Clemson Transfer Cornerback Stands Out in First Day of Spring Practice

When the Clemson defensive ends spoke to the media after practice on Wednesday, almost all of them had one name to mention when talking about who stood out in the first practice.

Jahiem Lawson, Darien Mayo and Ari Watford all mentioned Penn State transfer Elliot Washington II’s name.

With plenty of new names on the defense being from the transfer portal, nine players to have made the move to Clemson, and everybody was ready for an increased amount of competition. However, according to this position group, it looks like Washington had the best day of the bunch.

“That boy Elliot went crazy today,” Mayo said on Wednesday evening. “That’s my favorite first thing I saw. Elliot, he had like two picks today, so he did great, but everybody really stepping up. Got a lot of good pieces coming in, the defense, the d-line, secondary, even the offense still getting good pieces.”

Watford is only arefreshman, but he knows that his new teammate will be a force to be reckoned with in the fall of 2026 already.

“He had fun out there today,” he added. ‘He made some big plays and he’s going to be a big player for us.”

Being a new player within the program could be difficult to fit in, but the Clemson players have done a great job of taking Washington under their wing to get him acclimated to the new system. Lawson, namely, has been one of the Tigers who has been the closest with him since he’s gotten here, helping him grow as a leader.

The redshirt senior has high hopes for the transfer, like the others.

“I’m excited for him. He brings a lot of energy to the team,” Lawson said. I think he’s going to help us a lot, tremendously. I think him bringing another piece in the corner room is going to just bring a lot more competition, just help other guys in that room just be better and just feel like he’s going to bring a lot of guys on with him.”

Originally learning under now-Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen when he spent his 2024 season at Penn State, Washington finished his Nittany Lion career with 53 tackles, two interceptions and nine pass breakups in one start in three seasons. He was Clemson’s first transfer during the cycle, beginning a domino effect of eight other transfers on defense that followed.

While only having one year of eligibility remaining, Lawson believes he will make the most of it, spending a lot of time with him as Washington now lives in his neighborhood.

“He’s just a good dude, man,” he said. “I like him a lot. Excited for him, excited for his future.”

That’s what standout edge rusher Will Heldt added during his availability as well: the power of transfers. Being one of the two defensive transfers last season, Heldt led the team in tackles for loss and sacks in 2025 after coming from Purdue in the offseason.

Seeing the success of a newer transfer from this transfer portal cycle, Heldt believes that it’s only going to make the rest of the team better.

“I think nobody’s shying away from the fact that there’s competition coming in,” the senior said. “That’s part of it. I think we’re excited about that. I think it’s going to help foster some improvement, and we’re excited about that.”

As the Tigers continue to move through spring practices over the next several weeks, more players will emerge as winners of respective practices that we will hear from. However, Wednesday was Washington’s day, and it brought some excitement about what the cornerbacks' room can bring in 2026.