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Swinney: Championship brought Clemson national respect

Joshua S. Kelly / USA TODAY Sports

Despite narrowly falling to Alabama in the 2016 National Championship, few people outside the ACC viewed Clemson as a national powerhouse heading into last season.

That all changed when the Tigers toppled the Crimson Tide in January's title game rematch, and head coach Dabo Swinney says that win showed the rest of the country just how strong a program Clemson has become.

"Now people know we were good enough," Swinney said during an appearance on ESPN's Sportscenter, as per Will Vandevort of The Clemson Insider. "We knew we were good enough, but now the rest of the country knows we were good enough and we beat the best in an unbelievable game."

Swinney also admits that it wasn't just winning the national championship that helped put Clemson on the map, it was the fact they took down Alabama in dramatic fashion.

"Alabama has been the standard in college football for a long time, so to have to beat them and put a (late) drive together was an awesome, awesome thing," said Swinney. "It was just the way it was supposed to be."

This success under Swinney's watch has also translated to the recruiting trail where Clemson currently holds commitments from Xavier Thomas and Trevor Lawrence, ESPN's No. 2 and No. 3 players in the 2018 class.

The Tigers enter 2017 following a fairly significant roster overhaul, losing stars such as Deshaun Watson, Wayne Gallman, and Mike Williams, but their emergence as a national power should keep them competitive for years to come.

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