CLEMSON — For over a decade, Kobe McCloud had one dream — to play football at Clemson.

After watching his brother Ray-Ray, a former Tiger standout and current NFL wide receiver, start for three years and win a national championship under head coach Dabo Swinney, committing to Clemson felt like destiny for the younger McCloud.

“I knew the ins and outs of Clemson,” the linebacker once said.  “I knew everything about it. I knew all the coaches growing up since I was in middle school, and the vision they had for me that they planned out. It sounded like it was something that was going to not just be good for me for three or four years, but for the 30-year-old old version of me.”

That vision, however, likely did not include a season-ending injury in just the second game of the 2024 season against Appalachian State. After two years of fighting for playing time, starting two games as a sophomore, and notching a tackle in the season opener, McCloud’s junior year was abruptly cut short. A knee injury sidelined him for the remaining 12 games on the Tigers’ schedule.

In a split second, his momentum vanished and surgery was scheduled. It was then, more than ever, that McCloud had to test his faith, his mental strength, and everything he believed about the culture at Clemson.

“Obviously, an injury isn’t good for any athlete,” McCloud said after the first day of fall camp on Thursday, now fully cleared 11 months after the injury. “It puts you in a dark place at first, but I just kept my faith strong with God. That’s who I lean on in the dark moments and He helped me keep my head down. I just work to be better than what I was before.” 

Despite the setback, the Tampa, Fla., native grew as both a leader and a teammate during his recovery.

“I feel like this summer has been the best since I’ve been here,” McCloud said. “We really have so much cohesion and chemistry together… Even when I was hurt, the leaders stepped up.”

Now a redshirt junior, McCloud is one of the longest-tenured players in the linebacker room. His journey, including the injury, has equipped him with hard-earned wisdom to pass down to younger players.

“Those freshmen, they work,” he said. “Obviously, the older guys got to set the standard and set the bar of how the young guys should be. But those young guys, you don’t have to say much to them. They put their head down, they don’t say too much, and they just work… We had older guys that set the bar and they passed the torch to us, and it’s time for us to pass the torch to them, to set the bar and let them carry it.”

Clemson’s linebacker room also features senior Wade Woodaz, redshirt sophomore Dee Crayton, and Jeremiah Alexander, a redshirt junior who transferred from Alabama in the spring.

With different stories of success, adversity, and redemption, the unit embodies a kind of leadership and resilience that extends beyond the field.

“You can definitely call it a brotherhood,” McCloud said. “Everybody loves each other, and it’s so great to see. We’re all excited to get after it.”

And on the first day of fall camp, for the first time in nearly a year, McCloud finally returned to the dream that had fueled him for over a decade — playing football at Clemson.

When asked what he was most excited about, his answer — and the wide smile on his face — said it all.

“Just playing football. Everything about it,” he said.