Former Tigers Find New Homes in Pro Football
By: Gavin Oliver March 6, 2025

A couple of former Clemson standouts have found new homes in pro football.

The United Football League (UFL) recently announced that the DC Defenders have signed former Tiger wide receiver Cornell Powell, while the St. Louis Battlehawks have signed former Tiger defensive tackle Albert Huggins.

Powell was signed to a reserve/future contract by the Seattle Seahawks in January before being waived by the Seahawks in February.

Powell finished this past season on Seattle’s practice squad after he was released from the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad in November. His most recent playing time in the NFL regular season came during the 2022 campaign, when he played 31 snaps for the Chiefs over three games, including three snaps on offense and 28 on special teams.

Powell was selected by Kansas City in the fifth round (181st overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft and earned a pair of Super Bowl championship rings during his time with the Chiefs.

Prior to entering the NFL, Powell was a part of Clemson teams that earned five ACC titles, five College Football Playoff berths, three national title game berths and two national championships from 2016-20. He emerged as a fifth-year senior and had a career year in 2020. After entering that season with 40 career receptions for 329 yards and three touchdowns, Powell finished his career with 93 receptions for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdown catches over 54 career games (12 starts).

As for Huggins, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in early August 2024 before being waived by the team later that month.

After originally signing with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2019, Huggins has appeared in 27 NFL games with four different teams (Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta) from 2019-23, totaling 41 career tackles. In 2023 with the Falcons, the 6-foot-3, 305-pounder played in 13 games and made five starts, both the most games and starts of his NFL career in a single season. That season, he also posted a career-high 22 total tackles to go with two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.

A two-time national champion at Clemson, Huggins completed his Clemson career (2015-18) with 83 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, 25 quarterback pressures and a pass breakup over 46 games (four starts). He rose to the occasion in the final two games of his career, stepping into the starting role for Clemson’s victories in the Cotton Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship to end 2018.

–Photo courtesy Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports