Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff did a great job building a strong 2023 recruiting class, with multiple freshmen expected to impact the Tigers right out the gate.
One of the players expected to have an early impact is safety Khalil Barnes who has received some praise from coach Swinney heading into the season. The Tigers’ secondary struggled throughout the 2022 season and will look to bounce back in 2023.
While the safety group is led by a top-tier duo of Andrew Mukuba and Jalyn Phillips, Barnes has made a strong impression in camp.
“He’s gonna play. He’ll be on special teams. A lot of these guys, you know, their biggest role initially might be special teams. I mean you’ve got to have it, that’s a third of the game and we can’t have all of our starters playing every special teams snap,” Swinney said.
The expectation is that Barnes will play regularly on special teams, but that won’t be his only action. From what Swinney has seen from the young safety, he feels comfortable putting him into a game in the secondary if needed.
“I think he’s going to be a score special teams guy but, I mean, I think he plays early,” Swinney said. “I think he can compete with anybody we have, any veteran we have. He’s a really talented young player who gets it. He hasn’t played but you know, I think he’s game ready and I don’t think we would hesitate at all to put him in the game. I think he can play multiple spots, probably three different spots. That gives him his ability to really understand things, gives him a little more opportunity than maybe some other young guys.”
Barnes could be a major contributor in this secondary sooner rather than later, with a diverse skillset that can place him all over the field.
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