Whereas the January transfer portal cycle saw Clemson’s quest for veteran help surprisingly over the course of a few months, National Signing Day was a return to the roots of the program: in-state talent that needs to be found and shaped.
On Tuesday afternoon, just hours before National Signing Day officially began, defensive lineman Connor McFadden committed to the Clemson Tigers.
A 6-foot-5, 238-pound product of Catawba Ridge High School in Fort Mill, S.C., McFadden, who is accepted as the program’s Preferred Walk-On (PWO), brings real frame and upside at a defensive front in a complete overhaul. McFadden is not only a substantial body. He was a team changer for the Copperheads last year.
On the defensive side he registered seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss alone. Most astonishing of all, he played the game of tight end, catching 13 passes for 146 yards — the sort of production that speaks to the “strong hands” and agility that Dabo Swinney seeks in edge defenders. At 6-foot-5, McFadden is a “raw” prospect with an imposing ceiling.
He will be joining the 2026 defensive line roster with teammates like Michael Foster, JR Hardrick and Kameron Cody.
The arrival of McFadden comes at a critical juncture for Defensive Coordinator Tom Allen. Clemson is tasked with replacing the massive production of NFL-bound stars T.J. Parker and Peter Woods, along with veteran DeMonte Capehart. As players continue to transition, the Tigers have been forced to turn back their "portal-shy" image, getting into four key transfers in January: London Merritt. Kourtney Kelly. CJ Wesley. Markus Strong.
McFadden will come this summer to play in a room that still boasts emerging stars like Jahiem Lawson, Will Heldt, Amare Adams and Vic Burley. When he first enters, he is a PWO, but for his size and in-state pedigree, and perhaps most importantly, the type of prospect Swinney has so rousingly coached up into both a scholarship contributor and up to that position as a starter.
As National Signing Day continues, it seems the Tigers are concluding a class that strikes a balance between patching up immediate portal issues and developing long-term, high-upside developmental pieces as McFadden.