The ACC Football Kickoff media event begins today, and Dabo Swinney will get hammered with realignment questions in Charlotte.

Per his custom, he gave the local media the first crack yesterday with vacation over and all attention geared toward the 2022 season.

Naturally, he was asked about the future of the ACC and his level of concern with the growing revenue disparities between his conference and the SEC and Big Ten.

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Some might have considered his answer bland or adhering to the party line, but historical context made his responses much more interesting -- revealing, even.

As we have noted in recent weeks, a decade ago Swinney blasted any notion of the ACC not being Clemson's forever home. He scoffed at the idea that the Tigers would be better off jumping to the Big 12. There was a clear allegiance to the ACC and Clemson's ability to achieve everything it desired within its traditional conference home.

Yesterday was a departure from that, at least in my mind. His words seemed to underscore the vibe we've picked up from the higher-ups at Clemson in the weeks since the jolting news of USC and UCLA jumping to the Big Ten: