Swinney Gives Update on Injured Safety
By: Will Vandervort August 15, 2026

CLEMSON — Following Saturday’s scrimmage, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney updated the status of safety Polo Anderson.

The freshman suffered a knee injury in practice on Friday.

“He tore his ACL (Friday)” Swinney said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “I hate that for him. That is part of it. Polo came of came down on a competitive play and got tangled up there.

“It was a clean tear, so that is a good thing.

Anderson, who was a two-time All-State performer at Dorman High School in Spartanburg, S.C., enrolled at Clemson this past January. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety flashed during spring practices, so much so that the coaching staff felt he could possibly help the Tigers’ secondary this coming season.

From what TCI heard, he was having a good camp before suffering his knee injury.

“The positive for him is he knows he can do it,” Swinney added. “From where he was in January coming in, he was really going to help us this year, for sure. He was positioned to be a big-time contributor for us.”

Ranked as a consensus top-150 player in the nation, Anderson was a two-time all-state and three-time all-region pick. He was credited with 265 career tackles, 25.0 tackles for loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles, five pass breakups and four interceptions during his high school career.

Anderson also blocked four kicks and scored three touchdowns for Dorman, including a 58-yard pick-six against Blythewood in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs as a senior. He was named as one of five finalists for Mr. Football in South Carolina in 2025.

Before coming to Clemson, Anderson was recognized as the Region 2-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year. He recorded a career-high 95 tackles (8.0 for loss), three forced fumbles, two sacks, an interception (which he returned for a touchdown) and a fumble recovery as a senior, while guiding Dorman to a 10-3 mark and the state semifinals.

Anderson collected 5A all-state honors from the South Carolina Football Coaches Association and was an all-region pick as a junior in 2024 after he posted 86 tackles (11.0 for loss), one interception and four sacks.