Clemson can not have a repeat of 2025 on the backend of the defense.

The Tigers allowed 251.2 passing yards per game last season, ranking No. 118 nationally. Those numbers are absolutely abysmal, and Dabo Swinney would be one of the first to back that claim up.

“Probably the worst pass defense I have had since I’ve been a head coach,” Swinney said back in January. “It was just really poor.”

With that in mind, Swinney and defensive coordinator Tom Allen went out and gave the secondary a facelift via the transfer portal. Khalil Barnes and Ricardo Jones both exited the program after being mainstays at safety in 2025. Depth pieces Shelton Lewis and Rob Billings also transferred out.

Portal safeties Corey Myrick and Jerome Carter were brought in to beef up the pass defense, with both players being viewed as upgrades. Both bring plenty of experience and have produced at their previous stops. It’s hard not to envision both of those guys as starters.

“We got our top two safeties,” Swinney said. “We went after these two guys, and we got both of them. Jerome Carter from ODU and Corey Myrick from Southern Miss. Both are juniors. These guys are long and they can run.”

“They are both all-conference players. These are really good football players. They really fit and align with who we are.”

Ronan Hanafin returns. He’s logged close to 650 snaps during his career, so whatever his role is during the coming season, that’s a guy who has played a lot of football for Clemson. He started five games a season ago.

Kylon Griffin is still around. After logging 363 snaps in 2024, he only played 76 last year.

Polo Anderson is a four-star talent who enrolled early, and with his high upside and playmaking ability, he might be hard to keep off the field as a freshman. We all saw him flash some of that potential during the spring game.

After being a weak link last year, maybe safety can turn into a strength in the coming season. The pieces certainly seem to be in place.

The Tigers also addressed needs at corner. Transfer Donovan Starr was brought in after spending his freshman campaign at Auburn. This is a guy the Tigers recruited hard coming out of high school, and had Clemson not filled up at corner ahead of his decision, he might have originally signed with Swinney’s program. Starr is capable of playing corner and nickel.

One of the biggest additions was cornerback Elliot Washington, who transferred in from Penn State. Washington spent a season learning under Allen while he was the defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions in 2024, so there is already some familiarity there. Washington is expected to start opposite Ashton Hampton, who many are hoping will have a breakout junior season.

‘We needed a little more speed,” Swinney said. “We went and got our top two guys at corner, Elliot Washington, who is a 4.3 guy, a senior from Penn State. Then we got Donovan Starr, who honestly would have come here out of high school, but we took a young man, and he went to Auburn.”

Branden Strozier returns after having made major strides last year, particularly over the back half of the season. Corian Gipson is also back, having gained a lot of valuable experience at nickel a season ago. Tink Kelley also saw a lot of action last season.

Marcell Gipson and Shavar Young are the two incoming freshmen corners. Hard to know at this point how much either might play, but Mike Reed has never been one to shy away from giving his freshmen opportunities.

The additions were enough to have Swinney believing coming out of the spring.

“I just think we’re much better in that area,” Swinney said of the secondary. “We improved in every defensive statistic except pass defense. We were horrible. If we can stay the course in Year 2 with Coach Allen and what we’re doing but improve in that area, then I think that makes a difference on the field and in close games.”

Without question, the struggles in the secondary played a large role in Clemson going just 7-6 in 2025. The pass defense particularly reared its ugly head in home losses to both Duke and SMU.

If the Tigers are going to improve what some would call a disastrous 2025 season, the secondary is going to have to be much better. With the portal acquisitions, it should be, but the question remains how much better?