The names are iconic in Death Valley. C.J. Spiller. Sammy Watkins. Christian Wilkins. They are the standard-bearers of Clemson football, the "not normal" talents who became legends.
And now, before he has even played a single down, head coach Dabo Swinney is putting a true freshman in that same rarefied air.
Meet Amare Adams, the five-star defensive tackle who is already turning heads and generating the type of hype reserved for program-changers.
"Amare’s special," Swinney said Wednesday. "He’s just one of them guys that shows up and is special. Special talent, special player, special motor, special leader. He’s smart, he’s not normal. He’s one of those guys that create problems for other players."
Swinney doesn't throw those comparisons around lightly. Adams, the No. 1 player out of South Carolina and the nation's No. 2 defensive lineman in the 2025 class, is being placed in a category of Clemson royalty.
"Sammy Watkins is not normal," Swinney explained. "C.J. Spiller is not normal... Christian Wilkins is not normal... Amare’s in that group; he’s just not a normal freshman."
'A Force To Be Reckoned With'
The praise isn't just coming from the head coach. The players who have to line up with Adams every day see it, too. Graduate defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart, a veteran in the trenches, sees a player who is already a physical marvel.
"Amare’s going to be a heck of a player," Capehart said. "He’s violent, he reminds me of me. He’s dominant, but he’s way more athletic than me. Honestly. He’s a force to be reckoned with."
Defensive tackles coach Nick Eason, who has coached a pipeline of NFL talent including Bryan Bresee and Tyler Davis, sees all the signs of his next star pupil, even while preaching patience.
"He’s got to go put it on tape," Eason cautioned, before adding, "Amare has all the tools, has all the tangibles, to be a great defensive lineman, and it doesn’t get any better than him... I think Amare is going to be a very natural leader."
Even with a stacked defensive line room featuring established players like Peter Woods, the consensus around the Clemson facility is that Adams is too talented to keep on the sidelines. For a program looking to reclaim its spot atop the college football mountain, the arrival of a "not normal" freshman game-wrecker might be exactly what it needs.