#WATCH: Dabo Swinney before Clemson's first practice in 2018

The Tigers hit the field for the first time this season. Here's some quick notes from what Swinney had to say:

Senior meeting yesterday: Swinney asked them where’s the mindset of the team, any issues or concerns in order to get a vibe.

• Swinney: “It’s not as much asking them (the seniors) questions as it is to kind of laying out what it’s going to take and reconfirming what we’re all about, reinstalling our core values and the things we believe in and the focus that it’s going to take and the challenge that’s ahead and accepting that challenge.” 

As far as the No. 2 ranking and whether or not that draws comparisons to 2016 team, Swinney said they will find out, thinks this team is talented and probably have more depth on the 2018 team, but it’s hard to gauge that.

Swinney on starting over:

• "You don’t carry over last year’s failures and mistakes. It’s a new challenge, new journey."
• “It’s a never ending process to create the mindset that you have in the culture of your program to sustain the success and handle adversity.”
• “The journey doesn’t start today. If you’re just now thinking you’re going to go put the work in, you’re way behind. This team has been grinding since January and this is just the next phase of our journey.”

The new guys: Swinney is pumped to get out and see the entire team now that everyone is here including Justyn Ross, Kyler McMichael and Mario Goodrich.

Weigh-In

Swinney says Jackson Carman was nowhere near where he needed to be when he got here, but Carman knew that.

Dexter Lawrence couldn’t grind like he needed to last year. Swinney says it’s fun to see guys develop and it’s a lot of work and commitment on their part which makes him proud.

We will have much more from the Day 1 of Fall Camp when the Tigers head off the practice field.