Following Monday’s practice, Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen met with the media and was asked which freshmen have stood out to him during spring ball.

Allen didn’t hesitate when naming the first true frosh – safety Polo Anderson.  

“Well, the first one is Polo Anderson,” Allen said. “I mean, he is just really – and gosh, he was just in high school a few months ago – but man, even again today, he just makes plays. And he makes mistakes, which is expected. But his athleticism…”

Allen added that he used a clip of Anderson in a team meeting Monday to demonstrate how he wants his defensive players to “burst to the football and play with effort and how we chase the ball.”

“He’s a true freshman that just got here a few months ago,” Allen said, “and he’s the guy we’re using as an example here [of] ‘that’s exactly what it’s supposed to look like.’ So, that’s buy in, and that’s a credit to him and his family and his high school coaches and how he was prepared. So, he definitely sticks out to me.”

Allen also highlighted 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive tackle Kam Cody as another true freshman who’s stood out to him.  

“I think on the defensive line, I just think Kam Cody is a big, strong guy that I’ve been really excited about,” Allen said. “I think that he has some physical traits. He has a lot of, we call them ‘heavy hands.’ He’s strong… Obviously he just got here, and to me that really is exciting to be able to see, because I just think that’s a quality — that weight room strength – a lot of guys lack that coming out of high school. So, he really, to me, is going to give us a chance to really be able to accelerate that and grow that.”

Cody and Anderson both signed with Clemson last December and enrolled early in January. Cody, a former three-star prospect, was a disruptive interior defensive lineman at Georgia’s Benedictine Military School, while Anderson was a consensus four-star and top-150 national prospect who starred in the Upstate at Dorman High School.

A two-time all-state and three-time all-region pick, Anderson was credited with 265 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, five pass breakups and four interceptions during his prep career. He also blocked four career kicks and scored three career touchdowns, including one on a 58-yard pick-six against Blythewood in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs as a senior.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder recorded a career-high 95 tackles (eight for loss), three forced fumbles, two sacks, a pick-six and a fumble recovery as a senior en route to being recognized as Region 2-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year and being named as one of five finalists for Mr. Football in South Carolina.

As for Cody, he entered the December early signing period having tallied 248 career tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 22.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He was credited to that point with 71 tackles (13 for loss), 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his senior season, when he selected as GHSA Region 1-4A Defensive Player of the Year.

He was an All-Greater Savannah first-team selection as a junior, when he tallied 89 tackles (11 for loss) and 8.5 sacks, and earned Class 4A first-team all-state honors from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and an all-region selection after leading his team to a Class 4A quarterfinal berth.

“To me, those are the two top guys I would say, from spring ball, that really stick out to me the most,” Allen said of Anderson and Cody.

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story