Clemson hoping for extra year of eligibility for key defensive lineman
Clemson defensive lineman DeMonte Capehart has applied for a waiver to be able to remain with the program in 2025.
All eyes were on the Clemson defense on Wednesday as the Tigers introduced new defensive coordinator Tom Allen who met with the media for the first time since joining head coach Dabo Swinney’s staff. Included in that presser was a note about a player that Allen hopes to be able to coach in 2025, DeMonte Capehart.
According to Swinney, Clemson has filed a waiver on Capehart’s behalf hoping to get a sixth year of eligibility for the defensive tackle. As a class of 2020 recruit, Capeheart should be eligible for one more year thanks to the free year that players in the sport were granted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, he is also eligible for the NFL Draft. However, Swinney shared that Capehart is currently on campus and enrolled in classes at Clemson while preparing to be part of the Tigers’ 2025 team.
“Hoping for some good news there,” Swinney said. “Any moment. I think he has until February 6th. He doesn’t technically have to declare for the draft. He’s got until February 6th not to be in it. Hopefully, we will know something soon.”
A blue-chip high school prospect, the South Carolina native has not dominated at the college level the way many expected him to. For his career, he has made 51 tackles (11 for loss) and 2.0 sacks in 45 games.
He saw only 20 snaps in both his true freshman and redshirt freshman seasons. Then, in 2022, as a sophomore, he was credited with 13 tackles in 13 games played.
A year later, he played 179 snaps making 16 stops. That included five tackles for loss.
2024 looked like it was going to be a breakout season for Capehart, though. Penciled in as a starter to open the season, it was thought that he could be a key cog in the Tigers’ defensive line rotation.
However, he injured his ankle in the mid-season loss to Louisville and that injury cost him three games. In all, he made 27 tackles in 11 appearances (six starts) but he didn’t register a single sack and had only 1.5 tackles for loss.
Still, keeping the 6-foot-5, 315-pounder in the mix in 2025 would be a welcome development for a Clemson program desperate to figure out how to stop the run after being gashed on the ground in 2024. So hopefully the Tigers will get good news concerning Capehart in the upcoming days or weeks.
