CLEMSON -- When you're months removed from momentous change, the tendency is to focus on the now and not really talk much about just how hard that change was in the moment.

That was the case when Trenton Simpson gathered before the media last month and talked exclusively about the present.

He seemed genuinely excited about the leadership of Wes Goodwin, genuinely stoked about the move to WILL linebacker and all the opportunities that brings.

But when the cameras move elsewhere and you pull Simpson aside to ask about that momentous change that came in the form of Brent Venables leaving for Oklahoma, the picture becomes more vivid about how hard those December days were for him.