Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

CLEMSON, S.C. — The Tigers add some depth to their linebacker core for 2025. Clemson recently scored a huge pick up out of the transfer portal. Former five-star recruit Jeremiah Alexander picks the Tigers as his next college stop. He was the no 1edge rusher and no. 18 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class coming out of high school.

Alexander spent the last three years at the University of Alabama as a backup on defense and a key contributor on special teams. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker’s commitment comes as a bit of a surprise to Clemson’ fans. Though the Tigers heavily recruited Alexander out of high school, this is not usually the approach that head coach Dabo Swinney has taken in the past regarding the transfer portal and NIL. Swinney is stuck in his old school ways and believes that you can still compete at a high level with development of high school players.

The Tigers also signed former Purdue defensive lineman Will Heldt and former Southeaster Missouri wide receiver Tristan Smith out of the transfer portal as well. According to 247 Sports, Clemson have the 28th overall recruiting class in the country.

Clemson fans were rejoicing online after the swing in approach from Swinney and are feeling optimistic with the additions they have added so far along with the players returning.

As for who will be leading Alexander and the rest of the Tigers’ defense in 2025, that is still to be determined. Clemson is still in search of a defensive coordinator, but Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen is at the top of that list. The Nittany Lions recently loss to no.5 Notre Dame in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs, but Allen has spearheaded a top-10 scoring defense per game and total points allowed. Allen will also bring head coaching experience as he served as the head coach for Indiana for seven seasons prior to being the defensive coordinator at Penn State.

No deal has been reached as of yet, but the two sides are in constant communication to hopefully get this done soon.

Reach Greg Hollis @ 803-768-3117 or on X @TheNBOnews