Adams is in the very early stages of his Clemson career after arriving in Tiger Town as a midyear enrollee in January.

But it’s safe to say the true freshman defensive tackle, in his short time on campus to this point, has already made a sizeable impression on head coach Dabo Swinney.

“Man, he can freakin’ move,” Swinney said Friday before the Tigers officially began spring practice.

“Man, Amare, he’s big,” Swinney added. “He’s freaky athletic. He’s already a leader.”

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Adams – a former five-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class who signed with Clemson this past December – drew some lofty comparisons from Swinney.

Swinney likened Adams’ power to that of former Clemson and current New York Giants Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence.

Amare Adams (No. 95) during Clemson’s first day of spring practice

Adams also reminds Swinney of former Clemson and current New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, but Swinney says Adams is “more polished” right now than Bresee was when he joined the Tigers as the nation’s No. 1 recruit back in 2020.

“Just watching him in mat drills and watching him run, (Adams) looks a little bit like Bryan Bresee as far as that big-bodied athletic type dude – kind of freaky, but with some power of a Dexter, but he’s more polished than Bryan was coming in here,” Swinney said. “Bryan was, same thing – if you go back and watch Bryan Bresee in high school, he’d throw whoever away and go make the tackle. … I’d say Amare’s a little more advanced technically.”

A product of South Florence High School, Adams was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the state of South Carolina by multiple recruiting services including 247Sports, which also billed him as the second-best defensive lineman nationally and the No. 7 overall prospect in the country for the 2025 class.

Adams turned heads at the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January and earned the organization’s Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year award, while he was also selected to the South Carolina team for the 2024 Shrine Bowl.

When he signed with Clemson during the December early signing period, Adams had collected 250 career tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in his prep career, including 66 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and nine quarterback pressures in his senior season prior to the early signing period.

The multi-sport athlete also played basketball and ran track in high school.

“I’m excited about him,” Swinney said. “Going to be fun to watch him.”