Clemson bowl practices offer sneak peek at like after Deshaun Watson

CLEMSON, S.C. -- In the run up to the ACC championship game, Dabo Swinney was asked about all the talent his team lost from last year's defense and how it responded with so little drop-off this season. It was another perfect opportunity for Swinney to comment on the endless stream of doubters who he believes fail to understand the system he's built at Clemson.

"Next year, it'll be about who's going to be the QB," Swinney said.

Well, yeah.

It's hard to ignore the fact that the clock is ticking on Deshaun Watson's career, and if the media hasn't started the process of pulling every possible narrative thread on the upcoming quarterback battle, Swinney's look at the next generation of Clemson's…