Clemson has gotten some reinforcements along its defensive line this summer.

JUCO transfer Andy Burburija has arrived on campus after signing earlier this year. The Tigers went out and added Texas State transfer Devarrick Woods a few weeks back after Hevin Brown-Shuler’s cancer diagnosis. The team will also have second-year player Amare Adams back, after a late-season injury limited him during spring practice.

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen met with members of the media on Monday and discussed some of the newcomers and the expectations for the interior of his front four.

“We have Andy (Burburija). He is new. He was not with us in the spring,” Allen said during Clemson’s annual media day. “He is a new piece we will have, and he has obviously been here all summer. Devarrick Woods is another new guy that is new to our roster that was not here in the spring. Amare, with his late-season injury, was just coming back. So those three guys did not practice for a wide variety of reasons in the spring, so that is a major change.

Burburija spent the first two seasons of his career at Iowa Western Community College. In 2025, he was a first-team All-American, while registering 45 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and one forced fumble. 247Sports ranked the 6-foot-2, 295-pound player as the sixth-best JUCO defensive lineman in the class.

Woods comes over after spending one season at Texas State. Before that, he spent a year at Hinds Community College.

Adams is a former five-star talent who eclipsed the 100-snap mark before suffering his season-ending injury. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder is expected to take on a much larger role in year two.

Another player expected to play a substantial role up front is Oklahoma transfer Markus Strong. Strong redshirted in 2023, then spent the next two seasons contributing in a reserve role. He saw his most extensive action last season, appearing in 10 games.

Then there are guys like Vic Burley and Champ Thompson. Burley, a former five-star, is entering his fourth season in the program, while Thompson is entering his third, and Allen readily admits that the Tigers are going to need contributions from both players.

“Then the younger guys have to grow up,” Allen added. “You bring in some new guys like Markus Strong, who was here in the spring but is new to Clemson. We’ve put a lot on him from a leadership perspective because of the maturity that he brought with him. A big reason why we wanted him here. Then Vic Burley, Champ Thompson, those guys, taking that next step.”

While the Tigers certainly underperformed up front last season, having to replace the production of Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart won’t be easy. Not to mention, Stephiylan Green also transferred out.

However, no matter the challenge, Allen knows if his defense is going to play up to the Clemson standard, his defensive tackles are going to have to produce.

“That is a critical group for us for finishing out the summer and fall camp,” Allen said. “We need to have a strength in numbers in that group. So whoever steps in the game needs to be able to play at an elite level and to be collectively a very strong group.