Heading into the 2026 season, the linebacker group was one of Clemson 's biggest question marks, with fans wondering who would step up alongside All-ACC backer Sammy Brown .
However, that concern has faded in recent weeks, largely thanks to the play of fifth-year Jeremiah Alexander .
On Tuesday, Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen spoke about the recent emergence of the second-year Tiger, saying there's "nobody" who's worked harder than he has up to this point.
"I'll tell you what," Allen began. "I actually called him out in front of the whole team, the whole defense, recently just to say, man, there's nobody on this team that's worked harder than that young man has, and I'm just so proud of him."
After transferring in from Alabama ahead of the 2025 season, many knew Alexander would be a work in progress due to his position change from edge rusher to linebacker. Still, he was able to flash across his 13 game appearances (three starts), totaling 36 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, three pass deflections, one fumble recovery and one sack.
While it's tough to learn an entirely new position on the back-end of your collegiate career, Alexander has made the most of it, with Allen describing his "care factor," "want-to," and work ethic as primary reasons for his standout play.
"He hadn't played a lot of linebacker in the past; he played a lot of edge and defensive end in high school and for the first few years of college," Allen continued. "And so it's a whole new position for him, but just the care factor and the want-to is just so high for him."
"I'm just really, really impressed with his work ethic. You know, how he's tried to shape his body and get a step faster, and now he's playing with confidence, and he's super physical in the run game and rushing the passer is one of his strengths."
Back in August, head coach Dabo Swinney said the linebackers needed to show they could be fine without Brown on the field. Alexander quickly pushed himself to the front of that conversation, emerging as one of two players competing for the starting role, which he ultimately earned by the end of fall camp.
Swinney has since taken notice of that growth, saying, 'Jeremiah Alexander might be the most improved guy on our team. He's one of the most physical guys we've got,' on Tuesday.
While it took the first week or so for the 235-pound thumper to come into his own, he's truly emerged over the past three contests, totaling 20 tackles, 1.5 for a loss and four quarterback hurries.
As mentioned, Alexander's been most impressive against the run and as a pass-rusher, frequently making his presence felt in blitz packages, and even logging double-digit snaps as an edge rusher against North Carolina in Week 3.
"I just think that his emergence has been huge for us," Allen stated. "We needed that, and we needed backers for that group to step up, and he has, and others have as well, but he's kind of been the one that's really taken that next step."
Now, his breakout has allowed Allen to open up his scheme more, conveniently providing cushion for Brown to move around more and "firm up against the run."
"It allows us to move Sammy around a little bit and allows us to use him in some different ways and allows us to really kind of firm up against the run, which we got to have," the second-year defensive coordinator finished. "And just having a big, physical linebacker in the corps there is an important thing for us."
With Alexander anchoring the middle and Brown free to roam as a weakside backer, Clemson's linebacker corps has gone from a preseason question mark to a growing strength, and as conference play ramps up, the Tigers will lean on that newfound stability.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/clemson as Clemson DC Tom Allen Praises Work Ethic, Emergence of LB Jeremiah Alexander .
