High school Butkus Award winner who joined Clemson in its 2024 recruiting class … earned Freshman All-America honors from nearly every presenting outlet for his debut season in 2024 … joined T.J. Parker (12.5 in 2023), Myles Murphy (12.0 in 2020), Anthony Simmons (11.0 in 1995), Xavier Thomas (10.5 in 2018), Tyler Davis (10.0 in 2019) and Shaq Lawson (10.0 in 2013) as the seventh Clemson player to record double-digit tackles for loss as a true freshman … enters 2025 credited with 87 tackles (11.5 for loss), five sacks and four pass breakups in 444 defensive snaps over 14 games (six starts) … his 87 tackles as a freshman in 2024 were the most by a Clemson freshman since Anthony Simmons’ freshman-school-record 150 tackles in 1995. 2024: Earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, joining defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (2016), defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (2020) and safety Andrew Mukuba (2021) as Clemson’s record-setting fourth selection for that honor since its inception in 2007 … True Freshman All-American according to both 247Sports, On3 and Pro Football Focus … first-team Freshman All-American per The Athletic, ESPN and the FWAA … tabbed as a Freshman All-American and as Freshman Linebacker of the Year by College Football Network … credited with 87 tackles (11.5 for loss), five sacks and four pass breakups in 444 defensive snaps over 14 games (six starts) … finished second on the team in tackles … his 87 tackles were the most by a Clemson freshman under Dabo Swinney and the most by a Clemson freshman in any era since Anthony Simmons’ freshman-school-record 150 tackles in 1995 … made collegiate debut on special teams vs. No. 1 Georgia … led Clemson with 11 tackles including two special teams stops vs. Appalachian State … led team with eight tackles (3.5 for loss) and added a pass breakup vs. NC State, as his 3.5 tackles for loss were the most by a Clemson player since Barrett Carter’s 3.5 tackles for loss against Louisville in November 2022 … posted four tackles (2.0 for loss) with 2.0 sacks and a pass breakup vs. Stanford … made one tackle at Wake Forest … recorded a sack among his two tackles (one for loss) vs. Virginia … made two tackles vs. Louisville … made his first career start at Virginia Tech and was credited by the coaches with a team-high nine tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack … earned both ACC Linebacker of the Week and ACC Rookie of the Week for that performance at Virginia Tech, becoming the first Clemson defensive player ever to earn multiple ACC weekly honors in a single week … posted three tackles and a pass breakup in less than one half of play at Pitt … credited with a team-high 11 tackles vs. The Citadel … tied for team lead, per coaching staff film review, with nine tackles vs. No. 16 South Carolina including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack … credited with a team-high 15 tackles and a pass breakup vs. No. 8 SMU … again led Clemson in tackles at No. 3 Texas, collecting 12 stops (one for loss). Before Clemson: Coveted prospect who was a consensus top 30 player nationally according to 247Sports, ESPN, On3, Rivals and PrepStar … named the nation’s top all-around athlete by MaxPreps for his success in football, wrestling and track, joining a list of previous award-winners that includes Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Derrick Henry … named as the No. 1 “Freak Athlete” in the nation by 247Sports … received the 2023 High School Butkus Award, presented each year to the top high school linebacker in the nation … USA Today HSSA National Defensive Football Player of the Year … selected to play in the All-American Bowl on NBC and was named as one of six finalists for the organization’s Player of the Year award … won the All-American Bowl’s Defensive Player of the Year award … consensus five-star prospect … listed by ESPN as the nation’s top linebacker, the third-best player in Georgia and the No. 12 overall prospect in America … also listed as 247Sports’ No. 12 overall player as well as its second-best linebacker and second-best player in Georgia … ranked No. 18 overall by On3 as well as the second-best linebacker and second-best player in Georgia … listed by Rivals as the nation’s No. 28 overall player as well as its third-best linebacker and sixth-best player in Georgia … ranked 12th in the nation by PrepStar, which listed him as the top linebacker in the nation and second-best player in Georgia … named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 Team … all-state selection each of his last three seasons … named as Georgia 5A Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 … won Mr. Football in Georgia for 2023 from Georgia Public Television … despite being slated to play linebacker at Clemson, had outstanding numbers as a running back, rushing for 2,289 yards and 36 touchdowns in 2023 … averaged an incredible 9.0 yards per rush and 163.5 yards per game while posting 11 games with 100-plus rushing yards in 2023 … scored 40 touchdowns overall … his 2,289 rushing yards were fourth-most in the state and were the 46th-most in a single season in Georgia high school history … his 36 rushing touchdowns that season also ranked 29th all-time in Georgia, giving him 82 career rushing touchdowns (21st all-time in state annals) … amassed 153 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three blocked kicks and two interceptions defensively … as a punter, averaged 44.5 yards on 36 punts with 15 downed inside the 20 … rushed 181 times for 1,449 yards with 21 touchdowns as a junior … averaged 13 yards per carry as a sophomore with 753 yards on 58 carries … finished his prep career with 494 carries for 4,491 yards and 68 rushing touchdowns … recorded 100-yard rushing games in 23 of his 32 career games … also added 24 receptions for 460 yards and seven touchdowns, giving him 5,022 yards from scrimmage for his career (157 yards per game) … led his team to a 13-1 season, a Region Championship and the 5A state semifinals as one of the top two-way players in the nation … named as a first-team All-American by MaxPreps … played for Travis Noland at Jefferson … outstanding wrestler who compiled a 88-5 record and won back-to-back state championships … was 34-2 as a wrestler as a junior … clocked at 10.7 in the 100 meters and has long jumped 23’3” … was a 4.0 student. Personal: Born Sept. 29, 2005 … was a member of Jefferson High School’s Miracle Club, which raises money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta … completed a microinternship with Segars Realty in Montana in spring 2024 … committed to Clemson June 5, 2023 … enrolled at Clemson in January 2024 … aspiring pediatrician who is a biological sciences major. Note: Tackle stats in the written bio above reflect statistics from coaches film review. Tackle stats in the automated Stats tab of this page reflect those as awarded by gameday stat crews.

*Courtesy Clemson Media Guide