The energy remains the same despite Clemson not playing to impress a playoff committee in this weekend’s ACC Championship. Defensive end K.J. Henry spoke with the media earlier this week and said while the postseason may look different this season, the excitement is there for the opportunity to fight for the Tigers’ seventh ACC title in eight seasons.

“Honestly, I’d say there’s a different place, but it’s the same energy, still the same amount of juice,” Henry said. “Everybody has their own ways of getting excited, drawing motivation. Some are more dictated by other people’s thoughts than others, mine are just the ability and honor to be able to play the game and play beside these guys.

“It really didn’t matter where we were going, what we were doing — another opportunity to play the game at this level, at this university, I’m just as blessed and honored as I was when I was a freshman when I first got here, and that mindset’s never changed. Really just trying to remind the guys that that’s the case.”

Remembering the feeling of missing out on the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 2014 last season, the fifth-year senior is grateful to have earned the right to compete for another ACC title this season — an opportunity he hopes to use to honor the defenders that came before him.

“We’re grateful we earned this one, we earned this one,” Henry said. “That’s kind of the message this week. What I’ve read already to the team, obviously coming off a tough loss, though, is the perspective of last year. I love Skalski, Nolan , all those guys meant so much to me and I try and honor them in moments like this when the whole world’s against you.

“We didn’t get this opportunity last year, right. We have to get back in the driver’s seat and really take full advantage of being one of 10 teams this weekend to play in the Power Five. So, excited. We’re excited and we’re grateful and we’re attacking it each and every day, not leaving any stone unturned. Obviously, there’s some mistakes that we have to fix from last week, but the energy is in a really good spot.”

Clemson faces off against the North Carolina Tar Heels in contention for the ACC Championship for the second time in eight seasons on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. on ABC.

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