CLEMSON — Darien Mayo has quietly had himself a solid spring for Clemson.

The redshirt freshman defensive end capped off spring practice with a strong showing in the annual Orange and White Spring Game, routinely flashing the potential that made him a Top 150 prospect coming out of high school.

Mayo finished the scrimmage with seven total tackles, tied for tops on the team, including two tackles for loss and a third-quarter sack of reserve quarterback Ethan Anderson.

“He’s gotten better, and he’s stronger,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Obviously, he’s got great measurables, but kind of weak in his water when he got here. Big, long guy. Wasn’t able to come until the summer, so power hour was huge for him.”

Mayo was a summer enrollee last year, meaning this is his first time getting to go through spring practice. Getting those extra reps this spring has proven to be invaluable, and his head coach has taken notice.

“He is stronger. He has a much better understanding of what we are asking him to do,” Swinney added. “Did what he needed to do.”

With T.J. Parker and transfer Will Heldt penciled in as the starters at end, as well as Cade Denhoff and Jahiem Lawson both back this season, Mayo has the luxury of not being rushed when it comes to his development.

The 6-foot-7, 265-pound end did appear in three games, recording four tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

However, if he makes the same kind of progress in the fall that he did in the spring, Mayo could find himself getting more opportunities to get on the field once the season starts.

“Everybody has either got an arrow up, they kind of stay the same, or the arrow is down. And the arrow is up by Mayo,” Swinney said.