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Clemson DL Demonte Capehart announces return after waiver approval

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 9 hours•

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Clemson DL Demonte Capehart
© Ken Ruinard - Imagn Images

Demonte Capehart is running it back at Clemson. The Tigers defensive lineman’s waiver has been approved by the NCAA, the school confirmed to On3, and he announced the news via social media.

Dabo Swinney previously confirmed Clemson applied for a waiver for Capehart and was awaiting a response. That was why he had yet to announce his plans for his future, even with the NFL Draft withdrawal deadline approaching next month.

It turns out, the good news came in. Capehart will be back at Clemson next year for his sixth season with the Tigers.

Capehart is coming off one of the best years of his career at Clemson, which helped him generate some late-round buzz in the draft. In 11 appearances, he totaled 21 tackles, including two tackles for loss. That came after a 2023 season in which he had 15 tackles, including a career-high five tackles for loss and a sack.

Swinney previously expressed optimism about Capehart’s chances of getting his waiver approved. In the meantime, he was on campus as usual.

“We’re waiting on giving you a final answer,” Swinney said, via The State’s Chapel Fowler. “He’s training. He’s here. We just talked to him, as a matter of fact. … Hopefully, we’ll know something soon.”

Demonte Capehart will now look to build on back-to-back impressive seasons as Clemson welcomes a new defensive coordinator. Former Penn State DC Tom Allen is now taking over after helping run one of the top defenses in the country. The Nittany Lions were a Top-10 defense this past season, allowing 294.8 yards and 16.5 points per game to make the College Football Playoff semifinals, where they fell to Notre Dame.

Allen spent two seasons in Happy Valley after working as Indiana’s head coach from 2017-23. However, he doesn’t have any plans to return to the big whistle anytime soon.

“There’s two things I love to do. I love impacting the lives of young people. You can do that by investing in a time component. When you’re a head coach, it’s hard to have that time to get to really know the guys and really dive into their lives,” Allen said. “This gives me a chance to do that. Also, I really do enjoy the football side of defense, studying film, diving into all that. You don’t really get a chance to do that. I became a head coach, tried to call the defense for a few years, but it was just too much after a while. So, this role really fits me, what I enjoy doing.”