Clemson Tigers Stock Report Following Virginia Tech Loss

Clemson football fell to 4-3 this past weekend, allowing 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to the Virginia Tech Hokies to lose 20-16 at home.

The Tigers were dysfunctional offensively, continuing to sputter out as the season continues, and it had them pay for it to lose their second ACC game of the season. The game leaves them now on the outside of the ACC Championship picture and will need to win out.

Here are three players who improved their Clemson stock, as well as three others who were unable to meet expectations, in the loss on Saturday night.

Stock Up: Will Heldt, Edge Rusher

Entering the season, the senior edge rusher had intentions of going in the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft. Heldt showed that on Saturday night.

The Purdue transfer finished with two sacks and two tackles for loss in the game, having his best game of his fourth season in college football while making life difficult for Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. He would also record a pass breakup in the loss.

You’ll end up seeing a trend with a lot of these players who improved their stock, with Clemson’s defensive line seeing a significant improvement in this game compared to the previous six. Heldt was the leader of that group this past weekend at home.

Stock Down: Chris Johnson Jr., Running Back

Clemson only had one true transfer on the offensive side of the ball in the offseason. He hasn’t panned out like many would have liked.

Despite being dubbed as “touchdown fast” by head coach Dabo Swinney when he was picked up back in January, but Johnson would only finish for a rush for -2 yards, being met off the edge by Virginia Tech defender Noah Chambers.

Although the Tigers’ run game has been efficient at times, the SMU transfer hasn’t been as apparent as offensive coordinator Chad Morris would’ve liked. It will be interesting to see how that offseason strategy changes this offseason, and if Johnson can respond before the season’s end.

Stock Up: Darien Mayo, Defensive Lineman

Clemson’s experiment of moving the 6-foot-7 transfer to the interior defensive line has continued to work, and Mayo showed that on Saturday.

He finished with a sack, a tackle for loss and three total tackles in the loss, and he also had a pass breakup at an important time. On Virginia Tech’s first drive of the game, Mayo got a hand to a Grunkemeyer pass to give the Tigers momentum and get off the field.

Out of every player who has played on the defensive line so far this season, Mayo’s development has been a bright spot for defensive coordinator Tom Allen. He most likely will make the complete switch to defensive tackle, and his frame will be a tremendous advantage for Clemson moving forward.

Stock Down: Tait Reynolds, Quarterback

While some of it was on the coaching, fans saw another week of growing pains with the true freshman quarterback in the loss, having another game without a touchdown pass.

Reynolds finished with only 153 yards off of 20 completions, only throwing 27 yards in the first half to put Clemson down going into the half. For another week, the Tigers’ offense continued to sputter out, although they were able to score points on each of their three drives in the third quarter.

The Queen Creek, Arizona, native has grown in his progressions with each game, but after being unable to put the team in a strong position to win the game on the last drive of the game, questions have come up for Clemson’s starting quarterback going forward.

Stock Up: Amare Adams, Defensive Lineman

Once again, a defensive lineman raised his stock on Saturday, and it’s the former five-star who was able to have his best game as a Tiger.

Adams finished with a sack and two tackles for loss in the game, adding four total tackles in the loss. It was the first sack of the Jefferson, South Carolina, native’s career, and he helped the Tigers only allow 70 yards of rushing, a strong showing from the defensive line.

Although he’s had some struggles to start the year, seeing Adams have his best performance of the season so far at this state of the season is a positive sign for the Tigers defensively moving forward.

Stock Down: Elliot Washington II, Cornerback

Washington has made up a half of the one-two punch in the secondary with junior Ashton Hampton to start the season. However, the Penn State transfer ended up costing the Tigers badly.

Washington had three tackles in the loss, but he had two penalties called in the Hokies’ final offensive drive that they would eventually score on. While Virginia Tech had a hold call ready to bring a penalty behind the line of scrimmage, the cornerback laid a hit out of bounds on Grunkemeyer to offset the penalties. Several plays later, he had plenty of contact on Hokie receiver Ayden Green to draw a pass interference call to put Virginia Tech in the end zone.

The cornerback will bounce back in upcoming weeks, but he will have to be less physical to take away the laundry the officials threw on the final plays on defense.

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