Penn State CB Transfer Makes Campus Visit to Clemson

The Clemson Tigers and defensive coordinator Tom Allen have brought in their first cornerback of the transfer portal cycle (publicly), hosting transfer Elliot Washington II for an official visit this Sunday.

Allen was Washington’s defensive coordinator at Penn State during the 2024 season and has one final year of eligibility remaining.

He is rated as a three-star transfer prospect and ranks as the No. 190 overall player and the No. 13 cornerback, according to 247Sports rankings.

Penn State transfer DB Elliot Washington II is currently on a visit to Clemson and checking out Memorial Stadium, per his Instagram story ... Current Tigers defensive coordinator Tom Allen was Washington’s DC at Penn State in 2024 pic.twitter.com/SzzMFV73ib
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) January 4, 2026

The visit comes at a critical time for Clemson’s secondary, which has experienced significant turnover this offseason.

The Tigers have lost six players from the unit, including starting safeties Ricardo Jones and Khalil Barnes, safety Rob Billings, cornerback Shelton Lewis and walk-on Michael Mankaka, to the transfer portal. In addition, star cornerback Avieon Terrell has already entered his name in the 2026 NFL Draft, where he is projected as a first-round selection.

With those departures, the Clemson staff has been aggressive in pursuing multiple reinforcements on the back end. Along with Washington, Clemson is also evaluating Kansas transfer safety Lyrik Rawls, who is scheduled to be in Death Valley for an official visit on Jan. 10-11.

Who is Elliot Washington II?

Washington’s path to this point began at Venice High School in Florida, where he emerged as a young prodigy, earning six varsity starts as a freshman.

After getting his feet wet early, Washington grew into a full-time starter and never looked back. Over the next three years, the 5-foot-11 corner racked up 113 tackles, four for a loss, 13 interceptions for 266 yards, 11 pass deflections and four forced fumbles.

By the end of his high school career, Washington was rated as a four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 175 overall player, the No. 13 safety and the No. 42 recruit from Florida, according to 247Sports rankings.

He narrowed his recruitment to a top five of Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia and Michigan State, initially committing to the Crimson Tide before flipping to the Nittany Lions six months later.

Arriving in Happy Valley as a highly-touted prospect, Washington spent the next phase of his career developing within Penn State’s secondary. As a true freshman, he split snaps between special teams and defense, appearing in 10 games and tallying nine tackles, with one for a loss.

In 2024, Washington kicked off his sophomore campaign with a bang, hauling in his first career interception in Penn State’s Week 1 meeting with West Virginia. He continued to perform as a high-level backup for the remainder of the year, finishing the season with 26 tackles, six pass deflections, one interception and only 161 yards allowed through 14 games and 300+ snaps.

Entering this past season, expectations were elevated for both Washington and Penn State, as he was poised to take on a larger role within the Nittany Lions’ secondary. Washington went on to record 18 tackles, three pass deflections and one interception on the year.

While he saw extended playing time to begin the season, consistency proved elusive, as his role diminished down the stretch — playing just 33 snaps over the final four games of the regular season. He allowed 209 receiving yards and one touchdown overall, with 170 of those yards and the lone score coming against UCLA, Ohio State and Indiana.

As it stands, Clemson’s cornerback room features redshirt sophomore Branden Strozier, redshirt freshman Corian Gipson, redshirt junior Myles Oliver, and true sophomore Ashton Hampton.

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