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Quite often, Dabo Swinney is asked how he built Clemson football from a pretty good program to an exceedingly great one.

About 100 percent of the time, Swinney says this was built from the inside out. As in, acquiring a bunch of grown men on the defensive line who could create a new line of scrimmage and make life uncomfortable for everyone the Tigers played.

There's a lot of truth in that. But there's also truth in the notion that what's happened outside at wide receiver is also a major part of the foundation.

Not that this is a news flash. The spectacle put forth by Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins in last season's playoff reverberates still.