Gage Cervenka enjoyed the ride through his first season at Clemson.

The Tigers were the No. 1 team in the country for much of the year, which ended with a loss to Alabama in the National Championship.

“I wish I was out there, but it’s been incredible,” Cervenka told TheClemsonInsider, before the Orange Bowl.

“I grew up a Clemson fan, so this whole experience has been incredible. I just kind of wish I could be apart of it. I’m apart of it, but I just wish I could be out there on the field. But it’s been a great experience getting to see everything like this.”

Cervenka put in plenty of work during the season to help position himself for a role in 2016.

“I’ve been focusing on getting stronger. When I came in here, I feel like I just didn’t have the strength that I needed to,” he said. “I hit the weight room a lot for power hour with coach (Joey) Batson, so I feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger.

“I’ve been working on the little things, pass rush moves and exploding off the ball, make sure I’m using my hands and reading blocks.”

At the time of the interview with TCI, Cervenka’s last weight room maxes were 450 pounds on the bench press. His squat number was 600.

“I came in — when I left high school, my max was like 550 on squats, so I went up a lot,” he said.

Cervenka wants to “stand out” as often as possible once spring practice kicks off at the end of the month.

“My biggest thing — I just want to be able to prove to the coaches that they’ll be able to depend on me,” he said. “I want to learn the whole playbook and know what to do when I’m out there, so they’ll have the trust in me.”