When Trenton Simpson checked in during Clemson’s annual weigh-in Thursday before fall camp began Friday, the Tigers’ impressive junior linebacker tipped the scales at 240 pounds.
On Friday afternoon, during his media availability prior to Clemson’s first practice of fall camp, head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about Simpson and how him showing up at the aforementioned weight will benefit him moving forward.
“He’s a freak, man,” Swinney said. “It’s not the weight – it’s the composition of the weight. That’s what it comes down to, and he is big, strong, fast and lean, and smart.”
Simpson, widely projected as a first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, has a good shot to be an All-American this season after tallying 78 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and six sacks as a sophomore in 2021.
An All-ACC selection by PFF (second team) and Phil Steele (third team) last season, Simpson is transitioning inside the box for his junior season. He enters 2022 credited with 110 tackles (18.5 for loss), 10.0 sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble in 827 snaps over 25 games (15 starts) in his first two years as a Tiger.
One of the most athletic players on Clemson’s roster, Simpson is a former five-star prospect who started his high school career as a running back. For his career at Charlotte’s Mallard Creek High School, he recorded 97 carries for 799 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 8.2 yards per carry.
“He’s been a great player, a dynamic player his first two years here,” Swinney said. “You’ve got to remember, he was a lot of running back as well. But man, this kid’s got unlimited potential.”
Swinney added that Simpson heads into the 2022 campaign as “the best version of himself that he’s been since he’s been a Clemson Tiger.”
“He’s the best version that he’s ever been, and that’s what we ask our guys to do,” Swinney said. “That’s what buying into it is all about, is when you come back in August, be the best version of you that we’ve ever seen – whatever that is. … Trenton Simpson is the best Trenton Simpson that he’s ever been, and that’s the mentality that it takes to have a great program. If the best version of you is back when you were a freshman, then something’s wrong. I don’t care if you make freshman All-American – you’ve got to get better. And if everybody buys into that, then we will all be better. So, Trenton is a perfect example of that.”
So, if Simpson is the best version of himself, what does that mean for this season?
“That’s good news for the Tigers, bad news for whoever we play,” Swinney said. “It’s a good combination of experience and size and strength and speed and athleticism and character – he’s a high-character kid to go with it.”
