During his first spring practice at Clemson, Penn State transfer Elliot Washington II made his presence felt on the field – and drew plenty of praise in the process.

Those praises for Washington have included compliments such as “fast,” “tough,” and “full of swagger,” in the last month.

Head coach Dabo Swinney is among those who’ve spoken very highly of the 5-foot-11, 200-pound cornerback from Sarasota, Fla.

“Elliot Washington has been by far to me the best guy in camp,” Swinney said after the Tigers’ first scrimmage at Memorial Stadium on March 11. “He’s made plays every single day. Every single day he’s made a play and he’s turned the ball over more than anybody all spring. So I’m really encouraged.”

Washington appeared on an episode of Clemson Football’s official podcast, 2 Right Turns, and was asked what’s it like hearing his head coach talk about him like that.

Washington is highly focused and all business, so he might not have heard Swinney’s praise for him, had his pops not sent it him.

But when Washington did take a listen, he was all smiles.

“I’m not really in tune to stuff like that. I just put my head down and work,” Washington said. “So my pops sent that to me out of nowhere, so I just clicked it. I listened to it, I was smiling the whole video.

“It feels great because it’s like… you know how long you put in so much work and just all the sacrifices you make just to get to that point.”

However, this spring was just the beginning for Washington as he prepares for his first season with the Tigers.

“But there’s still work to be done,” Washington added. “I’m not stopping there.”

Washington joined Clemson in January with one remaining year of eligibility.

Spending his first three seasons at Penn State, Washington played under former Nittany Lions and current Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen in 2024. As a junior last season, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 18 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups, in addition to scoring on a 35-yard return of a blocked field goal at Iowa.

Overall, in his three seasons at Penn State, Washington collected 53 tackles (1.5 for loss), two interceptions and nine pass breakups over 36 games, including one start.

He was a consensus four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class out of Venice (Fla.) High School, and was touted as the No. 54 overall prospect in the country for his recruiting class by ESPN.

His father, Elliot, played basketball at Alabama from 1991-93.