Coach Dabo Swinney sees his Clemson team’s degree of difficulty in opponents ramp up considerably this week when the Tigers welcome Texas A&M to town for the first time since 2005

Overall, Swinney called the Aggies a, “huge challenge” with outstanding coaches in all areas.

“They’ll be one of the better teams in their league and certainly a team that’s talented enough and got everything they need to beat us,” Swinney said.  “They’ve recruited well. The quarterback (Kellen Mond) really hurt us last year. He is big and strong and he can really run. He can hurt you in both the passing game and the run game.

Swinney noted the play of Justin Madubuike and the defense as a whole.

“Their defensive tackle is a grown man,” Swinney said. “This is as good a secondary as we’ll see all season. They’ll be a handful.”

Swinney said Mond’s size and ability to beat you in multiple ways is a challenge. Mond had 430 passing yards last year against Clemson in the 28-26 loss, with three TDs. He didn’t throw an interception.

“He’s a big kid who can really run,” Swinney said of Mond, according to audio from SportsTalkSC. “If you look at his progression as a passer, Jimbo’s (Fisher) done a good job with him, and you look, as the season went, he can really throw the football. Obviously with a year under his belt with Jimbo, he’s going to be very well coached, and really on their system, as opposed to last year, he played great against us in just his first or second game. … He’s an excellent leader, he’s a very smart player, he’s got great instincts for the game.”

The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on ABC.