After enrolling early at Clemson in January, true freshman Chris Denson wasted no time impressing his new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Garrett Riley, in the spring.

During spring practice, Riley described Denson – an electric dual-threat quarterback from the Sunshine State – as “unique,” and said the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder can be an “absolute weapon.”

At Clemson’s Media Outing this week, Riley continued to speak highly of Denson. The Tigers put plenty on his plate in spring practice and threw a lot at him from a quarterback standpoint, and now, they’ll look to further his development in fall camp ahead of the 2025 season.

“There’s certainly a lot of development that he needs. But this guy is different,” Riley said. “He’s electric. He can certainly do some things when he takes off and runs or creates.”

One thing Riley has certainly taken notice of about Denson is his poised demeanor and how he is calm, cool and collected despite his youth and inexperience at the college level, not to mention the fact he plays a position as demanding as quarterback.

“I mean, the guy is poised,” Riley said. “The guy wants to be great. He wants to learn. So, I think he’s made of the right stuff, and he’s just going to have to keep chipping away at his development. But there’s certainly already been some flashes of, this guy’s got something to him.”

Denson was ranked among the top 25 dual-threat quarterbacks in the country for the 2025 recruiting class by Rivals (No. 14) and ESPN (No. 25).

A two-year starter for Plant City (Fla.) High School, Denson completed 63.6 percent of his career passes for 4,813 yards and 55 touchdowns with just 13 interceptions. He added 1,940 career rushing yards on 207 carries (9.4-yard average) and collected 16 rushing touchdowns with eight 100-yard rushing games over his career.

As a senior in 2024, Denson completed 142-of-217 passes for 2,334 yards and threw 28 touchdown passes with only three interceptions, while rushing for 1,159 yards and 12 more scores on 113 carries (10.3-yard average).

The best thing about Denson, Riley says, is his “intangibles.”

“He’s a poised kid,” Riley reiterated. “He’s not rattled, he’s not fazed by much. If he is, he doesn’t show it.

“I think he’s just a kid that wants to be great. He’s put in a ton of work this summer. So, I’m excited about him and his development. But yeah, some of the intangible things is definitely what you love about Chris Denson.”