CLEMSON — Clemson’s defensive line will look much different in 2026.

Peter Woods, DeMonte Capehart and T.J. Parker will be playing on Sundays next season, and Stephiylan Green transferred out, leaving some gaping holes up front. That means Dabo Swinney and company had some major work to do in the transfer portal.

Over the first week of the portal window, the Tigers were active in reloading up front, landing several key pieces expected to. make immediate impacts. Oklahoma transfer Markus Strong was one of the bigger additions. He has two years left to play.

Last season, the 6-foot-2, 297-pound redshirt sophomore appeared in 10 games as a reserve, with seven tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

One of the more intriguing additions was Kourtney Kelly. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive lineman spent the first two seasons of his college career at West Georgia, a former D2 program that has since transitioned to the FCS.

Kelly broke out last season, notching 17 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks and one fumble recovery. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

“We needed some size, speed and toughness in our D-line,” Swinney said. “We got Markus Strong, who is big, twitchy from Oklahoma. We got Kourtney Kelly, who is a really intriguing prospect. Got some explosiveness. A tough kid, he is from West Georgia. Markus has two years left, Kourtney has three.”

The Tigers also signed two defensive ends, with one of those being London Merritt, a high-level player the staff recruited during high school days.

Merritt just wrapped up his freshman campaign at Colorado, earning PFF All-Freshman honors. He was also named Honorable Mention for Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound pass rusher appeared in all 12 games in 2025, with one start. He finished with 25 total tackles, 14 unassisted tackles, eight tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, and one sack. His eight tackles for loss were the second most by a freshman in the Big 12 and fourth in the NCAA for true freshmen, according to PFF.

“We needed a couple of D-ends,” Swinney added. “Our top target was London Merritt. He is a kid we knew a lot about. We recruited him out of high school. He was a freshman all-conference guy in the Big 12. Super good fit for us. He’s got three years left.”

Clemson also acquired Howard transfer CJ Wesley. As a redshirt junior in 2025, Wesley recorded 33 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

“We wanted some real juice, something a little unique off the edge, and we found this kid at Howard, thanks to Artavis (Scott),” Swinney said. “We just ran everybody the other day, I think he ran a 4.56 at 225 pounds. He’s got real juice. He’s got length.”

JUCO DT Andy Burburija is also expected to sign in February. The 6-foot-2, 295-pounder originally committed to Nebraska before being flipped by the Tigers. As a JUCO player, he can’t sign until next month.

In 2025, he was a first-team All-American, while registering 45 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and one forced fumble.

‘We put it all together the way we needed to,” Swinney said. “We hope to add maybe another high-level D-tackle on signing day.”