Chad Smith’s redshirt season was a productive one.

The former four-star recruit from Sterling, Va. arrived to Clemson at close to 210 pounds.

“I’ve put on about 30 pounds, weighing about 240. It’s not just bad weight. It’s a good 30 pounds,” Smith said.”Power hour is a great way to put on strength. I’ve definitely done that. I’ve improved in the three major lifting areas: squat, bench and power clean. Just being able to apply that to the field, it’s going to be big to me.”

Smith expects that he’ll play either MIKE or WILL linebacker. At the time of the interview, during the Orange Bowl media day, Smith hadn’t heard anything definitive.

“I’m going to assume that sometime this spring, I’ll probably be working both…the best thing for me, to be honest with you, being able to know each position,” he said. “The more you know, the faster you’re going to be able to play, the more knowledge you’ll have of the defense.”

The starting MIKE linebacker job is vacant with the graduation of B.J. Goodson, so Smith has a shot to crack the two-deep.

“It’s exciting…you’ve got to take advantage of that,” Smith said. “You’ve got to compete. You’ve got to show the coaches that they can trust you out there, making the calls, making sure everyone is lined up and being able to execute their job.

“It’s going to be key and critical to playing a position like that out there on Saturday.”

Smith looks forward to the opportunity. To help prepare for it, he closely watched the 2015 starters at MIKE and WILL.

“Being able to sit back and watch some of the older guys like B.J. Goodson, Ben Boulware go out there and play, learning from them throughout the season, how to carry themselves throughout the season and how to approach each game” Smith said, “It’s been a great experience for me being able to sit back and watch and wait for my time.”

If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.