Clemson, S.C.—Freshman defensive lineman Josh Belk will transfer from the Clemson football program. Head Coach Dabo Swinney made the announcement Wednesday. The native of Fort Lawn, S.C. entered Clemson in January 2018 as an early enrollee and participated in Spring practice and the Spring game.
“Josh is a good young man from a great family,” said Swinney. “Sometimes circumstances change, as is the case with Josh. We are disappointed he is leaving, but I enjoyed being around him the past few months. He did everything that was asked of him and had an excellent semester academically. I wish him all the best in the years to come.”
Belk was ranked as the No. 21 overall player in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 96 by ESPN.com coming out of Lewisville high school. As a senior he had 34 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks among his 116 tackles. He played and shown in the US Army All-American game a few months ago.
Belk had a very good spring, and when I asked Brent Venables about his progress, the Defensive Coordinator had nothing but good things to say about him. The loss will not have an immediate impact on the Tigers for the 2018 season, but I believe Belk would have been a star in the coming years--another Wilkins or Jarrett in the interior. To add insult to injury, Belk will likely be lining up against the Tigers in a Gamecock uniform. Fortunately, for the Tigers, Belk will not be eligible to play until 2019. If he had signed with the Gamecocks in February, he would have likely seen significant playing time as a true freshman, if not starting outright.
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