Clemson Football: Winners and Losers from Tigers' 2016 Spring

Clemson football wrapped up the spring Saturday with a 17-9 win by the Orange squad, and the Tigers will now move to their next phase of the offseason. 

There are many questions about the amount of experience returning on defense, but the spring game showed that there is still talent to be found on head coach Dabo Swinney's roster. 

Who came out of the spring practices with momentum, and who came out needing to make improvements? Here's a list of our winners and losers from Clemson's spring practices. 

Winner: Adam Choice

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Swinney joined the ESPN3 telecast in the third quarter of Saturday's spring game, and one of the points he made was that Adam Choice won the starting job over Wayne Gallman early in the season two years ago. An injury kept him out of the rest of that year and all of last season, but Choice is ready to reclaim a spot in the rotation. 

He played quarterback in high school, so he has undergone somewhat of a learning curve in transitioning to running back in this offensive scheme. Choice looked strong running the ball Saturday and quicker than he did in 2014. A downhill runner with his quickness is always a threat, so watch for Choice to get plenty of snaps this fall. 

Loser: Deon Cain

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Swinney announced early on that Deon Cain would not participate in spring football activities, and that could hurt his position on the depth chart. 

Clemson sent Cain home before the Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma, along with two other players, for failing a drug test, so it was unclear what we could expect out of him this season.

Per David Hood of TigerNet.com, co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott has been pleased with what he's seen from Cain this spring, so that is a good sign for Tigers fans. Missing an entire spring of reps and practice time hurts, though, and it's why we consider Cain a loser. 

Winner: Kendall Joseph

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Kendall Joseph is vying for the starting job at middle linebacker and helped his cause with his spring performance.

In the Tigers' last major scrimmage before the spring game, Joseph totaled five tackles and two sacks and was one of the best players in that game. Saturday's spring game offered more reassurance that this could be Joseph's year to break out and gain the same respect that mentors such as Stephone Anthony and B.J. Goodson did in previous years. 

He got off to a hot start in the spring game and had seven tackles at halftime. He is one of the top performers coming out of spring ball, and he will be exciting to watch this fall. 

Loser: Kelly Bryant

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Kelly Bryant is one of the guys who the coaches really want to see step up. Per David Hood of TigerNet.com, co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was impressed with Bryant after a practice on March 31. "I thought Kelly looked pretty comfortable today," Elliott said. "We really challenged him just to go play and turn it loose, and he was making good decisions." 

It's clear the coaches see his talent, but what is not clear is Bryant's ability as a passer. Saturday's spring game once again showed that he can be dangerous with his legs, but it also showed that he may not be making huge strides as a passer.  

He threw two early interceptions and never looked comfortable in the pocket. He has a tendency to lock in on receivers and get out of the pocket too quickly, but he did make a couple of nice throws on the run in the second half. The coaches say he improved over the spring, but we put him in this category because he failed to prove that in the spring game. 

Winners: Early Enrollees

Cory Fravel, 247Sports

The early enrollees could not have come at a better time for Clemson, which lost many key players to the NFL this season. Dexter Lawrence, Tre Lamar and Rahshaun Smith all enrolled early, and the spring game proved they will likely see snaps in the fall. 

All three were highly ranked prospects and seem ready to contribute. Lawrence is a force along the defensive line and was hard to move off the line Saturday. He impressed in one of the scrimmages earlier this spring with three tackles and a sack. With Christian Wilkins rotating some to defensive end, we should expect Lawrence to see a lot of playing time this season. 

Smith and Lamar also saw action in the spring game, and Lamar finished as the game's leading tackler. Both have the size to contribute to the team right away, and that was apparent in Saturday's game.