Clemson Football's roster has seen several position changes ahead of the 2026 season. We first reported on Dietrick Pennington's transition ; now it's Chris Denson 's turn.
On Wednesday, the Tigers updated their team roster, with Denson now listed as a wide receiver after spending his true freshman year at quarterback.
The move has been a long time coming, as he's been taking reps at both running back and wideout in new offensive coordinator Chad Morris' offensive system over the past few months of the offseason.
But first, let's take a look back at what last year looked like.
Entering Clemson, the three-star signal caller made a last-minute commitment flip from Coastal Carolina to the Tigers after totaling 2,334 passing yards , 28 touchdowns and three interceptions in addition to 1,159 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior.
The Plant City, Florida, native was the third-string for the entirety of his true freshman season, earning just one snap - which was against SMU - up until the team's Week 13 matchup against Furman, where he took the Tigers fanbase by storm.
He played just 10 snaps and two offensive drives in the contest, and was essentially perfect in that short span , as he completed all four of his passes for 22 yards and one touchdown, which was to fellow true freshman Logan Brooking. On the ground, he carried the ball six times for 106 yards and one touchdown.
"I don't think [being patient] has been challenging at all," Denson said after the breakout game . "It's God's timing. That's really growing my faith here. Especially Coach [Dabo] Swinney, he's been helping us do that - growing with our faith. It's God's timing and out of my hands."
Since then, though, his journey has taken a big turn. During the spring, Denson fell behind in developing as a passer, which led him to start taking reps at both wideout and running back at the start of the summer.
"Chris has been a guy that's still working some quarterback," Morris said in July. "He's just a hybrid guy moving around, and I think Chris is a guy that, you know, we know he's electric with the ball in his hands, and so [we're] trying to find a way to get the ball in his hands."
We didn't hear much about the transition until a month later , when fall camp officially started, and Swinney essentially said he wanted to see his position coaches take charge of his development, as he hadn't even evaluated him as a wideout yet.
"We got some great coaches over there, and I kind of try to let them do their thing, but it's still one of those things that I just see things from a certain lens," Swinney said to start fall camp, "and so I haven't really had a chance to see him in that light yet, so we'll see."
"Obviously, we know he can run, and he can change directions, and that's easy to evaluate, but I have not had a chance to really evaluate him as a wideout yet, and I don't even know if that's the best position for him," he finished.
Swinney also went on to mention how great shape he's in physically, but that the staff just needed to find where he's truly meant to be, and now it's apparent they have.
Heading into his sophomore campaign, Denson finds himself in a crowded wide receiver room, with T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr. already locked into two starting spots. Fifth-year Tristan Smith, senior Tyler Brown , and true freshmen Naeem Burroughs and Gordon Sellars III are all still competing for the third starting role.
However, he'll still likely see snaps, whether that's in the backfield or lined up on the outside, as Morris is known for his interesting and unique offensive schemes/plays - which we've already first-handedly been shown throughout fall camp practices and scrimmages.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/clemson as Clemson Reveals Chris Denson's New Position Ahead of 2026 Season .
