Tristan Smith was brought to tears by his offer from the Clemson Tigers.

Of course, Smith is one of three players that Clemson signed from the transfer portal this offseason, along with former Purdue defensive end Will Heldt and former Alabama edge rusher Jeremiah Alexander.

Smith, the former Southeast Missouri State wide receiver, couldn’t help but get emotional after earning the opportunity to play for Clemson.

In the latest episode of Clemson Football’s official podcast, 2 Right Turns, Smith shared a great story about him getting his Clemson offer from head coach Dabo Swinney. Smith received the offer in Swinney’s office and committed on the spot.

“Coach Swinney called me out of that segment meeting, and I didn’t know how that meeting was going to go in his office,” Smith said. “I’m not going to lie – I didn’t know how it was going to go. So, it was me and my brother, and we went to Coach Swinney’s office and just talking to Coach Swinney, really just about life outside of football.

“When it came down to it, he just asked would I want to be a Clemson Tiger? It was so surreal, I started crying. I’m not going to lie, I started crying. Me and my brother started crying because I feel like, I worked so hard and my brother knew how hard I worked. I mean, no doubt about it. I told him, ‘Yeah, I want to come here.’”

Clemson officially signed Smith in December. The 21-year-old native of LaGrange, Ga., has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.

Smith joins the Tigers after playing the 2024 season at Southeast Missouri State, helping the Redhawks to a first-place finish in the Big South-OVC Football Association and a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

“I never thought I would be here,” Smith said of Clemson. “So whenever I committed, it was like, man – I was ready to post when I committed. I was ready to tell my mom. I called my mom. She was crying, she was so happy. You could hear it in her voice. It was like tears of joy.”

Smith, a 2024 all-conference honoree, played in SEMO’s final 11 games of the season and caught 76 passes for 934 yards with six touchdown receptions to go with a rushing touchdown. Both his 76 receptions and his 84.9 receiving yards per game ranked among the top 20 in the FCS. He posted three 100-yard receiving games including posting career highs in receptions (10) and receiving yards (139) and scoring a touchdown against 12th-seeded Illinois State in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

Prior to his time at Southeast Missouri State, Smith spent two years at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. As a freshman in 2022, he caught two passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in seven games, and he added 14 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown in 10 games in 2023.

The signing of Smith adds a key depth piece to a Clemson receiver room that already features Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco, TJ Moore and Tyler Brown. Standing at 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, Smith gives quarterback Cade Klubnik another legitimate weapon in the passing game.

You can check out the 2 Right Turns episode featuring Smith, Alexander and Heldt below:

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story