Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Raves About Jeremiah Alexander's Growth Heading Into Year Two

With Wade Woodaz headed to the NFL Draft and the Luke Ferrelli saga ending up how it did, one of the biggest question marks in the Clemson Tigers' roster entering 2026 is the linebacker position.

Sammy Brown is coming off the best season of his career in 2025, totaling more than 100 tackles and five sacks, and is the clear-cut starter. As spring practice continues, we may be getting a glimpse of who will line up alongside him, and that might be Jeremiah Alexander.

In Wednesday's press conference, head coach Dabo Swinney spoke about how much progress he's made since arriving as a transfer from Alabama last spring.

"The arrow is up by him. He made a lot of progress for us last season," he began.

But Swinney's main point when speaking about Alexander was how much he has grown into a true linebacker.

Coming out of high school, he was a five-star prospect and one of the best players in the country, ranking inside the top 20 nationally — but as an edge rusher, not a backer. He was listed as the No. 1 player at the position, making the transition that followed all the more significant.

"He really hadn't played much linebacker. It was a transition," Swinney noted, adding that despite Alexander's imposing physical presence at 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, it was important to look past the surface-level recruiting profile and track his actual development at his new position.

Once he arrived in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide handled the bulk of that positional growth over his initial three years, but opportunities on the field were hard to come by. As Swinney put it, "They did a good job with him there. He just didn't get a lot of opportunities."

That's what made his arrival in Death Valley so pivotal. Swinney described watching him get "better, and better, and better, and better," with more consistent playing time and live action.

He may still be a "young linebacker" in terms of experience, but as Swinney made clear, "he's a really good football player. That's what he is naturally," and the strides have reflected that sentiment.

"Now he's year two in the system. So we have high hopes for him, high expectations, we need him to be a great player for us," Swinney finished.

After raving about the growth Alexander has made over the past year, Swinney didn't forget to credit Clemson linebackers coach — and former player — Ben Boulware for doing an "excellent" job with the backers as a whole last season.

"I thought Wade [Woodaz] had his best year. Sammy [Brown] had his best year," Swinney praised. "Kobe McCloud has really improved. Jeremiah got better, and better, and better. We've got a good little group in there. That's going to be a competitive group."

“[CJ] Kubah-Taylor. Fletcher [Cothran] is a guy that's got some experience now that we think can help us. Drew Woodaz is 220-something pounds; he looks great. It's a good group that we've got. Obviously [Brayden] Reilly will be coming in here this summer, so we'll have one more that will add on there."