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Clemson Starting Safety Enters Transfer Portal

Another shakeup hits Clemson’s secondary as a starting safety becomes the latest Tiger to test the transfer portal.
Angelo Feliberty|
A starting safety enters the transfer portal as Clemson’s secondary continues to shift heading into the heart of portal season.
A starting safety enters the transfer portal as Clemson’s secondary continues to shift heading into the heart of portal season. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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With the second day of the transfer portal window wrapping up, another Clemson Tiger has entered the transfer portal. 

Starting safety Ricardo Jones entered the his name in the portal on Saturday night, as first announced by On3’s Hayes Fawcett. He enters with two years of eligibility remaining.

Jones becomes the thirteenth player — and third at his position — to enter the transfer portal for the Tigers. The program has only four total safeties left on the roster, including Ronan Hanafin, Kylon Griffin, Noah Dixon and incoming true freshman Polo Anderson.

Originally part of Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class, the 190-pound safety entered Clemson as one of the top players in the class, choosing the Tigers over Auburn, Tennessee and Florida State.

Jones was the sixth-highest recruit in his respective class, holding a four-star rating and ranked as the No. 172 prospect, the No. 12 safety and the No. 20 player from Georgia, according to 247Sports rankings.

While other true freshmen he came in with saw immediate action like Sammy Brown and Bryant Wesco Jr., Jones took more of a backseat role behind now-Los Angeles Chargers safety R.J. Mickens.

Through 12 game appearances, the young talent played sparingly at both free safety and strong safety, making impactful plays in the limited action he got. On the season, Jones recorded 20 tackles, one for a loss, one sack and one interception.

He took a jump this past season — as expected — and leapfrogged redshirt junior Kylon Griffin for the starting free safety spot, where he excelled as a true sophomore. However, he did still move over to strong safety for a few contests. 

In 12 starts, Jones recorded 39 tackles, including one for a loss, along with three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and an ACC-high six interceptions. His performance earned him Third-Team All-ACC honors, highlighted by one of the season’s most memorable plays: returning a LaNorris Sellers interception for a touchdown to seal the Tigers’ Palmetto Bowl victory.

Jones’ departure further reshapes Clemson’s secondary outlook, with two safeties now set to exit the program in Khalil Barnes and Rob Billings, as well as two cornerbacks in Shelton Lewis and walk-on Michael Mankaka. 

Compounding the situation, Clemson currently does not have a safeties coach and is slated to sign just one player at the position in Polo Anderson, as previously noted, due to the Tigers coming up short in the races for both four-star Kaden Gebhardt, who flipped to Ohio State, and three-star Blake Stewart, who flipped to Georgia, during this recruiting cycle.

However, head coach Dabo Swinney and defensive coordinator Tom Allen are already actively working to add depth and competition within the room, as Clemson has reached out to Kansas transfer Lyrik Rawls and scheduled an official visit for Jan. 10-11.

Clemson Tigers on SI will continue to provide coverage of every player in the transfer portal through our portal tracker.

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Angelo Feliberty
ANGELO FELIBERTY

Angelo Feliberty is a Sports Communication major who got his start with The Tiger newspaper at Clemson University starting as a contributor and working his way up to senior reporter covering multiple sports for the Clemson Tigers. A native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feliberty was a three-year letterman in track at Myrtle Beach High School.

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