It was one of the most anticipated senior debuts in years.
So how did Minor sensation David Clifford do as he made his bow for Kerry against Donegal during the weekend's Allianz League action?
Former Kerry football Mike Quirke joined Nathan to dissect his performance and how he fared against players from a much older age grade.
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"That's going to be the thing for him," said Quirke referencing how he would cope physically at senior having dominated in that regard at Minor.
"You mentioned [Jonah] Lomu. He had that distinct size advantage over every other Minor in the country last year and I'm not even talking about his football ability which was obvious to everybody.
Kerry's David Clifford under pressure from Paul Brennan of Donegal ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan
"In terms of his physicality and his size, he was dominating over everybody else and the big challenge for him here isn't going to be whether his football or his decision-making is up to inter-county level, his biggest challenge is going to be how quickly he can acclimatise to the pace and dealing with guys who are equally strong and physical as he is and you could see that. He won about half the ball that was kicked towards him. He was under pressure winning any kind of a ball."
Overall, Clifford acquitted himself well against Donegal.
"He did okay, he did fine. He wasn't anything spectacular. You could still tell every time he got the ball, which is the greatest trait of his, he just tends to make the right decision. His kicking was a little bit off [but] he was probably a little nervous. It would be hugely unusual if he wasn't with the hype around him," said Quirke of the younster.
He added that Clifford "is just too good not to adjust to his environment pretty quickly" and predicts that "he's too strong and too crafty" not to establish himself as an exciting player once he's used to this level.
