Dabo Swinney, Clemson Swoop In To Land Four-Star Safety

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have secured a major victory as they landed four-star safety Jarrell Chandler.

Chandler is one of the top safety prospects in the 2027 class and the 91st-ranked player overall. 

The Tigers made a late push to land Chandler, as the Tennessee Volunteers are his hometown team and were the favorites to earn his commitment. However, heading into the weekend, things turned toward Clemson's favor, and they added the star safety.

The program is in desperate need of adding talent after an underwhelming 7-6 season in 2025. Swinney and the Tigers were expected to be in the College Football Playoff, but it was a down year for almost the entire roster.

This led to some coaching changes, as Swinney fired offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and brought in Chad Morris to replace him. Morris previously served in this role under Swinney from 2011 to 2014, a time when the program had a ton of success. 

Morris will look to reinstate that success on offense for the Tigers. The special teams is also adding experience, as Swinney brought in Rich Bisaccia as their new special teams coordinator.

Bisaccia is a veteran coach with a ton of experience, having served as the special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers most recently and as the interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders before that.

These coaching changes are pivotal in having a bounce-back season, but it will ultimately come down to the talent performing on the field. Chandler is a promising addition to the secondary and can help the team in the future.

Swinney is in desperate need of the Tigers turning the team around in the 2026 season. If Clemson struggles again and misses out on the ACC Title Game for a second-straight season and fails to make it to the College Football Playoff, there could be consideration for a coaching change.

Players like Chandler will be crucial in the next couple of years to getting the Tigers back to being a contender.

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