This is an opinion column.

Dabo Swinney was there. First time he’d watched a game in his old football home since the 2000 Iron Bowl. His October 2017 visit was a mere Bryant-Denny pop-in for a pregame ceremony honoring Swinney and his old Alabama teammates on the 25th anniversary of their 1992 national championship.

He didn’t watch a snap of the Alabama game that day, heading back to Clemson right after the ceremony, but he was all in last Wednesday night as Central-Phenix City battled Thompson in the Class 7A state championship game.

There were other roots tugging at Swinney’s heart that night as he stood under the north end zone goalpost watching the game while swapping stories and smiles with former Alabama teammate Antonio Langham. Patrick Nix is the Central-Phenix City head coach. His younger son, Caleb, is a Clemson walk-on safety.

The night before, Swinney had watched in person with Caleb as his older brother, Bo, accepted the Campbell Trophy, the academic Heisman, at the National Football Foundation dinner in Las Vegas. Swinney and the Nix traveling party shared the same plane to Alabama to be there to watch Patrick Nix and his Red Devils end Thompson’s incredible four-year run as 7A state champs.

While Bo and Caleb cheered from the Central-Phenix City sideline, Swinney took a Facetime video phone call from one of his current players. Clemson freshman defensive tackle Peter Woods wanted an update. He’d contributed to every one of Thompson’s four straight titles, his role and reputation expanding each year.