Clemson Defense SWOT: Strengths & Threats

Q: What are the strengths of Clemson's 2026 defense?

Clemson's 2026 defense is strengthened by the return of defensive ends Will Heldt and Jaheim Lawson, along with new additions like London Merritt and CJ Wesley.

Q: Who is Will Heldt and what impact did he have in 2025?

Will Heldt is a defensive end for Clemson who recorded 7.5 sacks in 2025, contributing significantly to the team's pass rush.

Q: What challenges does Clemson face in their linebacking corps?

Clemson faces challenges in their linebacking corps after losing Luke Ferrelli to Ole Miss, raising concerns about depth and performance in stopping the run.

Q: How did the addition of London Merritt affect Clemson's defense?

London Merritt, a 4-star recruit, is expected to enhance Clemson's pass rush capabilities after showcasing his talent with 2.5 sacks in the spring game.

Clemson defensive end Will Heldt (13) sacks South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) during the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Saturday, November 29, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co Inc SC / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images They say college football has become a big business and its true. One well-known business technique is called a SWOT analysis. Inspired by the Talkin’ Yanks podcast, I will bring you a SWOT analysis for Clemson football. In this edition we take the Strengths and Threats portion for the 2026 Clemson Tiger defense. **Strength**: The defensive ends room has been revived with Heldt’s return, Lawson’s emergence, and Merritt’s addition. Last year, Clemson expected to have a major strength at defensive end with TJ Parker and Will Heldt. Unfortunately, TJ Parker only had 2 sacks in the first 11 games of the season and after the loss to Syracuse went 7 straight games without a sack before his 3 sack performance against the Gamecocks. Will Heldt had 7.5 sacks on the year but was always supposed to the Robin to Parker’s Batman. TJ Parker finished with a career-low 5 sacks, leaving the pass rush to be somewhat mediocre. One bright spot was Jaheim Lawson. He had 3.5 sacks in his last 6 games before injury and certainly passed the eye test. They often moved him inside to get an extra pass rusher on the field and he was consistently disruptive. Entering 2026, Clemson retained Heldt and Lawson. Both stand a chance to take another step forward in their development in their second year with DC Tom Allen. Additionally, Clemson went out and added multiple pass rusher through the portal taking and CJ Wesley. Merritt was a 4-star recruit of out IMG Academy who chose over Clemson and was subsequently named to . He had 2.5 sacks in the spring game and figures to be a major part of the rotation at DE and a major upgrade to the pass rushing ability of the group. CJ Wesley comes over from Howard University after four seasons there. He will be 22 years old and looking to test his ability at a higher level. He is a speed rusher who can provide some pass rush after the starters. While I don’t expect a huge impact, he offers upside and depth. Ari Watford will provide more depth and even more upside. He was a highly-touted four-star out of (111th ranked recruit by ESPN) who tore his ACL and missed last season. His injury directly led Clemson to hit the transfer market and add Will Heldt last offseason. Now they have both. On top of all that you also have Darien Mayo who is entering his third year in the program. The 6-foot-7 four-star from may be ready to make a splash. He had a sack and 2.5 TFL in the Spring game. That gives Clemson six weapons at defensive end (Heldt, Lawson, Merritt, Wesley, Watford, Mayo) not even counting Armon Mason who I’ve always loved. The DE room has been a major disappointment since the Power Rangers left after 2018. It finally looks like it is back to the standard. **Threat:** Clemson allocated $1 million to . What if they saw a major need and now it has gone unfilled? Kobe McCloud had the best PFF grade of all Clemson linebackers. struggled. On its face, replacing Woodaz’s snaps with more from Kobe McCloud doesn’t seem like a problem. Jeremiah Alexander and CJ Kubah-Taylor also make the attempted million-dollar investment in Luke Ferrelli seem odd, but a coaching staff that’s been reticent to use the portal felt it was worth it. While this is an imperfect metaphor, what if it is like the platoon baseball player who hits .252 with 26 HR in just 433 ABs. On the surface you might look and say, “wow, if we give him 600 ABs he’ll hit 36 HR!” If you dig a layer deeper you’d see this player (who by the way is Kerry Carpenter from Detroit) hit .217 with a .400 slugging percentage against lefties so his impressive metrics don’t necessarily translate to a full complement of at bats. Does that same metaphor work here? Can McCloud and Jeremiah Alexander be just as efficient when placed in more situations? Is McCloud’s height (5-foot-11) or something else a limiting factor? Can Alexander thrive in passing situations? Clemson doesn’t look to have a problem at linebacker on the surface. I tend to like McCloud and Alexander, but their willingness to invest so much in Luke Ferrelli only to lose him to Ole Miss due to illegal tampering makes you wonder what they saw in their linebacking corps. Were they just getting good players to bolster talent or did they see a hole in the roster? What if Clemson’s linebackers struggle or there’s an injury? Will Clemson struggle to stop the run like they did two years (in the final year of Wes Goodwin)? There’s downside risk at linebacker.