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Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown (47) and the Tigers are looking ahead to 2026 after a disappointing 2025 campaign. Travis Bell/Sideline Carolina
CLEMSON — The stars of last season are no more.
Despite going 7-6 in 2025, Clemson had a school-record-tying nine players picked in the 2026 NFL draft. The Tigers lost 14 players to the transfer portal and brought in their largest-ever incoming transfer class of 11 players. According to ESPN, Clemson is returning 53 percent of its production from last season, ranked 60th among Division I FBS programs.
Coach Dabo Swinney will need to rely on a new group of leaders in hopes of a turnaround in 2026. Which players stand out as potential X-factors?
QB Christopher Vizzina, redshirt junior
While Vizzina hasn’t been officially named Clemson’s starting quarterback for 2026, it would be a good sign for the Tigers if he does get the job when they take the field against LSU Sept. 5.
Vizzina securing the starting role would help Clemson’s case for not recruiting a quarterback out of the portal.
“We made a decision that we weren’t gonna go and get some shiny object at quarterback. If it doesn’t work out, we’re just gonna be raked over the coals for that,” Swinney said at ACC Kickoff July 17. “There’s a reason why we had confidence in the decision that we made, and it’s because we’re there every day.”
True freshman Tait Reynolds, Vizzina’s main competition for the starting job, has all the physical tools. But Vizzina has been with the program for three full seasons now, and even with just one start under his belt, that experience can be valuable at the quarterback position.
If Vizzina does end up Clemson’s QB1 to start the season, Reynolds would likely only maneuver his way into the starting gig because of undesirable circumstances like a poor start for Clemson or an injury. That makes Vizzina an X-factor for Clemson’s outlook in 2026.
WR Bryant Wesco Jr., junior
Wesco is entering 2026 with plenty of hype. He was one of four Clemson players named to the 2026 All-ACC preseason team. But the hype is based on the half season he played in 2025.
The junior wideout was on his way to being Clemson’s most productive receiver last year before a season-ending back injury against SMU sidelined him for the rest of the year. Wesco posted 31 catches for 537 yards and caught a team-high six touchdowns despite only playing in six full games.
Clemson receivers coach Tyler Grisham said at Clemson’s media day July 14 that Wesco is a full go entering the team’s first fall practice Aug. 6, and said the junior looked “phenomenal” during spring when he was participating in non-contact drills.
“He was doing the the routes on air with the quarterbacks. He was doing all the (individual drills), some team separate stuff,” Grisham said. “So he got a lot of reps, and he looked phenomenal.”
If Wesco comes back as the receiver he was pre-injury, he’ll have the best chance of being Clemson’s most productive pass-catcher in 2026.
LB Sammy Brown, junior
Possibly the biggest star of Clemson’s 2025 season that’s still in the building for 2026 is Sammy Brown. Now a junior, Brown has made an impact for the Tigers since his first season, taking home the ACC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2024 and an All-ACC first-team selection in 2025. He led Clemson’s defense with 107 tackles last season.
The hype for Brown has rolled over into 2026 with a spot on the All-ACC preseason team and 11 votes in the ACC Preseason Player of the Year poll. The one potential hiccup is that Brown will be the main figure on defense that opposing offenses will game-plan for.
Clemson defensive stars T.J. Parker and Avieon Terrell are off to the NFL. While he still has Will Heldt and Ashton Hampton alongside him, it seems to be Brown’s defense in 2026, especially at linebacker.
Wade Woodaz, the Tigers’ second-most productive linebacker in 2025, is also in the pros now. Jeremiah Alexander and Kobe McCloud have a chance to take another step forward in 2026 after the pair combined for 61 tackles and 456 defensive snaps in 2025, but it will be solely on Brown to lead that position group.
Brown certainly has the resume to back up his ability to produce like the Tigers need him to in 2026, but with spotlight firmly on him, it will be critical that he lives up to the hype.
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