2026-27 State of Clemson Football

An in-depth preview for this year’s Clemson Football squad provided by Sidelines reporters Wesley Thompson and Joshua Frye. Average game predictions provided by From the Sidelines, a panel consisting of insiders and fans alike.

Clemson, SC

Following a disappointing 2025-26 seasongoing 7-6, Clemson is rebuilding and thirsty for

revenge heading into this season. There are many new faces on campus and some might even surprise you. The Tigers open the season September 5th on prime time television at LSU in a rematch of last year’s game.

Is the hype for Clemson warranted or will this year be another fluke like last year?

Clemson’s ACC Media Day kicked-off on Thursday in Uptown Charlotte, with the Tigers being represented by linebacker Sammy Brown, defensive end Will Heldt, and tight-end Olsen Patt-Henry, three men Dabo called “great ambassadors for our program, great leaders in our program, and also great players.” Dabo’s first emphasis on the day, the first of three, came from on the subject of staying true to his values and morals despite the world changing around him. Especially following the season that Clemson had last year. “The bottom line is that my identity is not in what I do. You know, I know a lot of people, that’s

what they see me as: the Clemson coach, or they see me as whatever. But that’s really not my

identity. My identity is in Christ. The foundation of my life is built on faith. I was talking about

this the other day but I was saying, like, in this world, I love it all. It’s what we signed up for.

You get a lot of love, you get a lot of hate in this world, especially this journey that we are on,

and I’ve had a bunch of both. Enough for a lifetime. But all of that stuff is circumstantial. It’s

based on, ‘if you do this, then that, if this, then that,’ ‘man, if we got that one more yard, then

they love you,’ but in reality, if you came up one yard short, they hate you. Also, that is

circumstantial. But that’s again what I built my life on: a foundation of faith. Because God’s

promises, God’s peace, and grace... that never changes.”

After establishing himself to the media, Dabo established the bottom line: what went wrong last season and how to fix it this season. Isabella Martin, a writer for the Clemson Association for Women in Sports Media, asked a perennial question to Swinney that brought the media the exact question they were seeking. “You keep referring to this past season as similar to 2010,” Martin said. “That was 16 years ago. Can you explain what it means to get players like Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins to come in and change the tide?”

Dabo’s response was sharp and quick, as if he was planning for this one: “DeAndre Hopkins was on that six-win team in 2010 and Sammy came in 2011. Yeah, you know, we all draw on our experiences and things that we go through in life. And so, not for these guys because they don’t know. I mean, Olsen [Patt-Henry] has never had a season like that. Sammy [Brown] has been there two years. He won a championship, went to the playoffs, and

then we stunk. So he’s got two seasons to draw experience from. Will [Heldt] won more games last year than he won his whole time at Purdue, so his perspective was very different last year. “So it’s all about where you are but in 2010, you know, we lost five games by six points or less. One in overtime at Auburn, the national champion. One on a 100-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins in Tallahassee. You know, so it was brutal. And we go 6-7 and we, you know, had a bunch of guys drafted, we had a good football team. But that team stayed together and I could feel it. And hey, we came back the next year. We won the ACC, won 10 games. And if you go back and look at the predictions going into 2011, I will be willing to bet we weren’t picked to win the ACC. In fact, most predictions were this was probably my last year of coaching. And you know, I’ve kind of been on a one-year contract ever since.

“Fast forward, we’ve had 15-winning seasons, 13 10-win plus seasons, 14 9-win plus seasons.

We won 11 ACC Championships in the last 15 years. And then you have a season like last year and that’s kind of what everybody wants to focus on. And I get that, we earned that. But there were a lot of similarities [in the two seasons]. There really were. I lost 3 games by 11 points. We lost 2 games on the last play of the game. We are 151-7 all the way back to 2010 when we lead in the fourth quarter. Two of those seven were last year. So we didn’t finish in the fourth quarter. We didn’t. “We lead the nation. We’re number one in 138 schools in the last 15 years in one-score games. We’re one in this, it’s either Georgia or Ohio State at two or three. So we’ve won close games. I’ve had some 12-0 teams that were 4 plays from being 8-4. All right? And so we didn’t win the close games. We didn’t finish in the fourth quarter. We didn’t run the ball effectively. We played the worst pass defense in my coaching career. So that’s my fault. But it’s football stuff. “And so that’s our focus. We got to fix the football stuff. You get what you earn. And not what people predict. If it was about what people said, what they predicted, we won the league last year, we would go to the national championship, all right? “I just want to tell you, ain’t none of y’all going to pick us, and none of y’all will say anything good about us. And I’m dead. I’m gone,” Dabo said, pointing fingers at media companies that have disrespected Clemson this coming season. “But I’m still here, all right? But it’s not about that either. It never has been. If it was about what people predicted, I’d have been gone a long time ago. It’s about what you do. That’s what it’s about. And you know we didn’t do the football stuff well enough last year. And you know, we got everything we need. We don’t make any excuses. And so we’re gonna give what we earn this year. And so that’s what we’re focused on. Doing what it takes to earn the results we want. And so, these guys have been working toward that but it’s not what we say. Haters hate right? They said there’s a bunch of hate. The one thing about haters, when you win, it don’t matter what they say. And when you lose, it don’t matter what you say. “So don’t focus on that. Just focus on ‘let’s go get better.’ And the good news is, hey man, we’ve got a lot to stand on. We’ve won this league three times this decade. And we talk about all that we have and had done. And even with seven wins last year, we’re still one of the top-10 winningest programs in college football this decade. And we’re second in [conference] championships this decade. Georgia’s first, we’re second. “We’re number one in draft picks. We’re number one in graduation. We’re number one in retention rates. Now, these are like make-believe things. All right? But you know what else is true? We stunk last year. That’s true too. We’ve lost some games we should’ve won. But how about we give the opponents some credit? Football is not easy. It’s not easy to win. So we’re not perfect and I’m far from perfect. But we’re consistent. And it’s a new year. We’re excited about it. And hey, we’re putting our heads down, seeing if we can go find a way to win some games.”

The third statement from Dabo on the day came on the subject of Christopher Vizzina and what makes him the new face of this offense. “Man, CV has been great. He really has. I mean, listen, I know y’all write about it. I know y’all talk about it. You know, we have fans that talk about it but at the end of the day, you have to make decisions. You can’t make decisions that please everybody and if you want to fail drastically, try to do that. And we made a decision that, you know, we weren’t gonna go and get some shiny object in a quarterback. We understand that. And if it doesn’t work out, we’re gonna be just ranking over the coals for that. But you got to make decisions that you believe in. And we always do what we think at Clemson is best for our team, for the long term health of our team, our organization, etc. And there’s a reason why we had confidence in the decision that we made.

And that’s because we’re there every day. And CV has earned the opportunity to go be the

starting quarterback based on everything we observed. Now, if we didn’t think he was good

enough, and we hadn’t demonstrated the things that he controlled at that point in his career, we might have made another decision. The other thing is we knew who was coming in. And we believed in him.”

Outgoing Players

(Drafted and Portal)

The 2025 season came to an end with a loss to Penn St in the Pinstripe Bowl with a score of

22-10. It was a fitting loss to show just how much of a disappointing season the Tigers had

overall. Clemson knew it would potentially lose some key starters to the draft as well as the

portal, but no one knew if Dabo would finally adapt to this new era of college football and

replace the losses with the portal. Dabo has previously stated that he has used the portal every year but one; however, most did not feel he used it nearly enough to fill in holes on both sides of the ball.

Clemson took 3 players in the 2025 portal windows - Will Heldt, Jeremiah Alexander and

Tristan Smith. Heldt saw the most playing time, however, each one of them showed they have the talent to play at this level. Many fans knew after the 2025 season, Clemson would see multiple players leaving in the portal, but no one knew for sure who would leave. One of the most notable losses to the portal was Khalil Barnes, famously known for his scoop and score against Spencer Rattler in the first few plays in the 2023 victory. Other notable losses were Ricardo Jones, Luke Ferrelli, Keith Adams Jr, Stephiylan Green, and Josh Sapp. Ricardo Jones led the team with 6 interceptions with one being against LaNorris Sellars late in the 4

th quarter that sealed the 28-14 victory for Clemson last season against South Carolina.

Everyone in college football knows how the Ferrelli situation unfolded. An interesting note is that Clemson will face Stephiylan Green this fall when the Tigers head to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers. Clemson lost 14 players to the portal this past December, but they would not be the only ones leaving with the NFL Draft right around the corner.

Before the 2025 season started, every draft board had Peter Woods and TJ Parker going

very early in the first round. However, Clemson’s first player drafted was offensive tackle Blake Miller, who was drafted to the Detroit Lions. He would be the first offensive lineman to ever be drafted in the first round from Clemson. Peter Woods was drafted shortly after by the Kansas City Chiefs with Parker being drafted day two to the Buffalo Bills. Avieon Terrell was drafted in the 2nd round to the Atlanta Falcons, which is also where his older brother, AJ Terrell, plays. The third round only had one Clemson Tiger taken and that was Antonio Williams to the Washington Commanders. Cade Klubnik was drafted in the 4th round to the New York Jets, followed by Wade Woodaz being drafted by the Houston Texans. In the 5th

round, Clemson saw Demonte Capehart and Adam Randall get drafted with Capehart going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Randall to the Baltimore Ravens, respectively. The final player to go to the NFL was Tristan Leigh as an undrafted free agent to the Minnesota Vikings.

Having 9 players drafted, even after a 7-win season, is impressive but also begs the question:

what went wrong? The 2025 season had very high expectations for Clemson by every major media outlet because the entire team would return and another off season with Garrett Riley as offensive coordinator. However, Clemson would only win seven games in 2025 with notable losses to LSU, Syracuse and Duke, all four at home. Clemson was able to secure the Palmetto Series trophy even after a rough season, which is the only positive most would say Clemson had last season. Most of the fanbase said it was time to move on from Dabo while others wanted to give him one last chance to prove he could adapt and win in this new era of college football. Dabo did make the decision to move on from Riley and replace him with a familiar face in Chad Morris. The main question is whether this move would be enough to get Clemson back on track to seeing the playoffs again. Following the loss to Penn St, all eyes were fixed on the portal window waiting to see if and how many players Clemson would pursue and be able to bring on board.

Portal Additions /

Incoming Freshmen

For the first time ever, Clemson is bringing in a relatively large transfer class that will be looking to make an immediate impact on the upcoming season. Several freshmen will be looking to help fill some holes left by outgoing players, as 23 new faces will be on campus this year. Polo Anderson joins the Tigers from nearby Spartanburg at the safety position. Anderson was ranked a consensus top-150 player in the nation, a two-time all-state and three-time all-region pick at Dorman, credited with 265 career tackles, 25.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, five forced fumbles, five PBUs, and four interceptions. He was also vital on special teams, blocking four career kicks.

Chance Barclay hails from Minneola, Florida and will add depth to Clemson’s offensive line.

The lineman was a consensus four-star prospect, a three-time first-team all-district selection, and helped lead The First Academy to 190.2 rushing yards per game and 56 touchdowns in 10 games in 2024.

Cam Blivens joins the Tigers in a massive incoming WR room, having tallied 1,086 yards on 63 receptions and 14 total touchdowns as a senior at Lipscomb High School.

Brock Bradley will come in as a freshman to compete for a spot in the quarterback room.

Bradley left Spain Park as the program’s all-time winningest quarterback, collecting a 28-7

record as a three-year starter. He completed 497-of-758 career passes for 7,694 yards and 87

touchdowns, rushing 122 times for 334 and eight additional touchdowns on top of that.

Jaylen Brown-Wallace transferred to Clemson from Wingate as a wide receiver, appearing in six games for the Bulldogs. He was an all-state performer and state champion at Daniel High School in Clemson.

Andy Burburija joined Clemson from Iowa Western CC, totaling 78 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, 14.0 sacks and a forced fumble. The junior defensive tackle earned first-team NJCAA

All-America honors as a sophomore after putting together 45 tackles, 18.5 TFLs, and 11.0 sacks in helping the Reivers earn a national championship.

Naeem Burroughs is a consensus four-star wide receiver prospect, coming in from Jacksonville, Florida. He enters his career at Clemson having exceeded 4,000 all-purpose yards over his career at Bolles High School. He was listed as the No. 12 wide receiver prospect by ESPN going into the signing period. Burroughs helped power Bolles to a 12-1 record and a state semifinal berth his senior season in 2025.

Jerome Carter III transfers in from Old Dominion, having played 25 games (12 starts) in his first two seasons with the Monarchs. He has 98 career tackles, 2.5 TFLs, six interceptions, and three pass breakups in those two seasons. He earned second-team All-Sun Belt honors as a sophomore in 2025.

Kam Cody joins an extensive freshmen defensive group, having tallied 248 career tackles, 37.0 TFLs, 22.5 sacks, two fumbles recovered and a forced fumble. He was selected as GHSA Region 1-4A Defensive Player of the Year.

Leo Delaney joins the Tigers from the Queen City as the No. 72 overall ranked player in the

Class of 2026. Delaney was a multi-time all-conference selection, serving Providence Day as a

team captain in their 13-0 state championship squad his senior season in 2025.

Michael Foster also hails out of Charlotte, having been credited with 232 career tackles, 21.0

sacks, seven pass breakups and five forced fumbles over his final two high school seasons. He served as a team captain at Indian Land his senior season.

Marcell Gipson Jr. covers the corner position, having signed out of Dallas. He was a three-time first-team all-district selection over his final seasons. He was a first-team all-state selection as a defensive back and as a kick returner as a junior in 2024.

Adam Guthrie earned first-team All-Frontier Athletic Conference and all-district honors for

2025, anchoring an offensive line that powered Miami Trace to 3,723 rushing yards, 48 rushing touchdowns, and a 10-2 record as a senior in 2025. He did not give up a sack in that same season. He comes in through the Ohio OL pipeline Clemson has developed under Tyler Grisham.

J.R. Hardrick earned all-region and all-state honors in Tennessee in each of his final three

seasons. He led South Pittsburg to a 13-1 record in his senior campaign and its third straight

TSSAA Class 1A state title game berth as a senior in 2025. He was credited with 60 tackles, 9.0 for loss, 6.0 sacks in his senior season.

Chris Johnson Jr. transfers in from SMU, after spending his first two seasons at Miami (FL). The running back rushed 84 times for 583 yards with five touchdowns, caught 26 passes for 254 yards with three touchdowns, and returned 22 kickoffs for 522 yards across those three seasons.

Carlito Jones is a walk-on OL, having participated as a thrower for Clemson men’s track and

field for two years. He collected five top-10 finishes in various throwing events in his two

seasons. He is a local, having played football, basketball, and track at Pendleton High.

Kourtney Kelly spent his first two collegiate seasons at West Georgia from 2024-25. He was

credited with 17 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 7.0 TFLs, and a fumble recovery in 12 games at West

Georgia. Kelly will be unavailable for the upcoming season after tearing his ACL in preseason practice.

Keil McGriff joins the Tigers as a freshman out of Gainesville, Florida. Listed on the depth chart as a wide receiver, McGriff finished his high school career with 4,741 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns, 893 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, and 787 receiving yards with eight receiving touchdowns. He also played defense, collecting 65 tackles, four

interceptions and one punt return touchdown. He is the son of Travis McGriff and grandson of Lee McGriff, both of whom were first-team All-SEC wideouts for Florida.

London Merritt spent his freshman season at Colorado, being credited with 25 tackles, 8.0 TFLs, and a sack in 12 games played for the Buffaloes. He was a four-star recruit for Deion Sanders and the Buffs and the No. 52 player nationally in his class.

Corey Myrick played his first two collegiate seasons under Charles Huff at both Marshall (2024) and Southern Miss (2025). He comes into Clemson with 95 career tackles, 4.5 TFLs, four pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 21 games across both schools.

Jackson Reach comes into Clemson as the nation’s second ranked long snapper by Rubio Long Snapping. He was a three-time first-team all-area and two-time All-CIF long snapper. He is also credited with 301 career tackles, 22.0 TFLs, 18.0 sacks, 17 PBUs and eight forced fumbles as a linebacker at Mira Costa High School. He is the first long snapper to be signed by Clemson out of high school rather than arriving as a walk-on.

Brayden Reilly (6’3 200) is a 4-star linebacker from Cincinnati, Ohio. He saw a bit of a different

route to committing to Clemson than most because he committed before his official visit. He was first offered on October 16, 2025, and committed to the Tigers just a week later on October 24th. He visited Clemson on November 1st then signed during the early signing period in December. He was a late offer in the last recruiting cycle, but Clemson quickly gained ground with him and saw him sign to play for the Tigers.

Another freshman is a 3-star quarterback from Queen Creek, Arizona in Tait Reynolds (6’2 215). Reynolds is a dual-sport athlete who has time playing baseball and football in high school. He was originally committed to Arizona State to mainly focus on baseball, but he caught the attention of Garrett Riley, Clemson’s former OC, and Dabo when he spent time at Dabo’s Summer Camp on June 5th, 2025. He got an offer from the Tigers on June 8th and decided to commit the following month on July 7th. Like Reilly, his commitment was a little different because he committed before going on his official visit, but that camp was enough for him to decide to play for Clemson for the next 3-4 years. He did not have any stars on 247 but he quickly caught the attention of the rest of the nation in his junior and senior year. Reynolds earned the Arizona Cardinals Offensive Player of the Year and led his team to a 10-3 record, which was a huge improvement from the previous year after going 3-8.

The Clemson fanbase will be excited to see two very talented wide receivers this upcoming

season in 4-star Connor Salmin (6’1 195) and 4-star Gordon Sellars III (6’2 180). Salmin is from

Potomac, Maryland and he is already one of the fastest players on this Clemson team. Like

Reynolds, Salmin was also a multi-sport athlete in high school while being in track & field as

well as football. He was a state champion in the 100-meter race in the state of Virginia as a junior in high school. Sellars III is another elite talent in that wide receiver room coming from

Charlotte, NC. Clemson fans who attended this year’s Spring Game saw what Sellars III can do in the boundary. He is a big receiver that will go high-point the ball and has strong hands. He also has some experience in track & field, so he brings even more speed to the receiving core for whomever leads the charge at quarterback.

Clemson saw 6 offensive linemen commit last cycle. Carter Scruggs and Grant Wise are two of the biggest names from that group. Wise (6’3 320) is a 4-star from Pace, FL and is already

creating some buzz in the locker room for his talent on the line. He is a freshman right now but already jumping up the depth chart. Matt Luke, the offensive line coach, got a strong player with Wise who was also earning medals in weightlifting. He mostly played tackle, outside lineman, but he has the skills to play anywhere on that line which is exactly what Luke looks for in his prospects. Another strong addition to the offensive line room is 4-star Carter Scruggs (6’5 290) from Leesburg, VA. This coaching staff has seen taking many athletes who have played multiple sports in high school and Scruggs is no exception. He also participated in Track & Field while participating in the shot put his junior year leaving with a 43-9 record. He also mainly played right tackle like Wise, and some believe he plays a lot like Blake Miller, who is a former player that was drafted in the 1st round of the draft this year.

Clemson only saw one tight end commit in the previous cycle by 3-star Tayveon Wilson (6’3

205) from Huntington, WV. As stated before, Clemson’s focus has been to bring in athletes who have played multiple sports. Wilson competed in four: baseball, basketball, track & field, as well as football. In 2023, Wilson finished his football season with almost 600 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns as well as saw a kickoff return for a touchdown. In 2024, he had a batting average in baseball of .435 with 18 RBIs, runners batted in and had 22 stolen bases. To bring in an athlete with that much talent, you can bet Chad Morris will be able to use him in so many ways for this offense.

The defense saw the biggest losses to the portal and the draft with players like Peter Woods, T.J. Parker and Aveion Terrell leaving. The defensive line will only be returning two starters from the previous year, so it was imperative that Clemson hit big in the last recruiting class and the portal.

Tom Allen and company were able to bring in some major talent with players like Markus Strong and C.J. Wesley. Strong (6’3 300) is a 3-star who was previously playing at Oklahoma for former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Clemson saw Demonte Capehart go into the draft and decided they needed to bring in another big-bodied defensive tackle to lock down the middle of that line. He visited this year on January 7th and decided that day to commit to Clemson. He was a huge boost to this defensive line room and will without a doubt help slow the opponent’s run game for Clemson. Wesley (6’2 240) is a 3-star defensive end from Jersey City, NJ. He came to us from Howard, which is where former Clemson wide receiver Artavis Scott is currently serving as an assistant coach. Wesley will only have one year left but Clemson saw the speed that he brings to the line and sent him the offer immediately after seeing him practice.

Tom Allen told the media following the 2025 season that he wanted more speed and taller

athletes for his secondary. He did not waste any time when the portal opened to go after players just like that and Elliot Washington II and Donovan Starr fit that perfectly. Starr (5’11 180) was a 4-star cornerback who came to us from Auburn. He was a Clemson lean in his high school recruiting days but ultimately decided to play for Auburn. Clemson wanted Starr because of his length and speed on the field. He is a multi-sport athlete like most Clemson recruits where he won the 3A D-1 state championship as a junior in the 100-meter race in Tennessee. He also competed in the high jump where he placed second in the state championship. Tom Allen hit a home run when he was able to bring Starr to Clemson with the type of speed that he has. The other speedster for this secondary is Washington (5’11 201) who was a 4-star who transferred from Penn St. He is a little bigger than Starr, but just as fast. Like Starr, Washington competed in track and placed 3rd in the 100m for the 3A state track meet. Starr and Washington are exactly what Allen wants in his secondary for this new age of college receivers.

Ferrelli Gate

Going into the transfer window, Clemson looked ahead to find a veteran linebacker to help

bolster their secondary for the upcoming season and found their next star in Luke Ferrelli. Or so they thought.

Luke Ferrelli initially visited Clemson on January 5, 2026 with his father. They met Dabo

Swinney that night for the first time over dinner. The Ferrelli’s had just come from their Ole Miss visit and his dad said, “It was a mess. It was unorganized. It was chaos. The building was a mess. Nobody knew what was going on.”

The following day, January 6, saw Luke’s official visit. He was joined by his father and Ferrelli’s

agent, Ryan Williams. Luke was given an offer to join the team and according to Swinney, “they verbally accepted the terms of the offer.” Subsequently, all other linebacker visits were canceled since Clemson believed they had their guy.

On January 7th, the Ferrelli’s left to go back to California. Before leaving, Luke signed his

financial aid agreement with Clemson and would be moving to Clemson the following week as a student.

Sunday, January 11th, soon rolled around and Ferrelli moved to Clemson. He had begun a lease on his apartment and bought a car that same day and began classes and team training the next day.

That Wednesday was when the tide started shifting for the worse.

Clemson general manager Jordan Sorrells received a call from Williams warning him that Ole

Miss was “coming hard” after Ferrelli.

“He said, ‘Are you talking about the same Luke that’s been enrolled, that’s enrolled at Clemson, that’s been in class, that’s moved here, that signed with Clemson?”’” Swinney detailed in his presser on January 20th.

Williams confirmed this but assured Sorrells that “Luke had no intention of leaving Clemson.” He just wanted to keep the program in the loop about the situation.

The following morning, Swinney was informed about the situation and had Sorrels reach out to Ole Miss’s general manager, Austin Thomas. Sorrells called Thomas and sent a staunch warning to be passed along to head coach Pete Golding. Swinney also told Sorrells to inform Ole Miss that if communications did not cease immediately, Clemson would turn him in to the NCAA.

Sorrells sent the same warning twice to Thomas, once over a call and the other over text.

Thomas assured Sorrells that he wanted no part in this and that his relationship with Jordan was more important than Luke Ferrelli but “Pete Golding just does what he does.”

At 1:30 PM that afternoon, Sorrells met with Ferrelli about the situation. Ferrelli then told him

and Ben Boulware about the text he received that morning. During his 8 AM class, Ferrelli got a text from Golding. The message said, “I know you’re signed. What’s the buyout?”

Ferrelli then said that Golding sent him a picture of a $1 million contract. Swinney said former and current Ole Miss players Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss reached out to persuade Luke to leave.

That Friday at practice, Ferrelli informed Boulware that Ole Miss reached out again, doubling

their offer to $2 million to play for them. It is important to note that this was the last day to enter the portal.

After talking with Williams about the situation, Sorrells was informed that only “if we were to

add a second year at a million dollars to the already agreed upon deal with Luke, then they would gladly give us whatever we need in order to turn Ole Miss in.” Sorrells declined the blackmail offer.

At 4:14, Sorrells approached Swinney. He says he got a call from the compliance office.

Ferrelli was looking to re-enter the portal. Tom Allen was also informed. Ferrelli did not answer his phone after Clemson called him.

At 4:40, Sorrells and Allen drove to Ferrelli’s apartment. They met the linebacker in his

driveway. His immediate response was, “I’m going to Ole Miss.”

At 5:39 PM, Sorrells called Thomas to inform him that Clemson was pursuing all options to have them accountable for tampering. To end the day, Swinney called athletic director Graham Neff and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips to begin legal action.

After months of legal action, the NCAA enforcement staff came forward with findings (and

progress) in the Ole Miss case. On the same day that Dabo accused Pete Golding of tampering, the NCAA launched an investigation.

According to documents obtained by ESPN, an NCAA associate director of enforcement emailed Ole Miss senior associate athletic director for compliance Taylor Hall on January 23, a few hours after Dabo blasted Ole Miss for tampering. In the email, the associate director requested that Golding’s university-issued cell phone and personal phones be forensically imaged. The NCAA also requested the same of phones used by Austin Thomas, linebackers coach Jay Shoop and Matt Kitchens, director of player personnel Jai Choudhary and senior associate athletic director for strategy/cap management Matt McLaughlin. The NCAA also asked for Ferrelli’s phones to be forensically imaged and that each individual’s phone records from December 2025 to January 2026 be submitted to enforcement staff. The legality of the whole case is still in the works but possible punishments are being speculated.

These include:

Coach Suspension: Golding can face suspension ranging from one game to half the season.

Show-Cause Orders: Assistant coaches could be severely restricted from recruiting.

Fines: The university could be forced to pay substantial fines, including potential fines equal to 20% of the entire program’s budget.

Recruiting Restrictions: Loss of official/unofficial visits and bans on all recruiting communications for specific periods.

Scholarship Reductions & Probation: Loss of roster spots and an extended period of NCAA

probation.

More details regarding the situation are hopefully slated to come out in the next couple of

months but the time frame is currently unknown.

Clemson vs. LSU

A rematch for the ages is coming to Baton Rouge, Louisiana as the Clemson Tigers take on the Bayou Bengals in the second leg of their home-and-home series that started last season.

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has only faced Dabo twice in his career, both times coming in 2015 and 2016 when Alabama and Clemson faced-off and split those two national championships.

LSU has opened as 11.5-point favorites heading into the matchup, mostly coming off of a red-hot recruiting cycle for Kiffin. But as the great Lee Corso said, “Not so fast buddy.”

Clemson has completely revamped their team heading into the season opener in the Bayou and is looking to make some noise, especially with Chad Morris reclaiming his stake over the Clemson offense.

The only thing that could stop Clemson? LSU’s defense.

Kiffin recruited former Clemson defensive lineman Stephiylan Green to join his squad but also brought nearly all of his remaining starters on the defense with him to LSU.

Clemson will be inexperienced in their offense, especially with an inevitable quarterback battle brewing between Tait Reynolds and Christopher Vizzina. With that being said, Clemson will have an explosive run game with Gideon Davidson and Chris Johnson Jr. taking over in the back field. Clemson is bringing back the triple option offense that shined under Chad Morris in their 25-24 nail biter over LSU in 2012.

Josh’s Prediction: 21-20 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction:24-21 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 28-22 LSU

Georgia Southern @ Clemson

The second game of the schedule will come as Georgia Southern visits Clemson in what should be a pretty easy game for the Tigers. The two teams have only ever faced once, coming in 2018 as Clemson won decisively 38-7.

Notable Players for Ga. Southern:

Chance Gamble is one of the most recognizable players on defense for the Eagles. He was

named to the All-Sun Belt second team in back-to-back years. David Mbadinga is the elusive running back for GSU who is finally seeing starting time with the departure of OJ Johnson. Mbadinga’s stats aren’t stellar but he has a lot to provide for the Eagles in the backfield.

Max Johnson is entering his seventh and final season of college football. He is a familiar face to Clemson, as he faced the Tigers as part of the UNC squad from last season.

Josh’s Prediction: 59-10 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction:45-13 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 52-13 Clemson

UNC @ Clemson

Chapel Bill will pay a visit to the most electric environment he may ever see when his Tar Heels take on the Tigers in Death Valley. 80,000 fans will pack the Valley, eager to see the Tigers add to the curbstomping of the disastrous program Bill Belichick has put together.

Clemson should win this one fairly easily, as they look to push Bill Belichick closer to the edge of his already-hot seat.

The biggest challenge for the Tigers will be going against Bobby Petrino’s offensive gameplan. Petrino has been known to be one of the greatest offensive minds still in the game, even despite his rough last few stints as a head coach. The Tar Heels are likely to play an up-tempo, pro-style offense that will include RPOs and play-action schemes, something Petrino was notable for during his two tenures with Louisville. The starter going into the season for the Tar Heels is unknown as Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr., Texas A&M transfer Miles O’Neill, and true freshman Travis Burgess are currently in a three-way battle for the position. Edwards Jr. is possibly in the best position to win, since he can command the complex offense Petrino is expected to run.

The Tigers are 41-19-1 all-time against the Heels and on a seven-game win streak against North Carolina, dating back to a 59-38 win in 2011.

Josh’s Prediction: 35-13 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction:27-17 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 32-15 Clemson

Clemson vs California

This game is likely to be a trap game for Clemson, marking their first ever regular season West Coast trip. The Tigers will take on the Golden Bears on September 25th, not only making it a night game but also a Friday night game, making Cal a dangerous atmosphere for Clemson to play in.

This might be one of the most anticipated games of the season for California but Clemson will look to almost play the “upset” as they avoid the trap. The story of this game will be whether or not new head coach Tosh Lupol, who has never been a head coach at the Division I level, and coordinators Jordan Somerville and Michael Hutchings, both who have never been coordinators before, can beat the system and pull off the upset. Lupol previously has either been a coordinator or assistant coach for Oregon, the Cleveland Browns, and Alabama.

Notable: California is 1-0 all-time against the Tigers, having won the only matchup in the

postseason of 1991 by a score of 37-13.

Josh’s Prediction: 24-20 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 35-28 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 25-19 Clemson

Miami (FL) at Clemson

The second most anticipated game for the Tigers will come when the College Football National Runner-Up Miami Hurricanes travel to Clemson. Former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah will face Clemson for the second straight season, having a 27-for-41 passing day for 361 yards and four touchdowns.

The Hurricanes spent over $16.5 million on this year’s transfer class, signing Mensah for $10

million on a blockbuster two-year deal. Joining Mensah from the portal is IOL Jonathan Cline

(ETSU), WR Cooper Barkate (Duke), OT Jamal Meriweather (Georgia), DL Keona Davis

(Nebraska), K Jake Weinberg (Florida State), DL Jarquez Carter (Ohio State), EDGE Damon

Wilson II (Mizzou), K Jack Olsen (Northwestern), WR Vandrevius Jacobs (South Carolina), S

Omar Thornton (Boston College), WR Cam Vaughn (West Virginia), and S Conrad Hussey

(Oregon State).

With all their star power, Miami is likely to run an Air Raid offense, similar to the one they ran

last year with Carson Beck. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson will run more bunch sets

this year than last year due to the explosiveness of Miami’s receivers. Because of the cannon arm Darian Mensah possesses, the Hurricanes will take downfield shots frequently, looking to torch any secondary caught slacking. If Clemson is going to win this game, they will need to lock down the perimeter and intercept any passes that might crowd the airspace.

Josh’s Prediction: 17-13 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 21-20 Miami

From the Sidelines Prediction: 29-25 Miami

Charleston Southern @ Clemson

Not much needs to be said about this game as the Tigers will seek a cruise control win over the Bucs as they head into the back-half of the season. Expect many backup and walk-ons to get time on the field and develop their game.

Player to watch for when Clemson rides backups? Fletcher Cothran. Cothran only recorded 10 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 0.5 over 13 games in 36 defensive snaps last season. He played hefty minutes against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl and has a ton of upside going into this season. While he will not be a starter, the reserve linebacker is looking at putting more stats next to his name going into the season, especially when he gets more time against

smaller schools like Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern.

Josh’s Prediction: 63-3 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 52-13 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 57-9 Clemson

Virginia Tech @ Clemson

James Franklin finally meets Dabo in a highly-anticipated matchup between two perennial top head coaches. This will be the first meeting between the pair, with Dabo praising Franklin as a “winner” and a “perfect fit” for the conference and Franklin returning the love to Dabo.

The only thing stopping James Franklin from beating Dabo? His poor track record in big games.

Franklin holds a 4-21 AP Top-10 record all-time and is 15-29 against all ranked opponents.

Franklin was recently fired from Penn State after going 3-3 during the 2025 season. The first

three games of the slate were fairly easy wins including a 46-11 drubbing of Nevada, a 34-0

shutout of FIU, and a 52-6 beatdown of Villanova. The next three games, however, dictated a

major reason for Franklin’s demise. The first of three was a 30-24 2OT loss to Oregon, in what was deemed to be one of the best losses for Penn State up until that point. The second loss came 42-37 against a then 0-4 UCLA squad, one that finished 3-9 on the season. The third and final game was a 22-21 loss to Northwestern that, quite frankly, should never have happened.

The thing about James Franklin isn’t that he’s a bad coach, it’s more so how poor decisions

throughout the last few seasons have deepened a wound within his track-record. The biggest decision that could use some improvement? His in-game management. He made multiple errors during tight situations that damaged his future with losses to unranked teams that, if time management was used properly, could have resulted in wins.

Going into the 2026 season at Virginia Tech, Franklin is looking to turn the tide and right the

wrongs he caused at Penn State. He hired Ty Howie back as his Offensive Coordinator, Danny O’Brien as his quarterbacks coach, and at least seven other personnel members that followed him to Blacksburg. The most notable player coming to Tech is former Penn State quarterback, Ethan Grunkemeyer. Grunkemeyer took over at quarterback late last season and led the Nittany Lions to wins over Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. Grunkemeyer knows, somewhat at least, of the Tigers’ defense and will be looking to attack with the same offensive gameplan as last year. The redshirt freshman went 23-of-34 for 262 passing yards and two touchdowns, including the game-deciding 73-yard touchdown to Trebor Peña in the fourth quarter.

If the Tigers are going to stifle a gunslinger in Grunkemeyer and shut down any receiving

targets, they will need to do it early and often. The Tigers ranked 30th nationally last season in quarterback pressure percentage at 11.2% with a sack percentage of 7.23%, their lowest since 2011. The good thing for Clemson is that the Hokies will be relying heavily on inexperienced players rather than veteran transfers, so the experienced D-Line for Clemson could cause problems for Virginia Tech.

Josh’s Prediction: 21-17 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 24-14 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 32-22 Clemson

Clemson vs Florida State

This could be the game to decide Norvell’s fate at Florida State.

The Seminoles went an abysmal 5-7 last season to add on top of their 2-10 season the year prior, and some wonder how Norvell even still exists on Florida State’s campus. He is rated 5/5 on the “Hot Seat” scale with his third and final chance at coaching the Noles looming. Some analysts, such as former FSU quarterback Danny Kanell, have stated that if Norvell doesn’t win at least eight games, he will be fired. That puts this Clemson game at the focal point for Norvell’s future. In the high chance that Clemson blows out FSU or embarrasses the Noles at home, Norvell will be fired. If the Noles simply lose to Clemson, who has become their fiercest rival in ACC play and has ended their ACC title hopes multiple times, Norvell will be fired. If FSU stumbles on the offensive play-calling from Norvell and collapses against Clemson’s defense, Norvell will be fired.

All this to say that if Florida State isn’t doing too hot going into the October 31 matchup, this

game could include every last ounce of everything that Norvell could possibly give. Which

means he will pull out all stops against a Clemson team that has attempted to finish a rebuild.

Florida State has added 24 transfers in, including 7 on defense, costing a whopping $11.63

million in NIL valuation. The starting quarterback is up in the air right now as Ashton Daniels

and Kevin Sperry fight for pole position. Daniels is extremely turnover prone and, if he collapses under the blitz pressure from Clemson, the entire offense will stall. The backfield for the Seminoles will include new transfers Tre Wisner and Germari Sands. Wisner had subpar production at Texas last season, rushing 131 times for 597 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sands recorded 105 carries for 465 yards for FAU. Norvell “reloaded” the offensive line, bringing in Xavier Chaplin from Auburn and Nate Pabst from Bowling Green. The defense is gaining some experience, including Chris Jones (Southern Miss) and Mikai Gbayor (Nebraska). Jones led the Sun Belt with 134 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, and one interception. The flaw in his game? If he suffers a breakdown in coverage, Clemson will burn him in the middle of the field. Gbayor, on the other hand, had only 49 tackles, 6.0 TFLS, 1.0 sack, and two fumble recoveries over the last two seasons.

The bottom line here? Clemson will need to expose the Seminoles’ lack of experience and their flaws, especially on players jumping from FCS or G5 teams to the ACC. Any form of win for the Tigers will impact Norvell’s future.

Josh’s Prediction: 31-21 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 28-17 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 25-14 Clemson

Clemson vs Syracuse

“We have a lot to prove for each other and with each other.”

This was the message Fran Brown had for the media ahead of Syracuse’s Media Day at the ACC Kickoff. The Orange went 3-9 last season under Brown with a 0-8 record following QB Steve Angeli’s season-ending injury.

Angeli was on-pace for a career season with Syracuse before tearing his achilles against

Clemson. He threw 23-40 for 274 against Tennessee in the Aflac Kickoff, 34-54 for 416 yards

and two touchdowns against UConn, 23-31 for 382 yards and five touchdowns against Colgate, and 18-31 for 245 yards and two tuddies against Clemson. The Orange were 3-1 in games that Angeli started, only giving up 2 interceptions and 11 sacks in that span. Backup Rickie Collins threw 10 interceptions and was sacked 15 times after Angeli went down. Third-stringer Joseph Filardi threw three interceptions and was sacked 10 times over four games last season. Simply put, the Orange were atrocious without Angeli at the helm, being outscored 309-89 in that timeframe. The junior quarterback has his eyes set on the future, especially coming back to start this season and overcoming his injury last year.

You know, obviously last year is the way it went, but that’s how we’re focused [on moving

forward]. We have a great team, great coaching staff. Can’t take my athletic training staff

enough, our strength staff. Everyone that’s been a part of my journey for rehab. It really takes a village, you know, like coach said. When I was hurt, he was checking on me. Every day he was coming down to see me, making sure I’m involved, giving me a role, giving me a test so I can still feel committed to the team and doing things a different way. But I'm physically not able to participate, but really, you know, from the past 9 to 10 months, I fell in love with Syracuse, fell in love with university, fell in love with everybody that's kind of been a part of my journey, and could be more grateful, more thankful, and really from Coach Brown, I’ve been able to kind of get closer with my faith, get closer to God, you know, really starting every day with a prayer and making sure that I’m thankful, you know, going through.”

Angeli is looking to capitalize on what he started last season, especially when he ripped

Clemson’s defense apart, averaging 7.9 yards on a 58.1% completion rate, even with his achilles injury.

If Clemson is looking to avoid an upset against the Orange, they will need to play an

exponentially better game on defense, especially putting pressure on Angeli and the backfield.

Josh’s Prediction: 34-28 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction:28-21 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 33-21 Clemson

Georgia Tech at Clemson

Haynes King, where art thou?

This will be the first season post-Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets will be looking to

somehow replicate their success against Clemson from last season as Brent Key’s team takes on a rebuilding era.

Clemson’s deep wide-receiver room will look to expose the secondary of Georgia Tech,

especially with offensive mastermind Chad Morris behind the helm. TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco come in as two of the most explosive receivers in the country and will test Tech’s secondary that has limited experience.

Despite how similar the two teams look on paper, Clemson’s experience coming into the season will cause issues with Georgia Tech’s lack thereof on both sides of the ball, likely resulting in a final result that most people wouldn’t expect.

Josh’s Prediction: 35-17 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 21-10 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 33-18 Clemson

Clemson vs Duke

Following last year’s 45-46 thriller loss to Duke, Clemson will be looking to avenge themselves on a Friday night matchup with the Blue Devils.

Duke finds themselves in an interesting position, especially after Darian Mensah’s sudden

transfer to Miami. Walker Eget is the favorite to win the quarterback battle after transferring

from San Jose State. His main flaw is the 19 career interceptions over the last two seasons that has put his efficiency in question. Behind him will be redshirt freshman Dan Mahan, who is a highly-touted dual-threat quarterback expected to be the upcoming face of the program. Nate Sheppard will return for the Blue Devils as the offensive anchor and will be relied on heavily in the ground game. Clemson’s pass rush will likely force Eget into quick decisions, testing his decision-making on a dime, which could create more issues than solutions.

Josh’s Prediction: 42-35 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 35-14 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 32-17 Clemson

Palmetto Bowl @ Clemson

The most anticipated game in the Carolinas will take place at Death Valley this season, with

Shane Beamer’s job on the line and the future of the Gamecocks at risk.

Following a disastrous 4-8 season in 2025, Shane Beamer enters this season with immense

pressure. If things go sideways once again against Dabo Swinney, Beamer would likely be out of Columbia that next day.

Carolina is not a team for the Tigers to overlook this season. Beamer brought in Kendal Briles as the new OC after having a unit last season that was among the worst in power conferences.

LaNorris Sellers returns for his final season along with Nyck Harbor, Auburn transfer running

back Isaiah Augustave, and returner Dylan Stewart. Clemson will need to play physically and have things go their way, including both sides of the ball.

First, the defense will need to suffocate Sellers, specifically through the use of Will Heldt and

Sammy Brown. Keeping Sellers contained in the pocket prevents him from using his legs to

create off-script plays that could create explosive opportunities for Carolina.

Second, Clemson’s offense will need to stretch the field with their speedy receivers and backs. Isolating TJ Moore, Bryant Wesco Jr., or Naeem Burroughs in one-on-one matchups could create explosive plays for the Tigers against an overrated Carolina secondary and force them out of their comfort zones.

Third, Clemson will need to neutralize Dylan Stewart on the pass-rush. Clemson will need to use chip-blocks from tight ends and deploy perimeter passes to keep Stewart at bay.

If Clemson does all three of these, they can allow the outside pressure on Beamer to do the rest of the work and break down South Carolina early, especially within their gameplan.

Josh’s Prediction: 38-20 Clemson

Wesley’s Prediction: 42-24 Clemson

From the Sidelines Prediction: 32-23 Clemson