1. The boys were back in town.

Saturday's spring game didn't mark the first time a recruit has been on campus since the pandemic began little more than a year ago. A prospect here or there has swung through to take a self-guided tour or an "unofficial unofficial" visit, however you want to term them.

Yet with a handful of uncommitted targets on hand as spectators in the Death Valley crowd -- along with three of the four commitments and a few signees in attendance as well -- this felt as close to a recruiting function as Clemson has had since the NCAA imposed its dead period.

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The prospects still could not meet with coaches or tour the football operations facility. Nonetheless ...

One small step in building the class. One giant leap toward normalcy.

Clemson's staff distributed invitations the past week for the June 12-13 Elite Retreat -- its major recruiting weekend planned for once the NCAA is expected to open recruiting doors June 1.

Yes, the Tigers have fewer pledges at this stage in the cycle than most years -- arguably mostly by design, some by detrimental effect of visit restrictions.

In our eyes, the spring game guest list signified the ball starting to finally roll in advancing Clemson's class. And we'll only see steam gather as the retreat and Dabo Swinney Camp transpire.

We've been asked a lot over the last month about the Tigers' apparent lack of momentum, with the inference that what Clemson is doing isn't working and warrants adjustment or correction.

That's not how we've seen it, as we've expressed. Defeats occur.