Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Highlights Khalil Barnes’ Impact Since Return

Over the past few years, veteran safety Khalil Barnes has been one of the most vital pieces to the Clemson Tigers’ secondary and defense as a whole.

He burst on the scene as a true freshman in 2023, stuffing the stat sheet with 38 tackles, five for a loss, six pass deflections, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, one sack and a fumble recovery touchdown. This strong debut led to him being named to the FWAA Freshman All-American team.

Barnes continued his stellar play into his sophomore campaign, where he played a lot more in coverage, totaling 61 tackles, four interceptions and three pass deflections.

Heading into his junior season, he received high praise with new defensive coordinator Tom Allen even having him at the 'top of the list' for players the defense couldn’t afford to lose.

“He was at the top of the list because of what he can do at his position and being able to have experience with how we’re built structurally and how we play the game,” Allen explained. “In this system, [Barnes] is critical.”

“He’s a special player… he really makes a defense from a communication perspective because of his experience. He’s done a great job; he knows the defense. I sit in all the meetings with him, and he communicates at a high level.”

However, unfortunately, to start the 2025 season, he went down with a hamstring injury in the season opener against LSU, forcing him to miss the following two games against Troy and Georgia Tech. He also had barely played in fall camp, missing all the scrimmages and essentially getting no live work leading up to the first game.

Now that he’s back on the field, it’s been a huge step in the right direction as he’s used his experience and communication to stabilize the secondary, allowing only 213 passing yards on 42 attempts as a unit in Week 6 versus UNC’s Max Johnson.

When reflecting on the addition of a fully healthy Khalil Barnes, head coach Dabo Swinney had a lot of positive words to say, especially after a win like last weekend’s.

“If you remember, he missed pretty much all of [fall] camp. So he really didn’t get any live work; he missed all the scrimmages. Then he played just a very few plays [vs. LSU],” Swinney said. “He and Antonio, that was a big loss for us there, so getting him back and going has been big for us. I thought he played well, and the team played well. As I said, our best players – and he’s certainly one – led the way.”

With Barnes back and healthy, Clemson’s secondary will need to bring their best in Week 7 as Boston College boasts the No. 11 air raid offense in the country, averaging over 300 passing yards per game, led by Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan.