Kerry's Paul Murphy says he can recall David Clifford possessing "exceptional skills" when he coached the talented forward as a youngster at the GAA Cúl Camps.
Murphy worked as a coach at the camps during the summers when he was a college student, and came across both Clifford and fellow Kerry attacker Sean O'Shea during that time.
Despite their tender age, the 2014 All-Ireland winner could already identify star quality in both of them. They both played a part in helping the Kerry minors to a historic All-Ireland five in-a-row and have made a considerable impact on the senior squad.
"I can distinctly remember David in Fossa in 2010 or 2011," Murphy tells RTÉ Sport.
"Even as a young lad, his skills were exceptional. He had left and right and great balance. There would be a few players in Cúl Camps and you'd remember their names and keep a look out for them as the years go by.
"I can vaguely remember Sean and his brother Dara in Kenmare as well and they've really flourished and developed. There's a good underage system in Kerry with regard to development squads and that. There's Kerry North and Kerry South and then they join up at minor level. They're getting great results and there's very good minor teams coming out of it."
"They're skill level is quite high, I think skill levels are increasing all the time and in GAA, maybe there's more coaching at underage level and we're seeing the rewards as they progress."
Kerry have enjoyed a productive league campaign, and their efforts have been rewarded with a place in the Division 1 final against Mayo. It's an encouraging start to the season for manager Peter Keane, who took over the role from Eamonn Fitzmaurice last October.
O'Shea has been particularly prolific in front of goal throughout the league, while Clifford made his first start of the year in their Round 7 clash with Roscommon at the weekend.
The Fossa man's return from injury is well-timed as they prepare to face a Mayo side who handed Kerry their first defeat of the league earlier this month.
"There's never much between us," says Murphy ahead of the Division 1 final in Croke Park on Sunday.
"I think in Championship the last few years, we've had two draws and a win and a defeat. The league has been a funny sort of trend in that the away team generally wins in the last few years.
"They're obviously a very strong team and they've a very strong core group. They've kept together for the last five or six years and they seem to have added to that in this year's league. They've new players around the field who have bedded in for them.
"There's a huge challenge for us this weekend to try and turn them over. They got the better of us a few weeks ago so we'll really have our work cut out."
