Clemson's Dabo Swinney Weighs in on Defensive Tackle Room

With the departures of both starting interior defensive linemen in Peter Woods, who was selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and DeMonte Capehart, who was selected in the fifth round, the position room looks a whole lot different heading into the 2026 season.

During Clemson Media Day on Tuesday, Dabo Swinney gave an update on two players at the position who are currently inactive, as well as how he feels about the rest of the group.

The first player he gave an update on was third-year tackle Hevin Brown-Shuler, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in early May, which will cause him to miss the entirety of the 2026 season.

Since his diagnosis, he's responded well to chemotherapy treatment and has still stayed locked in to the team from the sideline, with him even telling position coach Nick Eason to send him the playbook and keep him involved with drills in an effort to stay on top of everything.

"Obviously, y'all all know about Hevin [Brown-Shuler] and his situation," Swinney began. "Just an update on him: he's doing great. I think he's had four rounds of chemo at this point and is responding well and doing well. So, that's going in a good direction. He's been very engaged and around every day. It's been good to see him and [he's] got a smile on his face."

Then, the veteran head coach gave a very optimistic update on West Georgia transfer Kourtney Kelly, who suffered a torn ACL in March during spring practice.

"He's trending in a great direction," Swinney raved. "You know, [I] anticipate definitely getting him back at some point. Probably not a guy that'll be full-go in camp, but he's heading into a good spot, too, and we do think, unless there's some type of setback, he's got a better than great chance to be back at some point [this season]. So that's good for him."

We've seen a similar situation happen before, too. Back in 2022, now-Baltimore Ravens running back Adam Randall tore his ACL during his first spring period with the program. However, he recovered so well and quickly that he was back on the field by September, finishing the year playing 12 of the team's 14 games.

As for the rest of the room, Swinney feels as if they have a lot to prove, referring to the position group as "a huge unknown."

"The guys got a lot to prove, every one of them," he stated. "I think Amare Adams is… I mean, he's as talented a guy as we signed. I mean, he is a really special talent, a great kid and a hard worker. But [he was] a true freshman last year and ended up having to have some surgery. So I mean, I think he's certainly a high-level talent, but he's got to go prove it."

While there's nothing set in stone yet, Adams has a high possibility of earning a starting role heading into this year, as he was the secondary rotational tackle behind now-LSU defensive tackle Stephiylan Green in 2025 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Furman in Week 11.

He was limited during the spring period due to his recovery coming off surgery, but he'll be good to go for fall camp.

Swinney then labeled a part of the group as "now or never" guys. While he didn't state exactly who these players were, it's likely he was referring to redshirt junior Vic Burley, who has a chance to finally start this season if he proves himself, and redshirt sophomore Champ Thompson, who's received little playing time over the past two years.

"You got some guys that's kind of now or never, you know, that's in that group," he told the media. "A couple of guys that have been around here that they are either gonna do it now or probably ain't gonna do it. One of the two."

Finally, he rounded out the topic by speaking about junior college (JUCO) transfer Andy Burburija and Oklahoma transfer Markus Strong.

"Then you got some guys like [Andy] Burburija, who I can't wait to see," Swinney said ecstatically. "I haven't seen him yet. So I can't wait to see him as far as on the field. I think he's gonna be a guy."

"Markus Strong, same thing," he continued. "In fact, I was at Austin Bryant's wedding Sunday night, and I was talking to Todd Bates… we had a bunch of coaches and former players, a bunch of reunions going on at the wedding. But we were talking about Markus Strong because he was at Oklahoma with them. But man, he's eager, and I really like him. That's why we brought him here."

Both Burburija and Strong are also in contention for the starting spots.

Across two seasons at the JUCO level, Burburija dominated competition, totaling 14 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss across two seasons. Strong, on the other hand, already has Power Four experience, but little in-game experience, totaling just over 100 snaps across three years with the Sooners.

Other players at the position include: Texas State transfer DeVarrick Woods, redshirt freshman Makhi Williams-Lee, freshman Kam Cody and walk-on Patrick Swygert.

As Swinney said, the position room is filled with a lot of unknowns, but the pieces will start to fall into place once camp starts at the end of the month, and sooner or later, we'll see who the standouts at the position are heading into the 2026 season.

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