CLEMSON — Not only is Thomas Austin learning what life is like with four new starters to accompany him on the offensive line, but the Clemson center is learning what life is like as a married man.

That’s right, married. Austin, and his wife Margaret, tied the knot early this summer.

“My grandparents have been married for 62 years, so I have to catch up with them,” the 21-year-old said jokingly following Wednesday’s practice.

But as the 6-foot-3, 295-pound redshirt junior admitted, being married isn’t a joking matter. He takes his vows very seriously, and he says he and his new bride are going to do everything they can to make things work.

“We are both anxious to see how it is going to work out this fall with her working full time and being a student, and football and me being a student,” he said. “We are going to have to be creative in the time that we do spend together, and I’m also going to have to find a balance between football and her because she is my number one priority.”

Austin’s second priority is getting himself and the other four new starters to gel as a group, and like marriage, become one.

“You can have four guys doing their job and all four guys are all-conference, but if you have that one weak link, then you are not a good offensive line. That’s what is tough,” he said.

That’s why Austin and his wife are doing their part to bring this year’s unit together. He has already had the guys over for dinner on several occasions, and he even hosted a freshmen night, in hopes of getting the new guys acclimated to everything and to answer any questions or concerns they might have.

“I want to get to know them,” he said. “We try to get together once a week for dinner or lunch, all of us. I know people think you spend so much time during the day, why do you need to hang out? But that’s kind of that X-factor that doesn’t go down on paper.

“What do you do off the field? Not that we did not do that in years past, but there is just a different chemistry, I guess, so to find that day during the week to have dinner or something like that, it makes a big difference.”

And that could mean all the difference in the world to first-time everyday starters such as Cory Lambert, Jamarcus Grant, David Smith, Mason Cloy and Chris Hairston. Barry Humphries, who switched from the center position to guard with Austin last year, will play at right guard as the only other linemen with day-to-day experience as a starter.

“The good thing about having young talent is there is a lot of competition,” Austin said. “We are all working hard and competing everyday and we have a good core group of guys that spend time together both on and off the field and eat together and live together.

“It is a very cohesive unit already and becoming that on the field is what takes time. I’m very confident we are going to be a good offensive line.”

Just like he’s confident that he and his bride will come together to form a strong marriage.

“Your priorities change. Like I said she is number one, but football is one-and-half or is a close second so it’s going to be hard to balance that and to find a night a week that we can go home and date or spend time together,” Austin said. “It hasn’t taken away from football this summer and I don’t expect it to.

“During camp it has been nice because I’m seeing her every night, where as last year I was trying to find time during the day or something like that so I think it is less of distraction as it has ever been. It’s great to go home to her at night and be with her, catch up and all of those great things.”