Clemson Football

Tanner Tessmann has chosen world football over American football.  

Major League Soccer club FC Dallas announced Thursday that Tessmann, who had signed with the Clemson Tigers as a kicker in December, has signed a homegrown contract and will be under contract through 2022:

This decision is not all that surprising considering the 18-year-old did not play high school football. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney explained at the time why he signed someone who hadn't played the sport since eighth grade, per 247Sports' Anna Hickey: 

"[Clemson head soccer coach (Mike) Noonan is somewhere having a party right now because he just signed an unbelievably talented soccer player. But I've had the inside track on this one for a long time. My best friend is PJ Tessman, he's basically my brother-in-law. His wife's brother married (Kathleen Swinney's) sister. That's how it works in Alabama, we're all connected somehow. 

"But Tanner could go play D1 basketball. He could probably start at receiver at Clemson. He could probably play safety at Clemson. He's a 6-foot-2 phenom. He can fly. He's as good of an athlete as I've ever seen." 

Tessmann was rostered by the U.S. under-20 men's national team as a midfielder as recently as last September.

"I'm excited to get started," Tessmann said Thursday, according to an FC Dallas press release. "Signing a professional contract has been a goal of mine since I moved to Texas to join the Academy at 14 years old. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get this opportunity, so it meant a lot to have my family here with me today."

Tessmann played in six preseason matches for FC Dallas earlier this year and has previously played for the organization's USL affiliate, North Texas SC, scoring his first pro goal last May.

Trevor Lawrence will never forget his first loss.   

The Clemson quarterback suffered his first collegiate defeat at the hands of LSU in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 13. He opened up about it at spring workouts on Wednesday, admitting it took him "a little while" to swallow the defeat: 

LSU handled Clemson 42-25 as Lawrence went 18-for-37 for 234 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. The 20-year-old also rushed for 49 yards and one touchdown. 

The result snapped Clemson's 29-game winning streak, which dated back to Jan. 1, 2018.

Lawrence sprung to national stardom as a true freshman in 2018, leading Clemson to an undefeated campaign and beating top-ranked Alabama 44-16 in the title game. As a sophomore last season, he overcame a relatively slow start to finish with 3,665 yards, 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 65.8 percent completion.

Head coach Dabo Swinney was encouraged by what he saw from his team after Wednesday's opening to spring practice:

Clemson is in a more favorable position because Lawrence is returning while LSU and Alabama lost Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow and 2018 Heisman finalist Tua Tagovailoa, respectively, to the 2020 NFL draft. 

On Feb. 17, ESPN ranked Clemson No. 1 in its FPI preseason Top 10, giving it the top projected defense and the No. 4 projected offense.

Clemson defensive end Logan Rudolph is giving up the gridiron, perhaps for the silver screen. 

On Thursday, he announced via Instagram he was quitting football. 

"After I made that funny video announcing my decision to sign my letter of intent with Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers, I had no idea the impact...three conference championships, three College Football Playoffs, a national championship, coaches, teammates, friendships that I know will last a lifetime. Every day I put that helmet on I tried to compete in a way that made Clemson University proud. As I close out this chapter and graduate in May, I just want say thank you to those who supported us, inspired us and cheered us on. I will always be a Clemson Tiger." 

Rudolph, the younger brother of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, is set to graduate in May and would still have two years of football eligibility remaining. Larry Williams of Tiger Illustrated reported that "Rudolph has told people he eventually plans to move to California to chase his dream of becoming an actor."   

Four-star tight end Jake Briningstool announced his commitment to join the Clemson Tigers in their 2021 class on Twitter Sunday morning:

The Brentwood, Tennessee, product was on campus in South Carolina on Saturday for junior day, per 247Sports' Anna Hickey, who also noted that Briningstool is the highest-ranked tight end recruit Clemson has landed since head coach Dabo Swinney took over in 2008.

"The culture and the family feel," Briningstool told Hickey, referencing the factors in his decision. "Coach Swinney has a built a special program that's built to last. There's no other program like Clemson's."

247Sports ranks Briningstool as the No. 2 2021 Tennessee recruit, No. 6 among 2021 tight end prospects and 164th among all 2021 prospects.

Briningstool received 28 offers, including Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and Oregon. Briningstool's father, Tony, played linebacker at Michigan from 1987-92 with Nick Saban as his position coach, but Clemson edged those family connections. 

"My whole family went to coach Swinney's office and spent time with him in his office," Briningstool told Hickey when describing his December visit. "He told me to take my time with my decision and look around other places, because Clemson is unique and I'll see that when I visit other places. Hopefully in the end, he said I'll choose Clemson."

Briningstool brings Clemson's 2021 commitment total to six, and he is the only tight end as four-star tight end Cane Berrong opted to commit to Notre Dame last June. 

Four-star defensive end Cade Denhoff and four-star Beaux Collins each announced his commitment to Clemson this weekend too:

Clemson tight ends Davis Allen, J.L. Banks, J.C. Chalk, Braden Galloway, Jaelyn Lay and Luke Price combined for 26 catches and 239 yards in 2019. 

Briningstool will bring game-changing talent to a position that needs it. 

The No. 2 Tigers lost the College Football National Championship Game 42-25 to top-ranked LSU earlier this month, snapping a 29-game winning streak that dated back to the 2017 CFP semifinal.

Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons announced that he will forgo his senior season and enter the 2020 NFL draft.

The 6'4", 230-pound Kansas native started his career at safety for the Tigers, registering 133 tackles, three sacks, an interception and a defensive touchdown in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He transitioned to linebacker this past year and didn't miss a beat, posting 104 tackles, eight sacks and three interceptions.

He helped Clemson go 14-1 and reach the College Football Playoff National Championship, where the Tigers lost to LSU.

Simmons' level of production has made him a likely top-10 prospect in April's NFL draft.

His positional versatility helps as well. ESPN's Field Yates outlined where Simmons took his 2019 defensive snaps:

B/R's Matt Miller described Simmons as a "tweener," noting that such a designation was considered a "dirty word in scouting circles" a decade ago but now is more often used as a "compliment for a player who shows versatility."

Miller continued:

"Given his experience at safety—remember him as the guy frustrating the Alabama offense as the Tigers won a national championship last year—Simmons has shown he can line up in the slot as a cover man, or he can get in a single-high look and take away the center of the field. He's also excelling at linebacker this season, showing the toughness, instincts and physicality to stop the run [and] make zone drops in coverage."

Speed is more important than ever in the NFL game, especially at the linebacker position, as more plodding players often are removed on obvious passing downs. A player like Simmons should be able to play all three downs, however, with sideline-to-sideline speed that should aid him defending both the run and the pass.

Linebackers with the speed, strength and athleticism to cover tight ends, running backs and even wide receivers in a pinch are highly valuable in the modern NFL. Simmons checks off those boxes.

Granted, teams will need to carve out a role for Simmons. He won't make sense in every scheme. But people doubted that Deion Jones would be effective in the middle of a defense before the Atlanta Falcons drafted him, given he was undersized for the position at 6'1" and 222 pounds, and the 2016 second-round pick out of LSU has become one of the league's best linebackers.

Jones may not be an exact comp for Simmons, but the Clemson linebacker has that level of upside. He has the chance to become a true game-changer for an NFL defense, and it would be a shock if he wasn't a top-10 pick.

Running back Travis Etienne bolstered Clemson's status as the team to beat in 2020 by announcing Friday that he will return to school for his senior season rather than enter the NFL draft:

Coming into 2019, Etienne's stock couldn't have been much higher. He ran for 1,658 yards and 24 touchdowns as the Tigers won a national championship in 2018. While not one of the favorites, he also was on the radar in the Heisman Trophy race.

In May, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller ranked Etienne as the No. 11 player overall and the No. 1 running back.

Etienne's production was just as good during his junior year. He finished with 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground while playing a larger role in the passing game than he ever had. He caught 37 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns, which were all career highs.

However, he has gotten leapfrogged by some of the RB competition. In his most recent big board, Miller had Georgia's D'Andre Swift and Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins ahead of him at running back.

Given the competition he would've faced, Etienne might like his odds of being the No. 1 running back selected in 2021 compared to 2020. Swift, Dobbins and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor have all declared for the 2020 draft, so the road is basically clear for Etienne to lay claim as the best back in the country next season.

Sony Michel and Nick Chubb showed the benefit one more year of college can have for a running back's draft projection. In Miller's midseason big board for the 2017 draft, Chubb was the eighth-best RB and Michel went unmentioned.

Michel and Chubb came back to Georgia and were the third and fourth running backs off the board in the 2018 draft. Michel went 31st overall to the New England Patriots and Chubb went 35th overall to the Cleveland Browns.

Etienne can use 2020 to further address any lingering questions about his game, particularly his ceiling as a pass-catcher.

Clemson, meanwhile, is poised to once again have one of the most dynamic offenses in FBS. The Tigers will have Etienne, quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Justyn Ross back, giving Clemson plenty of options in pursuit of another national title.

The Clemson Tigers enjoyed an excellent 2019 season despite a disappointing 42-25 loss to LSU in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday.

On Wednesday, quarterback Trevor Lawrence summarized the year with a few words in an Instagram post.

"It’s hard to find the words to sum up this year, but I’ll keep it short. I’m thankful for everyone and everything that has happened this season. It’s been challenging, unique, and a whole lotta fun. I’m so appreciative to this senior class and the 2 years I got to spend with them.

"I’m grateful to get to call my teammates family, because they really are. Adversity teaches and shows you who you really are. I thank God for teaching me more now than ever before. I’m also learning that life is mostly about how you respond, not what happens. So here’s to a heck of a year and lots of great memories. Clemson family, we love you. We will be back."

Lawrence, a sophomore, had not lost on the collegiate level until Monday. He guided the Tigers to a 15-0 record and national title last year before leading Clemson to a 14-1 mark this season. 

The road to the national title wasn't as easy in 2019 as it was the year before.

Clemson nearly got picked off in an early-season ACC contest against unranked UNC before surviving 21-20.

The Tigers then steamrolled their way through to the College Football Playoff, but they needed to overcome a 16-0 first-half deficit and hold off a late Ohio State drive to defeat the Buckeyes 29-23 in the semifinal.

Clemson had a couple of early-season close calls in 2018 but won all of its last 10 games by 20 or more points. They outscored their CFP opponents (Notre Dame and Alabama) 74-19.

The loss is undoubtedly disappointing for the Tigers, who knew nothing but winning for two years. However, Caesars Palace likes their chances to return to the top of the sport next year, with Clemson's 2-1 odds leading all teams. SEC foes Alabama (4-1), LSU (9-2) round out the top three.

Clemson Tigers junior wide receiver Tee Higgins is going pro, as he announced his decision on Wednesday to forgo his senior season and declare for the 2020 NFL draft. 

Higgins posted 59 catches for 1,167 yards and 13 touchdowns for Clemson this season en route to the team's run to the national title game, where it lost to LSU. 

His positioning within this stacked draft class of receivers has been fluid as the season has worn on. Other receivers viewed as high-end first-round draft picks include Alabama's Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III as well as Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb. However, the likes of Minnesota's Tyler Johnson, Colorado's Laviska Shenault Jr. and TCU's Jalen Reagor have the potential to sneak up the board.

CBSSports.com's Chris Trapasso listed Higgins as the second-best receiver in the class and noted he "truly can do it all." More from Trapasso:

"At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Higgins has intimidating size. He routinely contorts his body into awkward positions to make catches and has some of the strongest hands in college football. And don't give him room to run, because he'll hit the accelerator and run by just about everyone. He's averaging 20 yards per grab this season."

Higgins is just the latest Clemson receiver to be reputed so highly. The university has become known as WR U because of the pipeline of NFL-level talent at the position.

Since 2010, nine Clemson wide receivers have been drafted. Three have been first-rounders: the Los Angeles Chargers' Mike Williams (2017), Kansas City Chiefs' Sammy Watkins (2014) and Houston Texans' DeAndre Hopkins (2013). Of those three, Hopkins has had the most successful pro career as a two-time All-Pro.

If Higgins ends up dropping because of the volume of receiving talent available, someone figures to land a steal.

The No. 3 Clemson Tigers, reigning College Football Playoff national champions, saw their 29-game winning streak end when the No. 1 LSU Tigers defeated them 42-25 in Monday night's 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.   

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was grateful after the loss even though he hadn't experienced defeat since falling 24-6 to Alabama in the 2017 CFP semifinal:

Swinney delivered the same sentiment directly to his players on the field before the game, consoled quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the contest and gave credit where credit was due to LSU afterward:

Swinney came one win short of joining some elite company:

However, given the way Swinney's Tigers rebounded after losing in 2017, Clemson should still be in the conversation for next season's title.

Clemson experienced something new Monday.

Losing a game with Trevor Lawrence at quarterback.

The sophomore signal-caller lost the first game of his collegiate career, as LSU defeated Clemson 42-25 to win the College Football Playoff national title at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

"We're going to be fine," Lawrence said, per Bill Bender of Sporting News. "We'll be back. It just sucks not being able to finish for [the seniors]."

For his part, head coach Dabo Swinney told reporters, "It's been a long time since I've stood in front of a team with a loss."

It's hard to argue with the notion Clemson will be back. After all, Lawrence is set to return for a third season in 2020, and the Tigers figure to steamroll their way through a weak ACC once again. There may be challenges along the way, but it's reached the point where it would be more surprising if Clemson missed the CFP than made it.

The ACC representative simply didn't have an answer for Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow on Monday.

He finished 31-of-49 passing for 463 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions while adding a rushing touchdown and consistently found wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (nine catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns) when the game was still hanging in the balance early.

While Clemson figured out a way to topple blueblood programs such as Notre Dame, Alabama and Ohio State in previous playoff contests, Burrow was too much on Monday.

If there is a silver lining for Lawrence and Co., at least they won't have to face Burrow again next season when he is lacing it up in the NFL.