Clemson football no longer publicizing players’ new weights. Dabo explains why
Clemson football’s “BIG Weigh-In” event is still happening.
But the team is keeping the results a little closer to the vest for what Clemson coach Dabo Swinney described as part preference, part competitive advantage.
Clemson broke with a years-long tradition Wednesday by not publicizing the results from its weigh-in event, which is generally held the day before the team’s opening preseason practice and is an opportunity for Tigers players who transformed their bodies in the offseason to earn some praise from coaches and teammates.
The team historically posts a full list of updated weights for every player on the roster to its website, providing the media and fans insight into notable changes.
But that’s changed heading into the 2025 season. Swinney said Thursday he “didn’t even know we printed that stuff” and he made the decision to keep players’ pre-training camp weights private this year.
“We don’t need to put that out,” Swinney said ahead of Clemson’s first day of preseason practice at the team facilities. “Just let them ask me about it.”
Although the move wasn’t exclusively made for competitive reasons, Swinney said he did consider the fact opponents could use that information, too.
“I didn’t really see a need to put it out and send that to our opponents and all that stuff,” Swinney said. “Just gotta keep guessing. But I’m happy to answer any questions about it.”
Why Dabo, Clemson changed strategy on weigh-in
In the grand scheme of things, the move is minor. But it’s an interesting pivot ahead of a massive Week 1 home game against LSU and a season in which Clemson is widely viewed as a top national title contender.
Clemson’s 2025 roster currently displays player weights taken from an average of number of summer weigh-ins, a team spokesman told The State. Those weights will be the ones displayed on the roster throughout the season, too.
As their strength and conditioning and nutrition philosophies have evolved, Clemson has also moved away from weight-specific goals for football players and more toward “body composition” goals. Obviously, body fat percentages and other more advanced numbers don’t exactly fit on an online bio page.
Clemson, at one point, even live-streamed its “BIG Weigh-In” event.
Swinney said after learning the team posted preseason weights on online, he decided it would be better to keep the numbers in-house. Up until this year, player weights were available on a sortable, publicly accessible web page.
Competitive advantage is also a consideration. Clemson, for similar reasons, did not publicize a depth chart for its 2024 season opener against No. 1 Georgia until the day of the game because the Bulldogs didn’t provide a depth chart.
Theoretically, there’s a minor advantage for Clemson to gain (or for LSU to lose) if Clemson withholds updated player weights from public consumption. It’s one less data point for their season-opening opponent to use in their preparation.
Swinney did offer a number of insights on players who impressed him at the weigh-in. He said quarterback Cade Klubnik weighed in at 212 pounds, a 37-pound increase from the 175 pounds he was hovering at as a freshman in 2022, and veteran defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart is leaner.
Defensive tackle Peter Woods, who weighed 319 at last year’s BIG Weigh-In, dropped 12 pounds and weighed in at 307 this year, per video from Clemson.
Starting cornerback Avieon Terrell has moved from 180 to 188 pounds, and receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. (182 pounds at the 2024 weigh-in) has bulked up to 191 pounds.
“A bunch of kids honestly stood out,” Swinney said. “I mean, I could tell that the guys have really bought in. A lot of guys that have changed their bodies.”
