Wide-receiver-turned-safety who enters 2026 having played 647 snaps from scrimmage (41 on offense, 606 on defense) over 38 career games with five starts in addition to his role as a key special teams player … concluded 2025 credited with 85 tackles (one for loss), five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception … joined Clemson in 2023 as its first Massachusetts signee since Christian Wilkins.
2025: Credited by the coaching staff with 72 tackles, third-most on the team, with one tackle for loss, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception in 517 defensive snaps over 13 games (five starts) … earned his first career start vs. No. 9 LSU and recorded a team-high 12 tackles, a pass breakup and his first career forced fumble … collected eight tackles, a pass breakup and his first career interception vs. Troy … credited with a team-high 10 tackles at Georgia Tech … posted five tackles vs. Syracuse … added four tackles at North Carolina … collected six tackles in his return to Massachusetts at Boston College … posted four tackles vs. SMU … tallied two tackles vs. Duke … recorded three tackles both vs. Florida State and at No. 19 Louisville … posted four tackles vs. Furman … collected one tackle, one pass breakup and his second forced fumble of the season at South Carolina … tallied 10 tackles (one for loss) and a pass breakup vs. Penn State.
2024: Transitioned from wide receiver to defensive back in August and finished the year credited with 13 tackles and a pass breakup in 89 defensive snaps over 14 games … All-ACC Academic Team selection … contributed a special teams tackle vs. No. 1 Georgia … recorded four tackles in his defensive debut vs. Appalachian State … added one tackle and a pass breakup vs. NC State … made one tackle vs. Stanford … collected two special teams tackles at Florida State … posted one tackle at Wake Forest … contributed a special teams tackle vs. Virginia … added another tackle at Virginia Tech … made a tackle on defense at Pitt.
2023: Played 41 offensive snaps over 11 games in addition to his role on special teams … All-ACC Academic Team selection … made collegiate debut vs. Charleston Southern … initially intended to redshirt but proved to be too valuable as a key special teams contributor by late September … shared special teams player of the game vs. Georgia Tech thanks in part to an onside kick recovery … made two special teams stops vs. No. 20 North Carolina … made one tackle at South Carolina.
Before Clemson: Versatile athlete who contributed in myriad ways at Massachusetts’ Buckingham Browne & Nichols School … started prep career at cornerback as a freshman but played receiver and linebacker/safety most of his career … also returned punts … limited by injury to only three games (and just one full game) as a senior … posted 64 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions and a sack as a junior in 2021 … contributed 30 receptions for 369 yards and four scores … played football and lacrosse … played for Mike Willey … rated as a four-star recruit in the 247 Composite … ranked 81st in Sports Illustrated’s SI99 for 2023 … listed as the No. 195 overall player in the nation by 247Sports, which also listed him as the No. 4 player in Massachusetts and the nation’s No. 13 athlete … Rivals ranked Hanafin as the No. 5 player in Massachusetts and 10th-best athlete in the class … ESPN.com ranked Hanafin as the No. 6 player in Massachusetts … ranked as PrepStar’s sixth-best player in Massachusetts.
Personal: His father, Dan, was Boston University’s starting quarterback in 1997, the last year the school played football … Dan led Boston University to victory over UMass in 1997, the last victory in BU football history … brother of Boston College quarterback Shane Hanafin … became Clemson’s first signee from Massachusetts since eventual unanimous All-American Christian Wilkins in 2015 … born Feb. 4, 2004 … committed to Clemson on August 14, 2022 … chose Clemson over Notre Dame, for whom he was recruited by former Clemson receiver Chansi Stuckey … enrolled at Clemson in summer 2023 … management major … two-time All-ACC Academic Team selection (2023-24) … two-time ACC Honor Roll selection (2023-24) … name pronounced “ROE-ninn HANN-uh-finn.”