Clemson’s 2026 roster got a little deeper Monday, and the additions come with a clear purpose: keep the Tigers stocked under the NCAA’s new roster rules.
According to the updated roster, Dabo Swinney’s team added five walk-on transfers from other schools, including quarterback Colson Brown, who brings ACC experience from Georgia Tech. Three of the five are designated student-athletes, or DSAs, which means they can stay on the roster and compete without counting against the NCAA’s 105-man limit for the rest of their careers.
The new walk-on transfers are:
QB Colson Brown (Georgia Tech, Anderson)
LS J.R. Buckner (Auburn)
CB Davion Joyner (Limestone)
WR Grady Sherrill (UNC, South Dakota)
OL Danny Stein (Furman)
Buckner, Sherrill and Stein are the DSAs in the group. Brown and Joyner are not, so they will count against Clemson’s 105-man limit, even though all five are functioning as walk-ons.
Most of the newcomers have regional roots, which fits the way Clemson has gone about building out this part of the roster. Brown was a walk-on quarterback for Brent Key at Georgia Tech in 2023 and also played golf for the Yellow Jackets.
He then spent 2024 at Division II Anderson University in the Upstate of South Carolina and is from North Augusta. Joyner is from North Charleston and played at Limestone, the Division II school that abruptly shut down in spring 2025.
Stein came from FCS Furman in Greenville, while Sherrill, a Greensboro, N.C., native, began his college career as a walk-on at UNC.
The roster maneuvering is part of a bigger shift for Clemson since the House settlement changed how teams can build out their football rosters. Swinney said earlier this year that the 105-man limit forces programs to think differently about depth and development.
“For example, at receiver, your number is 14,” Swinney said in January. “Well, you’re not going to have 14 T.J.
Moores and (Bryant) Wescoes. That’s not reality. ...
You can’t pay them, No. 1, and they’re not going to stay.”
He also said roster construction has become a balancing act between practice depth, developmental players and the top end of the roster.
“There’s a roster construction that you have to deal with at each position, because you have to have the ability to practice, you’ve gotta have developmental guys and you’ve gotta have your high-end guys,” Swinney said.
Clemson’s 2026 roster is listed at 122 players as of Monday. Of those, 97 count against the 105-man limit and 25 are designated student-athletes. That group includes returning players such as defensive end Armon Mason and receiver/holder Clay Swinney, the youngest of Dabo’s three sons.
The team’s “How the 2026 Tigers were built” page says Clemson’s remaining eight 105-man roster slots will be filled by select DSA athletes as the season gets closer.
Between high school signees and transfer additions, Clemson has 43 newcomers for 2026, nearly twice the 24 it brought in last year. The Tigers are coming off a 7-6 season in 2025, their worst mark under Swinney in 15 years.
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