Brayden Jacobs has earned his spot among the best five offensive linemen at Clemson.

The true freshman played most of the game at Boston College after Tristan Leigh had to leave with an injury, then made his first career start at LT the following week against SMU. In Saturday’s loss to Duke, with Leigh back, Jacobs made his second start, moving inside to guard and showing off his versatility.

During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, head coach Dabo Swinney made it pretty clear that Jacobs will be a fixture along the offensive line from here on out.

“We ain’t taking him out of there, he is one of the best five, no doubt about it,” Swinney said. “Super proud of him.”

Jacobs’ dedication to his craft has really stood out to the head coach.

“Talking about a kid that cares, I love that about him,” Swinney said. “He really, really cares. That is a big, grown man in full-blown tears. It was a tough, tough locker room. That kid really cares. It is important to him.”

Jacobs was a key piece of the Tigers’ last recruiting class. The four-star was the second-highest rated recruit in the class.

That potential is already showing, and Swinney believes that his young offensive lineman is just scratching the surface.

“He is a good player now, but he is going to be a great tackle. Can play wherever. Don’t see him playing at center. Tackle or guard, whatever you need him to be. And he hadn’t played guard.”

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