Dabo Swinney Names Two Linebackers Who Have Separated Themselves Behind Sammy Brown

In a position group that is looking to replace an NFL talent in Wade Woodaz, these Tigers have emerged as the next man up to start.

Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Alexander (7) with Fletcher Cothran (50) and Dominic Staten (38) during Spring football practice at the Reeves Football Complex in Clemson, SC Wednesday, March 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With no starters named yet for Clemson Football, head coach Dabo Swinney continues to emphasize the competition in each position group.

“Everybody’s just working there. A bunch of nobodies,” he said on Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll see if anybody becomes somebody as we play some games.”

One of the rooms that has been at the forefront of a lot of preseason conversation is the linebackers. Aside from Sammy Brown, there are a lot of questions in the room, with Wade Woodaz now gone and the Luke Ferrelli situation backfiring on the Tigers.

Last week, Swinney mentioned that the players outside of Brown need to prove they’ll be okay without him on the field. And as they’ve continued to compete, a pair of upperclassmen have separated themselves from the pack, according to Swinney.

“Yeah, I’m not disappointed. Again, I’d say the same thing I did about the running backs: it’s a better room than people think. The two guys who have probably separated [themselves] a little bit are Jeremiah [Alexander] and Kobe [McCloud],” he stated. “Those two guys have really, you know, given us confidence that, ‘Hey, okay.’ We’ve kind of got a top three, if you will, that we feel really good about, and those guys can play multiple positions.”

As most know, Alexander transferred in from Alabama ahead of the 2025 season after barely playing at all across his first three seasons with the Crimson Tide. For the Tigers last year, he played a small role as a backup behind Brown and Woodaz, totaling 36 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, three pass deflections and one sack across 219 defensive snaps.

Similarly, McCloud didn’t play much in his first three seasons due to a mix of redshirting as a freshman and a season-ending injury that cut his 2024 season very short. Last season, though, he totaled career highs of 26 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, four pass deflections and one sack as a backup alongside Alexander.

While both still face a lot of uncertainty heading into the 2026 season, it’s good to know that Swinney and his staff feel confident enough already to name a top three just a week into fall camp.

Depth has also been one of the most apparent problems in the room; however, the veteran head coach thinks otherwise, emphasizing his confidence in the projected second- and third-stringers, especially junior Drew Woodaz.

“But it’s that group behind them. It’s Fletcher [Cothran], it’s [C.J. Kubah-Taylor], it’s [Drew] Woodaz — Woodaz flashed today, had a nice play — it’s Logan [Anderson],” Swinney raved. “We got the young Brayden Reilly in here, you know, he’s got a lot on his plate. But, you know, the room is competing. Ben [Boulware’s] doing a great job, along with Tom [Allen], and again, we’ve just got to keep going.”

While it’s still early into fall camp and there are a lot more questions to be answered, the linebacker room is slowly taking shape, and fans and media alike will continue to monitor the situation ahead of a potential bounce-back year for the Tigers.