With Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney seeing his defense get throttled by a lot of departures, Swinney needed some good news about his defensive side of the ball.
Well, on Monday, Swinney did hear about an absolute monster of a player who’s going to make a visit to the Tigers’ football program on Monday.
Who’s Visiting the Clemson Football Program?
Word came out on Monday that Old Dominion safety Jerome Carter was going to pay Swinney and his coaching staff a visit. National college football writer Chris Hummer for 247Sports and CBS Sports posted the news on X on Monday morning.
Old Dominion all-conference safety Jerome Carter plans to visit Clemson on Jan. 5, a source tells @CBSSports.
The 6-foot-2 195-pound DB totaled 76 tackles, 6 INT (2nd in CFB) & 2.5 TFLs this year.https://t.co/XuYv4g6YNm… pic.twitter.com/E4xIAE93yI
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 5, 2026
“Old Dominion all-conference safety Jerome Carter plans to visit Clemson on Jan. 5, a source tells @CBSSports,” Hummer wrote. “The 6-foot-2 195-pound DB totaled 76 tackles, 6 INT (2nd in CFB) & 2.5 TFLs this year.”
How many players have the Tigers lost on defense so far? The list is pretty daunting, leaving Clemson fans to possibly wonder how Swinney will fill these spots on his team before the 2026 college football season rolls around.
Defensive tackle Champ Thompson has announced his intentions to enter the Transfer Portal. He’s not alone, though, at all.
Other Clemson defensive players headed to the Transfer Portal include safety Khalil Barnes, defensive tackle Stephiylan Green, safeties Ricardo Jones and Ron Billings, cornerback Shelton Lewis, linebackers Jamal Anderson and Dee Crayton, defensive lineman Caden Story, and defensive end Markus Dixon. Barnes has committed to Georgia now, though.
On offense, tight end Josh Sapp and running back Keith Adams Jr. are also bound for the Transfer Portal.
How did Swinney’s defense look according to the PFSN CFB Defense Impact metrics for the season? The Tigers’ defense had an impact score of 82.9 and graded out to a B-. Clemson’s defense forced 17 turnovers, including nine interceptions, against opponents. But the Tigers’ secondary allowed opponents to average 250.5 yards passing per game, too.
Opponents also scored 16 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns against Clemson last season.
Swinney hopes a player of Carter’s stature will find a new home with the Tigers. His addition would be most welcome at a time when losing so much from the defensive side of the ball isn’t a good look for Swinney and his staff.
