Clemson true freshman defensive tackle Amare Adams has generated plenty of buzz since enrolling early back in January.

Over the offseason, coaches and teammates alike spoke glowingly about Adams, a former five-star prospect who is supremely talented and possesses a ton of potential.

So, now that he’s at the halfway point of his first regular season with the Tigers, how has Adams progressed over the course of this season, in the eyes of Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney?

“He’s an elite talent, and just the more he plays, the better he gets,” Swinney said of Adams this week. “He practices well. He cares. He’s a smart kid. But he’s got an unlimited future, unlimited skillset, on what he can do. So, he just needs to play.”

Adams was the highest-rated prospect in Clemson’s 2025 recruiting class, a top-25 national talent, and the top-ranked player in the Palmetto State coming out of South Florence High School.

Despite facing constant double teams, and sometimes triple teams during his senior season, Adams tallied 75 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, six sacks and 13 quarterback pressures as his South Florence team finished the year as Class AAAA state champions with a 12-3 record.

After playing just seven total snaps across Clemson’s first two games vs. LSU and Troy, Adams has played double-digit snaps in each of the last four games (14 at Georgia Tech, 16 vs. Syracuse, 15 at UNC and 14 at Boston College).

The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder posted two tackles at Georgia Tech, made three tackles vs. Syracuse and added a tackle at Boston College.

“He’s just learning, just from game action,” Swinney said of Adams. “So, it’s been good. A guy that we need. He’s gotta be, right now, a really good depth guy for us with Cape [DeMonte Capehart] and Peter [Woods] and Stephiylan [Green].”

Swinney added that the Tigers will be “counting on” Adams in the future, along with redshirt freshmen defensive tackles Champ Thompson and Hevin Brown-Shuler.

“Champ had a sack [at Boston College]. Hevin got in there,” Swinney said. “That’s three freshmen — Champ and Hevin and Amare – three guys that we’ll be counting on here in the future.”