Talking season is here.

Clemson’s football season will get its unofficial official start this week with the program set to hit the preseason media circuit. First, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his assistant coaches will meet with local reporters Tuesday as part of the team’s annual media outing. The Tigers’ contingent will then head to Charlotte on Wednesday for the ACC Football Kickoff.

Like every year, the possibility for questions that Swinney, his assistants and his players will field is wide-ranging. Here are five they will almost certainly be asked over the next few days.

Where does Clemson fit in conference realignment?

Swinney has been made available to the media just once since news broke last month of Southern Cal and UCLA’s pending departure for the Big Ten, and he was mum with his opinion on conference realignment.

But more questions pertaining to the subject figure to come in waves this week for Swinney and his players given the direction of super conferences in which the sport is almost certainly headed. The Los Angeles schools’ move was just the latest domino to fall, coming a year after Texas and Oklahoma announced they will soon bolt the Big 12 for the SEC. 

Where does the ACC and its top football brand at the moment fit into the equation? The grant of rights agreement is a major factor in holding the conference together for the time being, but the future of the league and its members is a hot topic of conversation.

What about college football’s changing landscape as a whole?

Realignment isn’t the only alteration happening to the sport. Name, image and likeness opportunities are heating up for student-athletes, and the transfer portal has put the recruiting machine into overdrive.

How are coaches and players managing it all? And what will college athletics look like in the future?

Swinney and some of the players offered some thoughts on a lot of those topics during the spring. And don’t forget about the ACC’s new scheduling model that will bid adieu to the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions beginning in 2023. All of it is certain to come up again this week.

What has the transition been like with all of the staff turnover?

Swinney has largely been able to keep his coaching staff intact during his 14-year run with the Tigers, but this offseason saw the most turnover of his tenure. Coordinators Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and Tony Elliott (Virginia) left for their first head coaching jobs, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Todd Bates followed Venables to OU, and veteran offensive line coach Robby Caldwell retired.

And that doesn’t count the off-field attrition (Ted Roof and external affairs director Thad Turnipseed, to name a couple). Swinney and players talked during the spring about the majority of the corresponding moves, including the promotion of Wesley Goodwin and Brandon Streeter to coordinator roles, but national reporters will also descend on Charlotte this week, giving many of them their first opportunity to inquire about the changes since they happened seven months ago.

How long will D.J. Uiagalelei’s leash be?

Swinney may not be asked this specific question verbatim, but rest assured that some version of it will be inquired about this week.

With Uiagalelei completing just 55% of his passes with more interceptions than touchdown passes, quarterback play was the primary bugaboo for the Tigers a season ago. Swinney made it clear after the spring that Uiagalelei is entrenched as the starter heading into fall camp, but, again, reporters who don’t cover Clemson on a regular basis will be getting a chance to ask about the quarterback situation for the first time since the end of last season.

There’s also another blue-chip signee at the position, Cade Klubnik, waiting in the wings if Uiagalelei continues to struggle. What is the Tigers’ plan if any to incorporate the highly touted freshman’s skill set early on? Swinney spoke on that a couple of months ago.

Was last season an aberration?

It speaks to the kind of sustained success Clemson has enjoyed under Swinney when an 11th consecutive 10-win season is considered a down year, but the Tigers are a victim of their own success in this regard.

For the first time since 2015, Clemson is coming off a season in which it didn’t appear in the College Football Playoff or the ACC championship game. Will the Tigers get back to that elite status this fall or are there long-term chinks in their armor?

Clemson figures to once again be the favorite in the ACC considering the talent and experience that’s still on the roster, but some of the concerns, particularly the quarterback play, are valid. Inquiring minds will be interested in hearing what Swinney and his players have to say about it.

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.