Note: The following appears in the Charleston Southern football digital gameday guide, available HERE.
For Jack Purkerson, staying around Clemson football has always meant more than just being on the field. Before he ever put on a Tiger uniform as a player, Purkerson was already spending his days around the program.
The Clemson native and D.W. Daniel High School graduate started as an offensive student assistant, spending his first two fall semesters working with the team. Eventually, he wanted to see if he could go from working with the team to playing for it.
Purkerson got his first chance to walk on during the spring of his sophomore year. Clemson had a larger roster at the time, and he knew that he and some of the other new walk-ons could be among the first players cut if the roster had to be reduced.
That is exactly what happened.
Purkerson was cut that spring, but instead of walking away from the program, he continued working with the team and planned to try walking on again the following spring. At the same time, the NCAA was discussing changes that could affect roster numbers and walk-on opportunities.
With his future on the team uncertain, Purkerson decided to speak with Head Coach Dabo Swinney. He made it clear that he was willing to go through whatever it took for another opportunity. Swinney told him that he would have to earn it by going through mat drills, winter workouts, spring practice and summer training before the team made its final decision.
Purkerson accepted the challenge.
Then while working a microinternship with Elliott Realty in Myrtle Beach, he received a phone call that changed everything.
He was fishing on a boat when he found out the NCAA had changed its rule, giving him another opportunity to stay on the team. Purkerson immediately jumped into the water to celebrate.
“I cried like a baby that day because it was such a blessing.”
After spending so much time around the program, Purkerson finally got the opportunity he had been working toward. In November 2025, he played his first game for Clemson against Furman. For someone who had spent years finding different ways to stay involved with the program, finally stepping onto the gridiron in a Clemson uniform was another important part of his journey.
Football, however, has never been the only part of Purkerson’s Clemson experience. During the time he was no longer on the roster, he wanted to find other ways to stay connected to the university. He joined the University Tour Guides Association and became involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).
Those organizations gave him the chance to meet people outside of football and experience a different side of Clemson.
“The year that I got cut, I wanted something other than football to keep me around.”
Those experiences became another important part of his college career. While football brought him to Clemson, his involvement outside of the program helped him build relationships and find other ways to contribute to the university.
Now as a fifth-year wide receiver, Purkerson looks at his role a little differently. After everything it took to get back onto the team, his focus is not only on what he can accomplish for himself. When asked about his “why,” Purkerson said it comes down to serving the people around him and offering himself to others.
That mindset reflects the path he has taken at Clemson. He has been a student assistant, walk-on and player who had to find another plan when things did not go his way. He found other ways to stay involved, continued working and eventually earned another opportunity to put on the uniform. Through all those experiences, Purkerson never really left Clemson football behind.
His story is about perseverance. It is about continuing to show up when things do not go as planned, finding another way forward when an opportunity disappears and appreciating it when it comes back around.
For Purkerson, getting back on the team was a blessing. Getting to play in his first game against Furman in November 2025 was another step in a journey that started long before he ever stepped onto the field.
Now, he has the opportunity to make the most of it.