The highest-rated prospect in Clemson’s 2021 recruiting class wasn’t much of a contributor for the Tigers as a true freshman.
Offensive tackle Tristan Leigh redshirted his first year with the program. A five-star recruit and the No. 14 overall player in the nation coming out of Robinson Secondary (Virginia) School last year, according to the 247Sports Composite, Leigh played just 20 snaps over two games last fall.
Part of that was because arguably Clemson’s best offensive lineman, left tackle Jordan McFadden, also plays his position, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney recently explained there was much more to Leigh’s lack of playing time than that. Leigh’s senior season at Robinson was postponed until the spring in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Shortly thereafter, Leigh reported to Clemson without much of a break in between.
That put Leigh well behind most of the other members of the Tigers’ 2021 signing class.
“He’d be the first one to tell you,” Swinney said. “Not only was he physically behind, he was mentally behind and just overwhelmed. We know who he is as a player, but what you saw on (his high school) tape is a guy that knew what he was doing and was playing at a different level and playing with a lot of confidence. But COVID hit and he didn’t have a season and got behind. There was just a lot.”
But Swinney said Leigh has “worked his tail off” since arriving on Clemson’s campus last summer. Leigh is up to 315 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame as he goes through his first spring with the Tigers.
“He has transformed himself physically from a strength and conditioning standpoint and then what he’s doing with his body composition,” Swinney said. “He’s got all the tools. Now let’s go be a more fluid, more confident, efficient, productive offensive lineman than anything we’ve seen.
“It was pretty easy to see in camp (last year) he wasn’t going to be ready, so he’s been on the shelf. Now we get a chance to really go get some very good work and work with him.”
With Mitchell Mayes moving inside to guard this spring, Lee has taken some second-team reps at left tackle during the Tigers’ first couple of practices. Given the work he’s put in to catch up, it’s not out of the question that Leigh plays a more significant role come the fall.
“I’m excited about it because his attitude is tremendous,” Swinney said. “He’s a guy that if he will keep progressing based on what he’s done in a short amount of time and continue that path, by the time we get to August, he’s a guy that hopefully can help us.”