Clemson Football Spring Game Preview

Clemson, S.C. – The spring showcase has arrived for the 2026 Clemson Tigers as they look to rebound after an uncharacteristic 7-6 season last Fall. 

2025 Recap

Last season was one that many fans would like to leave in the back burners. 

The Tigers were ranked fourth in the AP poll to start the season against ninth ranked LSU. Clemson went on to lose the game 17-10. The Tigers would quickly find themselves with a 1-3 record following a narrow win over Sunbelt foe Troy and losing two straight to Syracuse and Georgia Tech. This marked the worse start to a season since 2004. 

Clemson seemed to bounce back, winning their next two games against Boston College and North Carolina but ended up losing once again to SMU and Duke. 

The wins started coming in, finally, as the Tigers beat Florida State, South Carolina, Louisville, and Furman. The team finished 7-5 on the regular season and added another loss to their total after a 22-10 drubbing by Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl. 

Clemson lost five regular season games for the first time since 2010, with four of those losses coming at home. Despite a tough season, the home crowd was still faithful, drawing an average attendance of 79,142 fans, the 15^th highest in the country. 

Staff Changes

After the season concluded, Clemson announced its decision to part ways with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and safeties coach Mickey Conn. Dabo Swinney was also tasked with replacing multiple staffers after Samford hired John Grass, taking multiple Clemson assistants with him to the FCS. 

Chad Morris, the offensive coordinator from 2011-14, is entering his third stint with the Tigers, most recently serving as an offensive analyst in 2023. Morris will take over the offensive coordinator position that Riley once held. 

Nolan Turner was promoted to the Clemson safeties coach. He spent two years in support staff, notably as an assistant safeties coach. 

Turner also played safety for six seasons at Clemson from 2016-21, recording 259 tackles, 20 pass breakups, seven interceptions and two forced fumbles. 

Tajh Boyd was promoted to the quarterbacks coach after previously serving as an offensive analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2024. 

Corico Wright was hired as Clemson’s nickelbacks coach, replacing DeAndre McDaniel, who transitioned to senior defensive assistant. Wright previously coached at Delaware, where he was the team’s defensive pass game coordinator/cornerbacks coach from 2023. 

Dennis Love replaced Joey Batson as the strength and conditioning coach after spending 11 years with the Tigers from 2004-14. Love turned down the same role with the Minnesota Vikings after Batson picked him to be his successor. 

Thomas Allen was promoted to defensive pass game coordinator after serving previously as a defensive analyst. Allen joined his father in moving from Penn State to Clemson, where he helped improve Clemson’s secondary. 

Lonnie Galloway will replace Grass as the senior offensive assistant after being hired as a volunteer offensive assistant in 2025. Galloway coached with the Tar Heels from 2019-24 as a wide receivers coach, assistant head coach, and passing game coordinator. 

Jacoby Ford will replace Drew Swinney as Clemson’s assistant wide receivers coach. Ford played receiver for Clemson from 2006-09 with a three-season stint with the Oakland Raiders. 

Artavis Scott replaces Andrew Zow as Clemson’s assistant running backs coach. Scott previously worked as the wide receivers coach at Howard. He is Clemson’s all-time receptions leader, catching 245 passes for 2,480 yards for 19 touchdowns from 2014-16. 

Brad Glenn will replace Will Swinney as the assistant tight ends coach. Glenn has three decades of coaching experience at both the high-school level (Seneca, Greer) and college (Elon, App State, Western Carolina, Georgia State, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati.)

Anthony Lazard will replace join as the senior assistant strength and condition coach after spending three seasons at Stanford. 

Mike Miller will serve as an offensive analyst after serving as a student coach in 2015. He played quarterback for UAB from 2011-13 and has experience at high school and the Division I level with stints at Alabama, Maryland and Charlotte. 

Jayron Kearse will return to the Tigers after spending three seasons with the Tigers at safety from 2013-15, recording 161 tackles, seven interceptions, two forced fumbles and 18 pass deflections. 

Freddie Kitchens will join the staff as a volunteer offensive analyst. Kitchens previously served as North Carolina’s offensive coordinator in 2025, as a former NFL head coach with the Browns in 2019, and as a volunteer offensive assistant. 

Players to Watch for in 2026

The most obvious position battle for the upcoming season is in the quarterback room. The Tigers will be looking to replace Cade Klubnik after he announced his decision to go to the NFL Draft. 

Tait Reynolds enters his first season at Clemson after being highly touted out of high school. The freshman weighs in at 215 and stands at 6-2. The dual-sport athlete joins the Tigers after being named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year. He has been touted as “special talent” and “one of the most unique kids” coach Dabo Swinney has recruited. 

Brock Bradley joins the quarterback room as a freshman out of Birmingham. The freshman was one of two quarterbacks recruited by Swinney in the 2025 cycle. 

Chris Denson returns to the Tigers after showing flashes of his ability in the Furman game in 2025. The dual-threat passer is entering his redshirt freshman year out of Plant City, Florida, and looking to compete for the starting role with the Tigers. 

Chris Vizzina, the redshirt junior out of Birmingham, looks to solidify his spot as the starter after an impressive outing against SMU last year following Cade Klubnik’s absence. He has seen the field but only in limited appearances outside of the SMU game. 

Trent Pearman looks to join the battle in some capacity after making some garbage-time appearances last year. The graduate student out of Daniel High School has been a positive leader on the sidelines and even if not picked for the starting or QB2 role, will have a significant role within the room. 

One of the most under-the-radar players coming out of the transfer portal for the Tigers is in the addition of Chris Johnson Jr. The speedy running back appeared in 12 games for the SMU Mustangs and recorded 67 carries for 479 yards, four touchdowns, along with 17 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown. He has a blistering 4.3-second 40-yard dash, making him one of the fastest players in the country heading into the 2026-27 season. 

On the defensive side, Markus Strong comes to Clemson as a productive defensive tackle, spending the last three seasons at Oklahoma under former Clemson coach Brent Venables. While his numbers aren’t necessarily eye-popping, the production from Strong has a high ceiling, as he has recorded four sacks in his short career thus far. 

A Look Ahead…

 The season for Clemson will start on September 5^th against LSU in the return game for a two-season home-and-home. 

LSU had a notable overhaul after Lane Kiffin departed Ole Miss for Baton Rouge late last year. The roster for the Tigers boasts former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, running back Caden Durham, and Jordan Seaton, the top transfer from Colorado. 

The home opener for Clemson will take place on September 12 against Georgia Southern.

The Tigers will host North Carolina the following week before heading to Berkeley to take on Cal on September 25^th. The two teams have only ever met once prior to this year’s meeting with the Golden Bears taking a 37-13 win over the Tigers in 1991. The teams met in the 1992 Citrus Bowl following a 9-1-1 season for Clemson and a 10-1 season for Cal. 

Clemson will return home to take on the Miami Hurricanes on October 3^rd. The Canes won the last meeting between the two schools, winning 28-20 in an October showdown in Miami Gardens. 

The sixth game on the season will see the Charleston Southern Buccaneers come to Death Valley in an FCS-FBS matchup. 

Game 7 will feature the Virginia Tech Hokies under the lights in Death Valley. Tech has recently hired former Penn State head coach James Franklin, and this will be the first matchup between Dabo and Franklin, which could pose as a nice matchup between two premier head coaches. 

After their three game home-stretch, the Tigers will travel down to Tallahassee to take on Florida State on October 31^st. The road Tigers will travel to Syracuse the following week for a November 7^th meeting with the Orange at the JMA Dome. 

Clemson will host border rival Georgia Tech on the 14^th before traveling to Wallace Wade to take on Duke on November 21^st. Both games will play out as revenge games for the Tigers. 

The final game of the regular season will be the Palmetto Bowl. Clemson will look to capture its first home win against Carolina since 2022 and their second in a row.