As soon as Jeremiah Alexander hit the NCAA transfer portal, the talented linebacker heard from his former high school teammate – current Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods.

Alexander instantly received a FaceTime call from Woods, who didn’t waste any time trying to recruit Alexander to Tiger Town.

“He FaceTimed me immediately,” Alexander recalled this week. “He was just like, ‘Man, you know where to come, bro.’”

Of course, the rest is history, as Alexander ended up transferring to Clemson from Alabama early this year.

Alexander and Woods – two former five-star prospects and two of the nation’s top recruits in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, respectively – were teammates at Thompson High School (Alabaster, Ala.) and led Thompson to the 2021 state championship.

Alexander said Woods played a prominent role in his decision to join the Tigers via the portal, given their longstanding relationship and the fact they go way back.

“Peter played a big factor in it,” Alexander said. “Like I said, we played high school ball together. Youthfully, since we started playing football, we’ve always had a relationship. So, Peter Woods being here played a big factor in me coming here just because of our past relationships and what we were able to do in high school together. So, that played a good factor into the process of me coming here and feeling comfortable.”

Alexander is one of three transfers that the Tigers signed this offseason, along with former Purdue defensive end Will Heldt and former Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Tristan Smith.

Dabo Swinney has taken more than his share of criticism over the years for his approach to the transfer portal, and the narrative was that Clemson’s head coach refused to use it.

So, was Alexander surprised to hear from Clemson after he entered the portal, considering that the Tigers don’t bring in a lot of transfers and what people had said about Swinney in the past?

“For me, I wouldn’t say it was a big surprise, honestly because my character,” Alexander said. “I feel like being with Peter Woods and hearing what he had to say from the program, I felt like my character and my work ethic matched up with the guys here and I felt like I was going to be able to come help and be a good fit for the locker room and the team.”

Alexander played his first three college seasons at Alabama from 2022-24, after committing to the Crimson Tide in July 2021 over Clemson and other schools such as Georgia and UCF.

Following a redshirt year in 2022 in which he appeared in three games, Alexander played in 24 of the Crimson Tide’s 27 games across the 2023-24 seasons and was credited with eight tackles in those contests.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker joined the Tigers with two years of eligibility left.

“The time at Alabama, I wouldn’t trade it for nothing. I feel like it made me the man that I am today,” Alexander said. “But just being able to have the opportunity to come (to Clemson through the portal), Coach Swinney doesn’t take a lot of guys out of the portal. We brought in three this year. So just having that opportunity and that connect with Peter Woods made it a lot more easier and more efficient.”