Clemson football adds 5 new walk-on transfers to roster, including ACC QB
The Clemson football team is utilizing the NCAA’s “designated student-athlete” rule to fill out its roster ahead of the 2026 season.
According to Clemson’s roster, which was updated Monday, coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have added five walk-on transfers from other colleges, including a quarterback with ACC experience.
Three of the five players are designated student-athletes, better known as DSAs. They’re part of a group of football players who would’ve been excluded from teams following the initial House vs. NCAA settlement that went into effect last summer but were later grandfathered into the system.
DSAs are allowed to remain on college football rosters and compete without counting against the NCAA’s 105-man football roster limit for the remainder of their careers. Here are the new walk-on transfers joining Clemson this season:
- 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 joining Clemson as DSAs who don’t count against the roster limit. Brown and Joyner are not DSAs and will count against Clemson’s 105-man roster limit. All five players will function as walk-ons, though.
Most of Clemson’s new walk-on transfers have regional ties, which is common for such players.
Brown was a walk-on quarterback under coach Brent Key at Georgia Tech in 2023 and also played golf for the Yellow Jackets. He played at Division II Anderson University in the Upstate of South Carolina in 2024 and is a native of North Augusta.
Joyner is also an in-state native (North Charleston) and played at Limestone, a D2 school that suddenly closed in spring 2025. Stein played at FCS Furman in Greenville, and Sherrill, from Greensboro, N.C., started as a walk-on at UNC.
How 105-man roster setup impacts Clemson recruiting
Clemson’s roster philosophy has shifted due the House settlement, Swinney said earlier this year. Although teams can roster up to 105 players, he said it’s not realistic to expect a team to have 105 starting-level players. Within a 105-man roster, there are various levels of talent and depth.
“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.”
Adding walk-on transfers (including some who are DSAs) is another way for Clemson to field a deep-enough roster to practice and compete the way Swinney wants while being financially smart and retaining its best players.
“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.
As of Monday, Clemson’s 2026 football roster sits at 122 players, which is comparable in size to previous seasons. Of those 122 players, 97 players are regularly rostered players who count against the 105-man limit and 25 are designed student-athletes who don’t count against the roster.
DSAs aren’t limited to transfer players. Clemson also has a number of returning players listed as designated student-athletes, including defensive end Armon Mason and receiver/holder Clay Swinney, the youngest of Dabo’s three sons.
“Clemson’s (eight) remaining 105-man roster slots will be assigned to select DSA athletes as the season approaches,” per the team’s “How the 2026 Tigers were built” page.
Between high school and transfer signees, Clemson has 43 total newcomers this season, almost double last year’s count (24). The Tigers are trying to rebound from a 7-6 season in 2025, their worst record under Swinney in 15 years.
This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Clemson football adds 5 new walk-on transfers to roster, including ACC QB."
