CLEMSON — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke with the media Thursday afternoon to discuss the ninth-ranked Tigers’ upcoming opener at Duke on Monday. He mentioned the players he is excited to see this season.
In particular, Swinney talked about offensive lineman Tristan Leigh, who came to the Tigers as a 5-star recruit in 2021 but he did not have the freshman season he hoped due to complications from COVID before he got on campus.
It resulted in him being out of shape and overweight when he reported, forcing a redshirt season.
“When you watch the tape and him coming out of high school it’s easy to see why he was rated so high but that wasn’t the guy who showed up here,” Swinney said. “I thought somebody kidnapped that guy, I went back and watched the tape myself like what did I miss here.”
Upon arriving at Clemson, Leigh was not in the position to play for the Tigers.
“He just physically could not do what we needed him to do and he didn’t look like how he looked on tape,” the Clemson coach said.
Leigh was not oblivious to the fact that changes needed to happen, and he put in the work in order to be able to compete at an elite level. “Humility and self awareness” were two factors Swinney said Leigh possessed that allowed him to be able to make such drastic changes.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound redshirt sophomore enters the 2023 season with 70 snaps under his belt and a desire to get better.
Swinney says Leigh has “a lot of self-awareness” and really wants to be coached and puts in the work to get better.
“This guy has worked his tail off to become the player he is right now, and he is one of the most respected guys on this team” Swinney said, “He’s not even as good as he’s gonna be.”
Everyone will find out on Monday night when Leigh makes his first start at left tackle in the Tigers’ season-opener. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.
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