CLEMSON – With defensive veterans like T.J. Parker, Peter Woods, and Avieon Terrell headed to this year’s NFL Draft, Clemson prioritized bringing in new players from the transfer portal during the designated window this winter.

Head coach Dabo Swinney and his staff brought in nine defensive portal commitments, as well as eight freshmen defenders in the 2026 class after the Tigers’ rocky season in 2025. The goal, as Swinney put it, was to “fill the gaps” of losing nearly 20 veterans due to eligibility expirations or the portal.

With the new transfers and true freshmen, the Tigers also retained several notable defensive veterans who now have a year of experience working with defensive coordinator Tom Allen. With spring practice set to begin Wednesday, here are five of Clemson’s top defensive returners– and what to watch from them this spring into next season.

Sammy Brown – Linebacker

In the last two years, there have been few players more crucial to Clemson’s success than rising junior Sammy Brown. The Jefferson, Ga., native came to the Upstate as a top-30 recruit by all major national publications after receiving the 2023 High School Butkus Award given to the top linebacker in the country his senior year. 

As a freshman, Brown earned the ACC’s Rookie of the Year Award and Freshman All-American honors after totaling 87 tackles (11.5 for loss), five sacks, and four pass breakups over 14 games and six starts. 

His 87 tackles were the most by any Clemson player during Swinney’s tenure. 

In 2025, added on to his young career, earning third-team All-American and first-team All-ACC honors after totaling a team-high 107 tackles (13.5 for loss), five sacks, seven pass breakups, an interception, and a forced fumble in a unit-high 734 snaps over 13 starts. 

The then-sophomore had a season-high eight solo tackles against LSU, a career-high 1.5 tackles-for-loss in a loss to SMU, and 15 total tackles against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl. 

“Sammy, to me, is very, very naturally instinctive in the box,” Allen said ahead of the 2025 season. “He showed up early in our thud periods and even today in the live periods. Some guys just have that knack to be able to be in all that mess that’s in the linebackers in front of them with the D-line and the O-line and everything coming at you. He just finds a way to get to the ball.”

This season with veteran linebacker Wade Woodaz, who served as Brown’s co-starting linebacker the last two seasons, concluding his collegiate career, Brown will be the primary leader in his position group. 

With Woodaz departed, linebackers coach Ben Boulware will most likely utilize Brown as the starting middle linebacker, bringing in redshirt senior Jeremiah Alexander to cover the weak side. It may take some time for Alexander, as well as Kobe McCloud or a number of other ‘backers to build up the same “effortless communication” that Brown had with Woodaz, but it will be crucial for Allen’s squad to improve from last season.

Will Heldt – Defensive End

In the last two years, only 14 players nationally recorded 10-plus tackles for loss and five or more sacks in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Two of them– Sammy Brown and Will Heldt– will play for Clemson this season. 

Heldt, a defensive end, joined the Tigers last season after two successful years at Purdue, in which he recorded 56 tackles, five sacks, and a fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown his sophomore year. After being one of only three transfers Clemson signed in 2024, Heldt quickly translated his success in the Big 10 to the ACC.

In 2025, Heldt, a Carmel, Ind., native, collected the most tackles (48) tackles of any player on the defensive line. He also led the Tigers with 15.5 tackles for loss, and added 7.5 sacks and four pass breakups in 13 starts. 

The junior recorded a season-high 2.5 tackles-for-loss against South Carolina, deflecting one pass and breaking up another for a strong introduction into the in-state rivalry. 

After a stellar season that earned him third team All-ACC honors, Heldt, or “the robot,” as Peter Woods calls the 6-foot-7 veteran, had a decision to make. He could declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, along with several teammates, he could transfer again, or he could stay in Clemson. 

On December 16, 2025, Heldt made his decision to stay at Clemson public on social media with a simple caption– “One more.”

“For me, it was one of those two – it was either declare [for the 2026 NFL Draft], or come back here,” he said of his decision. “And just felt that it was best for my future, best for me to stay here and to continue to develop myself.”

Heldt will have an even larger chance to develop this season, with Parker, a member of his position group, headed to the NFL Draft. Where offenses in the last few seasons were trained to shut down Parker, those double-team strategies could now transfer to Heldt.

The rising senior will have a chance to anchor the defensive line, add to his resume, and grow under Allen and defensive ends coach Chris Rumph this spring and next season.

Ashton Hampton – Defensive Back

Another former Freshman All-American defender, Ashton Hampton, will also have a chance to transition into a larger leadership role this season.

Hampton started four games his freshman season as a cornerback, tallying 30 tackles, six pass breakups, and two interceptions in 455 snaps. He broke onto the college football scene with a 53-yard pick-six in a win over NC State, and nationally with a one-handed snag against Virginia Tech that landed him on SportsCenter. 

In his sophomore campaign, Hampton leveled up to start in all 13 games alongside Terrell, who is widely considered to be a first-day pick this April. Hampton, a Tallahassee, Fla., native, notched 47 tackles, a sack, an interception, and 11 pass breakups in 695 defensive snaps in 2025.

“It’s his skill set, his feet. He can change direction,” Swinney said of Hampton. “He can sink his hips. He’s just a great athlete.

“He gives you that unique ability to play him anywhere as he goes through his career, and you’ll probably see that with him,” he noted, referring to Hampton’s versatility. “I don’t think he’ll just be a corner throughout his football career. He’s really good, but he’s one of those guys that’s rare that can go cover tight ends. He can play in the slot. He’s got a physical presence to him.”

In the back half of last season, Hampton matured into one of the most trusted members of the defense, often covering the No. 1 or No. 2 offensive options for ACC opponents. He recorded a career-high seven solo tackles and broke up two passes against Florida State, his hometown team.

Now as a junior, like Brown and Heldt, Hampton will transition to be the Tigers’ go-to answer to cover shifty wide receivers, as well as tight ends, as Swinney noted. He will also work with newly-minted passing game coordinator Thomas Allen, Tom Allen’s son, after the former was named defensive passing game coordinator late last season. 

Unlike some of the new defensive transfers, Hampton has had a year to work with Allen and understand his play-design style.

During the transfer window, Hampton served as a regular recruiter on social media, encouraging available players to join him at Clemson. Now, he will have an opportunity to lead some of those players as an upperclassman.

Jaheim Lawson – Defensive End

One of Clemson’s breakout players in the 2025 season was local product Jaheim Lawson, brother of former Tiger and All-American Shaq Lawson.

For two years, the younger Lawson spent time working in the “crockpot,” which Swinney dubs extra lifts and time to develop before playing meaningful snaps in games. As a redshirt sophomore, Lawson broke out to record 29 tackles in 14 appearances after putting on fifty pounds since arriving at Clemson in 2022. 

“I was like 210 coming in (to Clemson),” the 6-foot-2 defensive end said. “But I’ve just been trying to work. Put my head down and keep working and keep grinding. Just do whatever the team needs me to do… But when I got there (to 260) I was very excited. I feel really good at the weight I’m at.”

The work paid off. Lawson’s game took the next step last season, his redshirt junior year, as a rotational player. The D.W. Daniel High School alum posted 6.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks across 307 snaps before suffering an ankle injury against Furman on Nov. 11. 

The veteran underwent a tightrope surgery, usually performed to repair high ankle sprains, after the injury occurred in the third quarter against the Paladins. As of Nov. 23, Swinney expected him to make a full recovery before spring practice got kicked off. 

Still, tightrope surgery recovery takes between four to eight weeks to recover from, and Lawson will be finding his way back into full health right as spring practice begins. His immediate physicality will be something to monitor during spring practice and ahead of the season.

If Lawson can remain healthy, he is posed for an even bigger role this season, alongside Heldt, with Parker and defensive end Cade Denhoff departing from the program. 

The Central, S.C., native has gone all the way from a slightly undersized redshirt freshman to a probable statistical leader for the Tigers in his senior year.

Corian Gipson – Defensive Back 

As Clemson’s season inched into October and November last season, Tiger fans began to hear a new name called over the loudspeaker more in every game.

Corian Gipson, a former top-100 recruit from Fort Worth, Texas, worked his way into a starting role down the stretch his redshirt freshman year, starting in the nickleback position for three games.

Gipson burst onto the scene with a pass breakup against SMU and two against Florida State. One week later, he collected a career-high seven tackles at No. 19 Louisville in the Tigers’ upset victory. 

After only playing 14 snaps his freshman year, Gipson quickly became a regular contributor in his second season. 

“He’s accepted the challenge,” defensive backs coach Mike Reed said of Gipson. “That’s one thing about Corian, he’s a fighter. He’s going to give you everything he’s got because he wants to compete. He wants to be out there.”

This year, Gipson will enter with a leg up on younger players and transfers after a year with Allen. To the rising redshirt sophomore, Clemson’s defensive coordinator was a large part of growing his confidence. 

“(Allen) just gave me that confidence, talking to me, telling me that I’m ‘Him,’ I can be who I be, if I put the work in and do what I’m supposed to do,” Gipson said after the Florida State game. 

The breakout player will have a chance to make more starts, especially with Allen’s nickel-heavy schemes this year, and encourage some of the younger players trying to learn the multi-faceted position.

The Tiger defensive veterans, along with the rest of the squad, will have their first chance to get back into action and practice with their new counterparts for the first time Wednesday, when Clemson will open its spring practice.

Clemson fans can get their first glimpse of the Tigers’ new-look team at the annual Orange and White Spring game on March 28.