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2026 Spring Guide: Meet the 2026 Tigers

NEW CAST LOOKS TO RETURN CLEMSON TO THE TOP IN 2026

After a 7-6 season in 2025, Clemson will attempt to reestablish itself atop the ACC and parlay conference success back into College Football Playoff contention in 2026.

Clemson is one of only four power conference teams with three conference championships this decade, alongside Alabama, Georgia and Michigan (three each). Clemson has not gone back-to-back years without winning a conference title since a three-year drought from 2012-14. Clemson will hope to extend its streak of consistency by capturing the 2026 ACC title to add to its trophies this decade from 2020, 2022 and 2024.

With the departure of a large cast of familiar faces from the past few seasons, Clemson will mesh its batch of returning and emerging talent with some proven transfer additions in 2026. The group will once again do so under the guidance of two-time national champion and nine-time ACC champion Dabo Swinney, the conference record-holder for wins by an ACC head coach who enters his 19th season (and 18th full season) eight wins shy of Tom Osborne’s FBS record for most wins in the first 20 seasons of an FBS head coaching career.

Swinney said Clemson went “back to the future” with its offensive coordinator hire in 2026 when the Tigers welcomed back offensive coordinator Chad Morris.

In Morris’ previous stint as offensive coordinator from 2011 through the end of the 2014 regular season, Clemson compiled a 41-11 record, recording a 27-6 mark against ACC opponents with a victory in the 2011 ACC Championship Game. His offense averaged 468.5 yards per game and 36.3 points per game in his 52 games as Clemson’s offensive coordinator from 2011-14, ranking ninth and 12th, respectively, among power conference teams in those categories in that span.

QUARTERBACKS

After Cade Klubnik entered the springs of 2023, 2024 and 2025 as Clemson’s relatively unquestioned starter, the Tigers will be in the unfamiliar position of seeking to identify a new starting quarterback this spring. The prospect of competition among Clemson’s current group excites Morris.

“I think we’ve got an incredibly talented quarterback room,” Morris said. “I know there are teams across the country that would love to have the talent that’s sitting in that room… I think you’ve got a great group that’s in there that’s going to create extreme competition.”

The first snaps of the spring will belong to Christopher Vizzina (Birmingham, Ala.), the fourth-year quarterback who joined Clemson as a national top-50 prospect and stood alongside Arch Manning as one of only two quarterbacks offered by Clemson in its 2023 recruiting class. Vizzina got his first career start in the absence of an injured Klubnik against SMU last October. He threw for 317 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions to become the first Clemson quarterback to throw three or more touchdown passes in his starting debut since Deshaun Watson against North Carolina in 2014, and Vizzina’s 317 passing yards were the fifth-most by a Clemson quarterback making his starting debut since 1953.

Clemson and college football cognoscenti got a view of one of the chief challengers to the position when Chris Denson (Plant City, Fla.) made an electric late-game appearance against Furman amid his redshirt season last fall. In that contest, the dual-threat southpaw rushed six times for a team-high 106 yards with a touchdown and completed 4-of-4 passes for 22 yards and another touchdown through the air. His 17.7-yards-per-carry average was the highest by a Clemson quarterback in a game with at least five attempts since Bobby Gage’s 30.3-yard average against Presbyterian in 1947.

Added competition joined the room in January with the arrivals of true freshmen Tait Reynolds (Queen Creek, Ariz.) and Brock Bradley (Birmingham, Ala.). The fleet-footed Reynolds elected to pursue football despite his status as one of the nation’s top-100 baseball recruits, and Bradley joined the Tigers after throwing for more than 7,600 career yards in becoming the winningest quarterback in the history of Spain Park High School at Alabama’s 6A level.

Clemson’s quarterback group also includes fifth-year senior Trent Pearman (Clemson, S.C.), a former two-time South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year.

RUNNING BACKS

Clemson enters the 2026 season having produced a running back with 10 or more rushing touchdowns in 10 of the last 11 years (the most in the nation), and the Tigers have featured a running back with 1,200 or more all-purpose yards in each of those 11 seasons, the nation’s longest active streak by seven years.

Like the quarterback position, competition for carries in the backfield is expected to be fierce this offseason following the graduation and NFL departure of Adam Randall, the team’s leading rusher from 2025. Sophomore Gideon Davidson (Lynchburg, Va.) was the team’s second-leading rusher a season ago, as the former top-100 national recruit picked up 201 of his 260 rushing yards in November and December.

Davidson’s entrenchment in Clemson’s top two at the position a season ago was perhaps accelerated by the absence of Jay Haynes (Roanoke, Ala.). Haynes showed his explosiveness across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, averaging 6.7 yards per carry on 49 career attempts. Haynes could have been the incumbent heading into the 2025 campaign, but a knee injury suffered on a kickoff return in the 2024 ACC Championship Game cost him the entirety of the 2025 season. Jarvis Green (Irmo, S.C.), who caught a touchdown in Clemson’s most recent College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, also returns this season after losing the 2025 campaign to injury.

David Eziomume (Acworth, Ga.) enters his redshirt sophomore season having appeared in 14 games across his first two seasons with the Tigers. The group added sprinter speed via transfer in the 2026 offseason as well, securing the services of former Miami (Fla.) and SMU running back Chris Johnson Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Johnson was a state title winner in Florida in the 100-meter (10.45) and 200-meter (20.78) dashes as a high schooler, and Clemson got a first-hand look at him as he accrued 99 all-purpose yards against the Tigers in Death Valley last October.

Two Georgia products round out the group: fourth-year back Peyton Streko (Cumming, Ga.) and second-year walk-on Max Wilson (Bogart, Ga.).

WIDE RECEIVERS

Those who emerge from Clemson’s competitions in the backfield will be the beneficiaries of a Clemson wide receiving corps counted by outside observers as one of the nation’s most talented.

Chad Morris’ stated desire to take three deep shots a quarter will likely start with Clemson’s marquee third-year perimeter threats: T.J. Moore (Key West, Fla.) and Bryant Wesco Jr. (Midlothian, Texas). The pair was one of only three duos nationally to have each player post 1,200+ receiving yards, nine or more receiving touchdowns and a yards-per-catch average of 15.0 or better over the last two seasons, joining Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and Indiana’s Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr.

In the slot, the NFL departure of the uber-productive Antonio Williams frees up snaps for Clemson’s accumulated options at the position that will make for fascinating competition in spring ball and fall camp. The veteran of that group is Tyler Brown (Greenville, S.C.), the 2023 Freshman All-American whose 2024 season was derailed by an ankle injury and whose opportunity was limited by Williams’ All-ACC campaign a year ago. Down the stretch and into bowl preparation last season, both coaches and players began to routinely vocalize their growing excitement for now-redshirt-freshman Juju Preston (Alexandria, Va.), the slight but speedy career-receiving-touchdown leader in Virginia high school football history. And the position also got an added injection of juice with the midyear arrival of Naeem Burroughs (Jacksonville, Fla.), a consensus four-star receiver who was among the most nationally lauded prospects in Clemson’s 2026 recruiting class after posting more than 4,500 all-purpose yards during his prep career.

Redshirt junior Cole Turner (Vestavia Hills, Ala.) returns for his fifth season at Clemson, including a standard redshirt year and a medical redshirt season. Turner’s career to date includes more than 600 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns: two via reception and one via rush.

In addition to the aforementioned Burroughs, Clemson added four other receivers in its 2026 recruiting class. Connor Salmin (Round Hill, Va.) and Gordon Sellars III (Charlotte, N.C.) as midyear enrollees after signing in December, while Cam Blivens (Nashville, Tenn.) and Keil McGriff (Gainesville, Fla.) are slated to join the Tigers this summer after signing in February.

Clemson’s depth at receiver also includes returning wideouts Chase Byrd (Greenville, S.C.), Clark Sanderson (Birmingham, Ala.), Sam Earle (Clemson, S.C.), Jack Purkerson (Clemson, S.C.), Luke Stubbs (Charlotte, N.C.) and Avery Wieting (Lincoln, Neb.) in addition to transfer addition Jaylen Brown-Wallace (Central, S.C.), a local product who returned to the area after starting his collegiate career at Wingate.

TIGHT ENDS

Clemson’s tight ends have combined for 247 receptions over the last four seasons, reaching the 50-reception mark in each of those campaigns. Clemson, Bowling Green State, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State are the only six programs nationally to have their tight ends account for 50 catches in every season in that span. A deep group of contributors in 2026 will seek to continue Clemson’s run of production at the position.

Senior Olsen Patt-Henry (Naples, Fla.) started 10 games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in November. In addition to recording three touchdowns receptions amid his 28 career catches, he has emerged as one of the position’s most physical and substantial contributors in the running game in Clemson’s spread offense era since 2011.

Observers got a glimpse last season of why Clemson’s coaching staff has been so bullish on the future of redshirt sophomore Christian Bentancur (Lakemoor, Ill.). Bentancur started two of the 13 games in which he appeared in 2025, catching 20 passes for 215 yards and three scores, including a two-touchdown effort in a win at North Carolina.

The excitement for Bentancur has been paralleled by the excitement for redshirt freshman Logan Brooking (Bluffton, S.C.), who joined the Tigers one year later in Clemson’s 2025 recruiting class. The NFL legacy, who is the son of All-Pro Keith Brooking, scored a touchdown on his first career reception last season against Furman.

The group will be joined this summer by incoming freshman Tayveon Wilson (Huntington, W.Va.), a do-it-all tight end for whom the term “do-it-all” might not actually be enough. The four-sport star was the Gatorade Player of the Year in West Virginia on top of serving as his school’s student body president, an officer in its Latin Club and as a member of both the National Honor Society and the Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society. Clemson’s tight end group also includes Charlie Johnson (Columbia, S.C.), a converted wide receiver who is the son of long-time college coach Ellis Johnson.

OFFENSIVE LINE

A year ago, Clemson was encouraged by one of its deeper offensive line groups in recent memory, and the Tigers ended up needing every bit of that depth. Eight different offensive linemen started at least one game for Clemson, and Clemson started seven different offensive line combinations over its 13 games.

Four significant starters from recent years — tackles Blake Miller and Tristan Leigh, guard Walker Parks and center Ryan Linthicum — graduated, carrying with them a combined 11,028 offensive snaps over 194 career appearances with 161 starts. Opportunity awaits for Clemson’s young group in 2026 in their absence.

Clemson’s returning leader in career snaps from scrimmage is senior Harris Sewell (Odessa, Texas), a senior who has played 1,650 offensive snaps over 35 games (17 starts) since arriving in 2023. Second on the offense in that category is versatile redshirt senior Collin Sadler (Inman, S.C.), whose 1,291 career offensive snaps have included 10 starts at guard and five starts at tackle.

Elyjah Thurmon (Rienzi, Miss.) entered 2025 with high expectations after he impressively responded upon being thrust into action in reserve as a true freshman in 2024. But an ankle injury ended his impressive debut in 2024 and an early shoulder injury resulted in a redshirt season in 2025. Clemson and Thurmon will hope a clean bill of health can return him to the trajectory both parties envisioned amid his debut in 2024.

Mountainous tackle Brayden Jacobs (Milton, Ga.) played 368 snaps over 10 games with four starts in his impressive true freshman season in 2025 before being sidelined by a freak foot injury suffered jumping to celebrate a win at Louisville in November. Now-redshirt-sophomore Ronan O’Connell (Franklin, Tenn.) also worked into Clemson’s starting lineup late in the season, earning his first career start at guard in the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl.

Older options in the group include sixth-year senior Dietrick Pennington (Memphis, Tenn.), fifth-year senior Chapman Pendergrass (Anderson, S.C.), fourth-year redshirt sophomore Ian Reed (Austin, Texas) and third-year redshirt sophomore Mason Wade (Hamilton, Va.). Watson Young (Clemson, S.C.) is in his third year at Clemson, but injuries in his first two seasons have precluded him from making his collegiate debut.

The 2026 offseason will represent a significant development opportunity for a trio of second-year players seeking expanded roles. Easton Ware (Lynchburg, Va.) was in line for a rotational role as true freshman before being lost for the 2025 season to a shoulder injury suffered in fall camp. Meanwhile, Gavin Blanchard (Tampa, Fla.) and Tucker Kattus (Cincinnati, Ohio) both earned plaudits for their performances in reserve and scout team roles in their first seasons on campus a year ago.

Clemson signed one of the nation’s most-lauded offensive line classes in 2026, adding six acclaimed freshmen. Five members of the class joined the Tigers in January as midyear enrollees: Chance Barclay (Minneola, Fla.), Leo Delaney (Charlotte, N.C.), Carter Scruggs (Leesburg, Va.), Braden Wilmes (Lawrence, Kan.) and Grant Wise (Pace, Fla.). Adam Guthrie (Washington Court House, Ohio) will join the Tigers this summer.

Clemson’s offensive line unit is rounded out by Bryce Smith (Six Mile, S.C.) and Hayes Galloway (Concord, N.C.).

The 2026 season will be the Clemson defense’s second campaign under the guidance of Defensive Coordinator Tom Allen.

After some changes in its secondary with both personnel and coaching workflow following a loss to Duke on Nov. 1, Clemson defense held four straight opponents below 20 points and ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense (15.0 points per game) after that date. Five of the 14 schools ranked ahead of Clemson qualified for the College Football Playoff.

Clemson’s late-season turnaround in scoring defense moved the Tigers from a No. 64 ranking in scoring defense following the Duke game to a No. 30 overall ranking by season’s end.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

Led by 16 sacks from its defensive ends, Clemson finished second in the ACC in sacks in 2025 with 35. Clemson remains the only program in America to have reached 30 sacks in all 12 seasons of the College Football Playoff era.

Clemson received instant impact last season from Purdue transfer Will Heldt (Carmel, Ind.), who led Clemson in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (7.5) in his first season as a Tiger. He became one of only 14 players nationally (alongside teammate Sammy Brown) to post 10+ tackles for loss and five or more sacks in each of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

With projected early-round pick T.J. Parker off to the NFL, the starting spot opposite Heldt will presumably be a point of intrigue in spring ball and fall camp. Jahiem Lawson (Central, S.C.) emerged in his fourth season on-campus in a rotational role in 2025, recording 24 tackles (6.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks and three pass breakups in 307 defensive snaps over 11 games. Clemson also continues to bring along two promising young prospects at the position in redshirt sophomore Darien Mayo (York, Pa.) and redshirt freshman Ari Watford (Norfolk, Va.).

Clemson added two transfers at the position in the 2026 offseason. London Merritt (Atlanta, Ga.) joined the Tigers after collecting 8.0 tackles for loss en route to PFF All-Freshman Team honors during his true freshman campaign at Colorado in 2025. Clemson also added C.J. Wesley (West Orange, N.J.), a twitchy edge rusher in his final season after four years at Howard.

Clemson will add two more freshmen this summer with the arrival of February signees Michael Foster (Charlotte, N.C.) and J.R. Hardrick (South Pittsburg, Tenn.). They will join a group that also includes veterans Armon Mason (Richmond Hill, Ga.), the son of former NBA Anthony Mason, and Caden Story (Lanett, Ala.), who contributed a half-sack in the Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

With Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart having departed for the NFL and Stephiylan Green opting to transfer, defensive tackles responsible for all 24 regular starts for Clemson in 2025 are no longer with the Tigers in 2026. As such, the door to opportunity is wide open for a bevy of newcomers and several players who have been developing in the shadows in recent years.

With that trio departing prior to last year’s postseason, Vic Burley (Warner Robins, Ga.), now a redshirt junior, and Champ Thompson (Gainesville, Ga.), now a redshirt sophomore, drew starting roles for the 2025 Pinstripe Bowl. That assignment could well have gone to now-sophomore Amare Adams (Jefferson, S.C.), who flashed in practices last spring and fall but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in November.

The significant turnover in the defensive tackle corps made Clemson an active player in the transfer market at the position. Clemson welcomed two true transfers with the additions of West Georgia’s Kourtney Kelly (Columbus, Ga.) and Oklahoma’s Markus Strong (Raiford, Fla.) in addition to signing Junior College All-American Andy Burburija (Crystal Lake, Ill.) out of Iowa Western.

Hevin Brown-Shuler (Atlanta, Ga.) will attempt to seize available reps after playing 106 defensive snaps over his first two seasons on campus. Redshirt freshman Makhi Williams Lee (Atlanta, Ga.), who missed his entire freshman season with an Achilles injury; and midyear enrollee Kam Cody (Savannah, Ga.) will each seek to make their collegiate debuts. Patrick Swygert (Batesburg-Leesville, S.C.), known internally as “P-Swag,” rounds out the group.

LINEBACKERS

With the departure of several NFL-bound players from Clemson’s 2025 unit, spotlight on Clemson’s defense will likely anchor on junior Sammy Brown (Commerce, Ga.), who has rapidly become one of the ACC’s top defenders. Brown earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, and in 2025, the Academic All-American followed up his debut season with third-team All-America honors from Phil Steele and a first-team All-ACC selection. He became one of only 26 FBS players since 2006 — and one of three Clemson players alongside Clelin Ferrell and T.J. Parker — to reach 10 tackles for loss and five sacks in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Brown will be in the market for a new running mate in Clemson’s predominantly 4-2-5 scheme following the graduation of Wade Woodaz. Two primary candidates could be redshirt senior Jeremiah Alexander (Alabaster, Ala.) and fifth-year redshirt junior Kobe McCloud (Tampa, Fla.), a duo that combined for 15 tackles in the Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State’s run-heavy attack.

Two redshirt sophomores will attempt to make cases for larger roles. Drew Woodaz (Tampa, Fla.) played in 10 games a season ago in a predominantly special teams role, and C.J. Kubah-Taylor (Frederick, Md.) played in seven games while also making his physical presence felt in late-season scrimmages.

The 2026 offseason will be the first true look Clemson’s staff has gotten at redshirt freshman Logan Anderson (Fyffe, Ala.), who missed his entire true freshman season while rehabbing from an ACL injury suffered in his senior season of high school. He and the unit will be joined in the summer by Brayden Reilly (Cincinnati, Ohio), who signed with Clemson in December.

Former walk-on Fletcher Cothran (Anderson, S.C.) was thrust into a larger role late in the 2025 season, and he’ll enter his redshirt senior campaign after tallying five tackles and a half-sack in extended action in the Pinstripe Bowl. Joseph Roberto II (Helena, Ala.), Billy Wilkes (Charlotte, N.C.) and Dominic Staten (Florence, S.C.) comprise the rest of Clemson’s linebackers to have joined the Tigers as walk-ons.

CORNERBACKS & NICKELBACKS

The early entry of Avieon Terrell into the NFL Draft leaves junior Ashton Hampton (Tallahassee, Fla.) as the Clemson secondary’s leader in career snaps. The rangy cornerback started every game in 2025 after his 2024 Freshman All-America campaign, and he enters 2026 credited with 77 tackles (3.5 for loss), 17 pass breakups, three interceptions (including one he returned 53 yards for a touchdown) and a sack in 1,150 career defensive snaps over 27 games with 17 starts.

The emergence of Branden Strozier (Lovejoy, Ga.) was a bright spot for Clemson down the stretch in 2025 in his third year on campus. In the final three games of the season alone, he accounted for 170 of his 340 snaps on the season as well as 17 of his 21 tackles and four of his five pass breakups from his 12 game appearances.

Clemson added a familiar face at cornerback for Allen by welcoming Penn State transfer Elliot Washington II (Sarasota, Fla.) for his final collegiate season. In three seasons with the Nittany Lions, Washington collected 53 tackles (1.5 for loss), two interceptions nine pass breakups and a 35-yard blocked field goal return for touchdown in 36 career games (one start), and in 2024, he was part of Allen’s defense that propelled Penn State to a berth in the national semifinals.

Redshirt sophomore Corian Gipson (Fort Worth, Texas) and redshirt junior Misun “Tink” Kelley (Central, S.C.) split primary nickelback duties a year ago. Kelley started five games at the position into early November prior to Gipson’s emergence for three starts down the stretch. The duo could be joined by two intriguing young candidates in the slot: true freshman Marcell Gipson Jr. (Dallas, Texas), who is of no relation to Corian, and sophomore Donovan Starr (Bloomington, Ill.), who transferred to Clemson this offseason following one season at Auburn.

Also counted among Clemson’s cornerbacks are redshirt senior Myles Oliver (Villa Rica, Ga.), who will hope to avoid the injury bug that has derailed much of his Clemson tenure, and freshman Shavar Young Jr. (Knoxville, Tenn.), who joined the Tigers in January as a midyear enrollee.

SAFETIES

After a challenging year defending the pass, Clemson retooled and reinvigorated its safeties group, moving on from safeties who accounted for 21 combined starts and welcoming experienced transfer additions to its intriguing incumbents in the group.

With safety as a primary priority, Clemson targeted and signed juniors Jerome Carter III (Lake City, Fla.) and Corey Myrick (Cincinnati, Ohio) early in the transfer window. Carter, the son of the former Florida State and St. Louis Rams safety of the same name, is a ballhawk who joined Clemson after posting All-Sun Belt honors as a sophomore in 2025 when he started 12 games and finished tied for second in the nation with six interceptions. Myrick was productive across two different schools under coach Charles Huff at both Marshall (2024) and Southern Miss (2025).

Clemson’s unit includes two others with starting experience. Senior Ronan Hanafin (Burlington, Mass.) transitioned to safety from wide receiver the week of the 2024 season opener, and last year, he started five of the 13 games in which he appeared but finished third on the team with 72 tackles as awarded by Clemson’s coaching staff. Redshirt senior Kylon Griffin (Montgomery, Ala.) is a veteran of 34 career games and four starts who helped seal Clemson’s memorable 2023 upset of Notre Dame with a late interception.

Redshirt junior Kylen Webb (Tampa, Fla.) and redshirt sophomores Noah Dixon (LaGrange, Ga.) and Joe Wilkinson (Rome, Ga.) have appeared in 29 combined games in their Clemson careers. Each will seek increased playing time in their third or fourth seasons in the program.

Clemson secured one of the state’s most productive safeties in the 2026 recruiting class, signing Upstate native Polo Anderson (Spartanburg, S.C.). The two-time all-state pick was credited with 265 career tackles, 25.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, five forced fumbles, five pass breakups and four interceptions during his prolific prep career. Among the group’s youth, coaches are also high on redshirt freshman Jakarrion Kenan (Bennettsville, S.C.), whom Clemson redshirted in 2025 but believed could have contributed as a dime personnel specialist if called upon.

Tyler Conner (Suwanee, Ga.) serves as a contributor at both safety and cornerback during Clemson’s weekly preparations in-season.

Clemson lost the services of two long snappers — Holden Caspersen and Philip Florenzo — with 110 combined career game appearances, but the Tigers return all other starting members of their placekicking and punting batteries for 2026.

Junior Nolan Hauser (Cornelius, N.C.) is the returning incumbent at placekicker. The two-year starter enters 2026 with a 35-of-45 mark on field goals (77.8 percent) and a 97-of-98 ledger on PATs (99.0 percent) in 27 career games (all starts). Of his 202 career points, no three points to date have been more memorable than the three he scored on his 56-yard walk-off field goal to give the Tigers the 2024 ACC title.

Redshirt senior Robert Gunn III (Seminole, Fla.) has served as Clemson’s kickoff specialist for each of the last three seasons and has recorded touchbacks on 193-of-236 kickoffs (81.8 percent) since joining the Tigers in 2022. Former Clemson men’s soccer goalkeeper Charlie Reed (Austin, Texas) will be in his second season kicking for Clemson Football in 2026.

Redshirt senior Jack Smith (Saraland, Ala.) returns for his fifth season at Clemson and presumably his second as the Tigers’ starter. Last season, he averaged 41.4 yards on 50 punts and produced 22 punts downed inside the 20 against only two touchbacks while Clemson’s punt coverage unit held opponents to a national-best 0.2 yards per punt return. Smith won the job last fall over Will McCune (Summerville, S.C.), who is now a redshirt senior after joining Clemson from Charleston Southern in 2024.

The departures of Caspersen and Florenzo will put long-snapping duties under an extra watchful eye of coaches and observers this offseason. Redshirt junior Brodey Conn (Clemson, S.C.) has snapped in four career games in a reserve role, but in December, Clemson went to the West Coast to sign Jackson Reach (Hermosa Beach, Calif.), who is believed to be the first long snapper signed by Clemson directly out of high school as opposed to being placed on scholarship after arriving as a walk-on or being signed to a different position. Regardless of who wins the job, placekicks are expected to be held by redshirt senior Clay Swinney (Clemson, S.C.), who has held every Clemson placekick since 2023 as part of a Swinney family lineage at holder that includes every Clemson placekick since the start of the 2017 season.

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