ACC Kickoff: Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, Will Heldt, Sammy Brown and Olsen Patt-Henry (VIDEO)

Clemson Tigers key players

Linebacker Sammy Brown: Brown enters his third season at Clemson after being named first team All-ACC in 2025. Brown stuffed the stat sheet last season, leading the Tigers with 107 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Wide receiver Bryant Wesco, Jr.: Wesco caught 31 passes for 537 yards through the team’s first seven games of 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury.

Wide receiver TJ Moore: Moore led the Tigers with 837 receiving yards last season. Moore caught touchdown passes from Cade Klubnik, Antonio Williams and Christopher Vizzina, the first of Vizzina’s career, in 2025.

Defensive end Will Heldt: Heldt was named third team All-ACC after tallying 7.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss in his first season with the Tigers after transferring from Purdue.

Quarterback Christopher Vizzina: Vizzina enters preseason camp as the starter after backing up Cade Klubnik for the last three seasons. Vizzina got his first career start against SMU and completed 29 of 42 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns.

2026 Tigers schedule

Sept. 5 at LSU 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Sept. 12 Georgia Southern 7:30 p.m. ET (ACCN)
Sept. 19 North Carolina * Noon ET (ESPN)
Sept. 25 at California * 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Oct. 3 Miami *
Oct. 10 OPEN
Oct. 17 Charleston Southern
Oct. 24 Virginia Tech *
Oct. 31 at Florida State *
Nov. 7 at Syracuse *
Nov. 14 Georgia Tech *
Nov. 20 at Duke * 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Nov. 28 South Carolina

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Will Heldt, Sammy Brown and Olsen Patt-Henry