Clemson enters the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed for the second time in three years.

In the semifinals, the Tigers will face the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans — the third Playoff meeting between the teams in the past three years.

Alabama fans are certainly familiar with Clemson, but this is a new team compared to the ones that were lead by players such as Deshaun Watson, Jordan Leggett and others.

With Watson in the NFL, Kelly Bryant, a junior from Calhoun Falls, S.C., is the starter at quarterback and he has been a pivotal part of the Tigers’ offensive success.

Here are five things Alabama fans should know about the 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback.

1. He was only a 3-star prep prospect

Clemson has had a lot of success recruiting quarterbacks in recent years.

Here’s a look at some of the high-profile recruits the Tigers have brought in over the last few years:

  • Hunter Johnson (2017): 5-star (No. 30 player/No. 2 pro-style QB)
  • Derrick Cooper (2016): 4-star (No. 235 player/No. 7 dual-threat QB)
  • Deshaun Watson (2014): 4-star (No. 42 player/No. 1 dual-threat QB)

Who gets lost among those highly-ranked players are the less sought after 3-stars, which is exactly what Bryant (No. 420 player/No. 13 dual-threat QB) was coming out of high school.

That didn’t stop him from receiving offers from high-profile schools such as Florida, Ole Miss and of course, Clemson.

It’s safe to say that Dabo Swinney and the rest of the coaching staff at Clemson is thrilled to have a player with Bryant’s talent taking snaps from the center.

2. He’s effective as a runner …

Much like the quarterback who came before him, Bryant is extremely effective on the ground.

Kelly Bryant is 15th in the ACC in rushing yards this season and third among QBs.

In fact, despite playing two fewer games so far, Bryant has already surpassed Watson’s rushing yards (646 compared to 629) and rushing touchdowns (11-9) from last season.

This sort of news isn’t what Alabama fans want to hear considering the Tide’s defense has struggled with dual-threat quarterbacks — such as Watson, Nick Marshall, Johnny Manziel and Cam Newton — in the past.

3. … but he’s still an extremely accurate passer

Bryant doesn’t throw the ball as much as Watson did in 2016; Bryant is averaging 27.8 attempts per game compared to Watson’s 38.6 last season.

But Bryant has completed a higher percentage. He has completed 244 of 362 attempts (67.4 percent). Watson, on the other hand, completed 388-of-579 (67 percent) last year.

Now, Bryant doesn’t have two towering options in the passing game like Watson had in wide receiver Mike Williams (6-3, 225) and tight end Jordan Leggett (6-5, 260), but he still has weapons he uses effectively — including a name Bama fans should be familiar with: Hunter Renfrow.

Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

4. He wasn’t 100 percent in Clemson’s only loss

The Tigers are 12-1 (7-1 ACC) this season. The team’s lone loss came at the hands of the Syracuse Orange, who beat Clemson 27-24 back in Week 7.

It just so happens that was also the game that Bryant wasn’t at full health.

He came into the game with an ankle injury that he had suffered the week before against Wake Forest, then was forced to exit the game against Syracuse following a concussion as well.

5. He didn’t fare well vs. teams Bama also played

Clemson and Alabama have two common opponents: Florida State and Auburn.

Bryant has seven 200-yard passing games this season but not against Florida State (151) or Auburn (181).

In those two games, Bryant only averaged 166 passing yards, significantly lower than the 213.3 he averaged in the team’s other 11 games.

The more surprising part was that Bryant didn’t have a single touchdown pass against either team — he averaged 1.2 passing touchdowns against the other 11 opponents.

Bryant did average 59.5 yards on the ground in those contests against the Seminoles and Tigers — higher than the 47.9 that he averaged in the other games — and added three total rushing touchdowns as well.

It should also be noted that both of those games came at home, and Clemson won both matchups by an average of 12.5 points. Alabama beat Florida State by the same margin as the Tigers (17 points) but lost to Auburn by 12 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.