CHARLOTTE — Will Heldt’s first season at Clemson didn’t go quite the way many had envisioned, including himself.

After spending his first two seasons at Purdue, where the Boilermakers won a combined five games, Heldt transferred to Clemson, joining a team that was expected to make a run at the College Football Playoff the following season. In fact, as one of the top defensive ends in the portal that cycle, Heldt was viewed as one of the final pieces the Tigers’ defense needed to propel the team towards national title contention. An explosive pass rusher to pair alongside preseason All-American T.J. Parker.

However, Heldt’s debut season in Clemson didn’t go as planned, at least as far as team expectations go. Individually, he had a fairly strong year, earning third-team All-ACC honors from Phil Steele after registering 48 tackles and leading the team with 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. In other words, Heldt did his part.

But part of the reason Heldt transferred to Clemson was that he wanted to win, and that did not happen in 2025. While it was his first time having a winning season at the collegiate level, Heldt joined the Tigers looking for more, and the goal is to make that happen this season.

“That sense of urgency and wanting to build that mental toughness, coming off last year, you know, a little bit of a down year — it was not up to our standards, our expectations that we hold for ourselves,” Heldt said at the ACC Kickoff on Thursday. “But I think that sense of urgency has been great for us in all aspects, from the top down to the players.”

Like last season, this one begins with a huge challenge, as the Tigers will head to Baton Rouge to open the season against LSU in a primetime matchup. The Bayou Bengals came into Clemson and knocked off Heldt and the Tigers 17-10 in last year’s season-opener. It was a loss that Clemson seemed to have trouble recovering from as the Tigers would eventually start the season 1-3.

With Lane Kiffin now at the helm at LSU, and them bringing in the nation’s top-ranked portal class, expectations are going to be sky-high in Baton Rouge, and Heldt and his teammates are hoping to play spoiler on Setpember 5.

“I would be lying if I said it did not still sting, dropping that first one,” Heldt said of last year’s season-opening defeat. “Will definitely be feeling a little bit extra coming into that game. But it won’t change the way that we prepare.”

Heldt’s first sack as a member of the Clemson program came in that loss to LSU last season, and he’s looking to have a repeat performance when the season kicks off under the lights at Tiger Stadium. Only this time, he and the rest of the Tigers are looking for a different result on the scoreboard.

“That is one of the ones you look at and say, ‘That is going to be a blast,'” Heldt said. “I am going to be jacked up for that. When you are a kid, and you think about places to play, at night under the lights, I think down in Baton Rouge is one of those.”

Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright