PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — Jeff Scott was hired by USF as its new head coach two and a half weeks ago.

Shortly after being hired, Scott departed Clemson and spent a week at his new campus attending to his new head coaching duties.

Scott returned to Clemson late last week days prior to the Tigers' departure for Phoenix.

This week during media availability ahead of the Fiesta Bowl, co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was asked if it was strange game-planning for Ohio State without Scott and how much communication Scott had with Clemson's offensive staff while absent.

"When he was gone, I mean he was focused on that," Elliott said. "I was at his press conference and that was a pretty cool experience, but I didn't understand the magnitude of it. Y'all know, I kind of live in my bubble and don't like to think about that kind of stuff but that opened my eyes. 'Man, that's a lot of responsibility and a lot of things that have to take place.'"

Elliott said due to the nature of Ohio State's defensive scheme, game planning from a structural standpoint was less strenuous than some other games in the past, implying Scott's absence wasn't critical.

"And the good thing is structurally, these guys (Ohio State) line up. They are not going to try and trick you," Elliott said. "They basically say, 'We got dudes and if you're going to beat us, you're going to beat us. We are not going to put our kids in a situation where they are thinking too much. We just want our athletes to play.' So structurally, we've got to have some wrinkles and some things but it wasn't quite as difficult because the structure wasn't quite as complex as some of the other structures.

"Doesn't mean that we are going to be able to take advantage of it, but it wasn't quite as complex. (Tyler) Grisham and (Brandon) Streeter did a good job."

Elliott said since re-joining Clemson, Scott has jumped in like it's always been.

Elliott was asked if seeing Scott go through the process of getting hired and jumping in headfirst at USF has changed his own perspective on wanting to be a head coach.

"Yeah, it made me want to wait a little bit longer... truthfully," Elliott said. "Maybe one day I'll get to that point where I want to absorb more responsibility but right now the grass is green for me in Clemson. I'm enjoying it. I had a chance to spend some quality time with my boys and do some things that as a head coach early on, you may not be able to do."

Scott will be with Clemson through the CFP, whether that ends on Saturday or in January in New Orleans following the National Championship.