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Enrolling as a midyear signee doesn’t mean you’ll play, just as being a later enrollee in the summer doesn’t foretell redshirting. Talent level and whether there’s depth chart opportunity are more important indicators.

But the odds of a freshman contributing sooner than later in his first season do go up if he has an offseason of college strength training, spring practice and immersion in the playbook under his belt heading into the season.

Clemson's staff has tended to use about half of its newcomers in recent years. So the spring gives a telling impression for which ones have a reasonable chance for contribution.

And with so many of the Tigers’ class enrolling two weeks ago – 17 of the 27 signees – the April 6 spring game should provide some additional viewing value.