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CLEMSON -- The start of spring practice is similar to the start of August camp in that we've all gone a long time without seeing the team, creating immense interest in the players' development.

But the fundamental difference: There's four months between the end of spring and the start of camp, and just two months (often less, in playoff years) between the end of a season and the start of spring.

So while the sunny skies and warm temperatures created a sense of a lot of time passing between the Cheez-It Bowl and the turning of the page to 2022, the reality is it hasn't been all that long and the page hasn't fully turned.

That reality was underscored by the sheet of paper that Dabo Swinney kept referring to yesterday as he met with the media before the start of practice.

The paper featured an abnormally long list of names that are not available now, and probably won't be available for the duration of spring practice.

The sheet kept happening, if you will.

So as much as everyone desires a clean break from 2021 and its almost sadistic run of ailments, the start of spring brings yet another reminder of just how nightmarish the season was in the area of injuries.

Ross Taylor, communications czar for Clemson football, dug up quite a statistic on the eve of spring practice: A total of 37 members of the current roster have started at least one career game for the Tigers.