As it turns out, preferred walk-on spots aren’t a thing of the past at Clemson.

With the implementation of the 105-man roster limit in college football beginning with the 2025 season, the Tigers were expected to fully fund 105 scholarships. While an overwhelming majority of those will be filled, there still might be an occasional example of a high school player being offered a spot on the 105, while not immediately being on scholarship.

Such is the case with in-state defensive end Connor McFadden (Catawba Ridge), who did indeed sign with Clemson last Wednesday on signing day, despite not being announced by the school publicly. While McFadden won’t begin on scholarship, he will have the opportunity to earn one.

“That’s the plan,” McFadden told The Clemson Insider. “They are basically telling me — they offered me a PWO, which is a guaranteed spot on the 105-man roster. They are telling me they aren’t just throwing it out there just because they have an extra roster spot. They can see me eventually becoming a scholarship player. I just got to put the work in.”

McFadden landed on the Tigers’ radar back in the fall after Mike Reed attended a Catawba Ridge game to watch five-star cornerback Josh Dobson play. The 6-foot-5, 238-pounder turned in a strong performance that night and Reed never forgot.

When McFadden never heard from anyone at Clemson in the following weeks, he wasn’t sure if anything would ever materialize. Then, about a week before signing day, McFadden got the call that would change everything.

“It really started with a game last year, I think it was late October,” he said. “A coach was at the game and asking who I was. I was a senior and obviously, big schools like that don’t really recruit you when you are a senior. After I heard he was asking about me and he said I played good, I didn’t really think nothing of it. Then, about a week before signing day, I was at a basketball game for my school, and the GM called me saying they had a PWO spot and wanted me to come visit. He called me, and the defensive ends coach called me.”

McFadden quickly set up that visit. The Friday before signing day, he spent a large chunk of the day on campus. When he left, he was committed. He went public with that announcement the following Tuesday.

“It was probably a six-hour-long visit. A campus tour and all that,” McFadden said. “Just talking to a bunch of people. Talked to the GM, the head coach, all of the defensive staff and I just loved it. I committed the same day.”

As a senior, McFadden totaled seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss. He even played some offense, reeling in 13 catches for 146 yards.

While Delaware State, Catawba College and Anderson all offered full rides, McFadden chose Clemson. He truly believes that is the best path forward.

“Obviously, the facilities are way better than anywhere I have ever seen,” McFadden said. “But it was really the aspect of how they treat you. They really care about you, not only as a football player, but as a human being. And the path of when you are done with football, whether you go to the NFL or not, just setting you up for life after football.”

Photo courtesy of Connor McFadden on X (formerly known as Twitter)