Clemson football, Dabo Swinney wrap up 2025 spring game. Here’s who stood out
Clemson football wrapped up its spring practice with the annual spring game Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The format for the game was different from years past, with offense vs. defense and a special scoring system for the defense. The offense won the spring game, 33-15.
Here are five standout performances from Saturday’s game.
Good day for Tiger QBs
The Tigers’ top three quarterbacks all were impressive and had their moments.
Starter Cade Klubnik played only in the first half and did well, outside of an early interception. Klubnik was 11 of 17 for 118 yards.
Klubnik’s backup, Christopher Vizzina, led the Tigers on a scoring drive and was 7 of 8 for 81 yards.
“He took a big jump at the latter part of the season,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of Vizzina. “He has responded and I thought he was awesome today. He made a couple big-time throws and he can run. … He is one of those guys where the arrow is up and he is coming out of spring with his confidence up. That is exactly what we needed.”
True freshman Chris Denson showed his running and throwing skills in limited action. The Florida native was 4 of 4 for 53 yards and had a long run.
Transfers come up big
Coach Dabo Swinney had his biggest transfer class since he took over the program, and two of them flashed during the spring game.
Wide receiver Tristan Smith had five catches for 137 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown grab in the second half.
Smith admitted he was a little nervous going into the game and even made a mistake on the touchdown catch where he almost dropped the ball before he reached the goal line.
“I got happy. I got too excited,” Smith said of the near gaffe. “I just need to cross the goal line and hand it to the ref so they don’t have to review it.”
The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder played last season for Southeast Missouri State, where he had 76 catches for 934 yards and six touchdowns. Before that, he played two years in junior college.
Smith will give the Tigers’ offense a big weapon with speed, as shown by his long TD catch.
“I wanted to play at the highest level and I feel like I could do that,” Smith said. “Long story short, I came on a visit and then meeting in Coach Swinney’s office, there was no doubt I wanted to come here. I made the best decision for me.”
Another transfer who stood out was linebacker Jeremiah Alexander. The Alabama transfer made a strong impact in his first Tigers spring game.
Alexander, who started 27 games for the Crimson Tide in his three years, was the game’s leader in tackles with seven.
Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen had praise for Alexander early in the spring and said the big goal is to find out where he fits in best for the Tigers’ defense.
Swinney said Alexander has done well in the transition getting used to new terminology and scheme.
“He kind of gained his confidence and consistency as he went. I thought he did a great job and made a couple of tough tackles,” Swinney said of Alexander.
Freshman RBs shine
One of the Tigers’ biggest question marks is at running back and redshirt freshman David Eziomume and true freshman Gideon Davidson looked the best Saturday.
Eziomume rushed for 69 yards and a second-half touchdown. Davidson rushed for 31 yards and had three catches for 49 yards.
The Tigers are looking for someone to step up to replace Phil Mafah. Backup Jay Haynes is coming off an ACL injury in the ACC championship game. Jarvis Green, who played at Dutch Fork, also missed most of the spring with a foot sprain.
The Tigers moved Adam Randall from receiver to running back and he took reps with the first-team offense.
Swinney said he liked what he saw out of his running backs during the game and this spring.
“It is a good group,” the Clemson coach said. “It is a deep group and when it all is said and done going to be a productive group throughout the season.”
Jaheim Lawson
The former Daniel High standout found his way in the backfield for a pair of sacks.
Quarterbacks weren’t allowed to be tackled but Lawson got close enough for play to be stopped.
The redshirt junior saw action in all 14 games last season and recorded 24 tackles with three pass breakups.
Nolan Hauser
The sophomore, who hit the game-winning field goal in the ACC championship game against SMU, had a strong day.
Hauser connected on all three field goal attempts (24, 37, 49) in the game. The Charlotte native was 18 of 24 on field goal attempts last season and 59 of 60 on extra points.
This story was originally published April 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM.
