Incoming talent
To help add to the defensive front, Dabo Swinney got Will Heldt out of the transfer portal. Heldt was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection in 2024 finishing the season with 56 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and five sacks.
Swinney has always used the transfer portal sparingly saying he only will use it in positions of need.
Along with that, the transfer player would have to be the right fit for the program. Heldt fits those qualifications perfectly. Clemson needed another edge player to take pressure off of Parker which Heldt will do. Also, Heldt has been said to fit in nicely with the team since his arrival.
The transfer additions for Swinney did not stop there though. The Tigers got two other portal acquisitions in Jeremiah Alexander and Tristian Smith. Alexander is a former five-star recruit who transferred over from Alabama. The junior linebacker was high school teammates with Woods. Smith is a wide receiver who was top 20 in receptions and receiving yards per game in the FCS last season. He was the star of the spring game coming down with five receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Fans are excited about what these players will add to this team in 2025.
The last, but best, addition to the Clemson program this season though was the hiring of defensive coordinator Tom Allen. He brings 33 years of coaching experience to a defense that underperformed in 2024. He is coming fresh off of a run to the college football playoff final four with Penn State. During that time, Allen led the Nittany Lions to the seventh best total defense and eighth-best scoring defense in the FBS. He also unlocked all the talent of the third draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, defensive end Abdul Carter. It will be amazing to see what he does with talents like Parker and Heldt.
This is just scratching the surface of all the talent Clemson has on its 2025 roster. Swinney knew it would take time for some of the younger talent in 2023 to develop into what they will be today. He did the best thing possible though and stuck to the process even when so many people screamed it would not work. Now many of the same people are predicting the Tigers to make a deep postseason run.