CLEMSON – Dabo Swinney made a handful major moves in the transfer portal last month.

The Tigers signed three transfers, adding former Purdue DE Will Heldt and former Southeast Missouri State wideout Tristan Smith. Both are major additions and without question make Clemson’s roster better.

However, the third transfer Swinney signed, former Alabama LB Jeremiah Alexander, might be the most intriguing. Alexander was a 5-star in the 2022 recruiting class and was considered by many to be a can’t miss prospect.

While Alexander didn’t get much of an opportunity over his first two seasons with the Crimson Tide, he’s still a player with a ton of upside. And he just might end up being a great fit in new defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s scheme.

“Honestly, we weren’t even going to take a backer,” Swinney said. “We knew we needed another guy. Logan Anderson, our signee, tore his ACL. Kobe obviously, his situation. So we felt like we probably needed another guy.”

With Clemson’s 2025 signee Logan Anderson and second-stringer Kobe McCloud suffering season-ending knee injuries last season, Swinney ultimately decided the Tigers needed another linebacker.

Clemson recruited Alexander hard out of high school and after a visit in the summer of 2021 it appeared the Tigers were on the verge of landing the former blue-chip prospect. So Swinney was more than familiar with Alexander and everything he has to offer.

Originally, Swinney was going to wait until after spring practice to weigh his options in the portal, but when Alexander became available, it was almost like fate.

“We were going to wait until May,” Swinney added. “Then Jeremiah kind of popped up. Knew all about him, obviously. Recruited him really hard. Knew his family. So that was really a good situation that worked out for us.”

Another reason the timing was right with Alexander was because the Tigers are increasing the number of linebackers they carry on the roster. That number has been eight in recent years, but it will now move to nine as the sport transitions to the new rules surrounding roster limits.

“We’re moving our number from eight to nine,” Swinney said. “Our number was eight but we’re moving to nine. Transitioning to the new roster construction, the 105. So that’s how we got to it.”