CLEMSON — Praise always means a little more when it comes from someone who has known you since childhood – someone who watched you grow through elementary, middle, and high school, and now coaches you at the college level.

For Jaheim Lawson, that praise comes from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, a man he first knew simply as his friend Clay’s dad and his older brother Shaq’s coach, long before an offer from the Tigers came his way in 2021. As a D.W. Daniel alum, Lawson spent years around the Swinney family, often at their home, building a relationship that had little to do with football.

Now, three years into his Clemson career, Lawson has earned his coach’s praise on the field for his natural ability, work ethic, growth, and potential.

“It’s a blessing,” Lawson said about Swinney’s encouragement after practice Tuesday.
“Me and Clay have always been close. I used to go over there all the time as a kid, so yeah, it definitely meant a little bit more.”

In 2024, Swinney told reporters he played a pivotal role in convincing Lawson to stick with football over basketball, his original focus, while still in middle school.

“I remember very clearly, Jaheim wasn’t going to play football,” Swinney said. “He was going to quit, and I told him, no, you’re not going to quit. He was in middle school, like seventh grade or something. I was like, ‘Have you lost your mind? You’re going to be like 6’3. You better be Steph Curry and you’re not. So you better get your butt out there on that football field.’”

Thanks to Swinney’s encouragement, and Lawson’s own dedication, the now-redshirt junior helped lead the Daniel Lions to back-to-back state championships in 2020 and 2021. He finished his high school career with 153 tackles, 25 sacks, and six forced fumbles.

At Clemson, Lawson has appeared in 19 games with four starts, recording 26 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. Heading into this season, he’s aiming to take another leap, having added significant weight to his frame and weighing in at 260-pounds last week when he reported to camp.

“I was like 210 coming in (to Clemson),” the 6-foot-2 defensive end said. “But I’ve just been trying to work. Put my head down and keep working and keep grinding. Just do whatever the team needs me to do… But when I got there (to 260) I was very excited. I feel really good at the weight I’m at.”

Lawson’s older brother, a former All-American defensive end at Clemson and NFL veteran with the Bills, Dolphins, and Jets, helped set the tone for the Tigers’ dominant defensive line play throughout the 2010s.

Now, Jaheim hopes to play with a similarly dominant unit. With preseason All-ACC linemen T.J. Parker, Peter Woods and Will Heldt alongside him, Lawson sees the potential, but knows the work is far from done.

“I think we’re going to be a great unit. We just got to continue to work,” he said. “I think we’re not good yet, though. We still got to continue to just put our heads down and work.”

Clemson fans will get their first look at Lawson and the Tigers when they take on LSU at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30.