and Sunday. Now, Clemson takes a break from ACC play to host Elon this weekend at McWhorter Stadium.