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When Tristan Smith first arrived in Tiger Town this spring, he wasted no time turning heads. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior wide receiver, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State, burst onto the scene in Clemson’s Orange and White Spring Game, hauling in five catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.
That day, Smith’s smile was as big as Memorial Stadium itself. He mingled with fans after the game, clearly soaking in the moment. But as Clemson shifts from summer to the grind of fall camp ahead of its Aug. 30 showdown with LSU, Smith knows spring success only sets the table for what’s ahead.
“At the end of the day, it’s football, you know,” Smith said after a recent fall practice. “Coach [Tyler Grisham] got us moving around a lot. So just trying to learn every position on the field so I can get the playbook down to a tee.”
Smith’s spring performance gave him confidence, but he admitted that his biggest offseason improvement wasn’t physical.
“I got better at taking notes. Helping me do things to help me remember the plays,” Smith said. “I’m really confident in our receiver group knowing all the plays and just getting the job done at the end of the day.”
Still, Smith’s first day of fall camp served as a reminder that even veterans need time to settle in.
“I had a kind of rough first day, again [getting] acclimated to fall camp,” Smith said. “Coach Swinney got on to me a little bit about that. Just a lot going through my head with this being my last fall camp — just nerves. That’s all it is. Being out of pads for a couple months… it’s just a lot of nerves going on. After I got that first day out of the way, I was ready to roll.”
Head coach Dabo Swinney didn’t mince words about that first practice — or about the strides Smith has made since.
“He’s better now than he was in the spring,” Swinney said. “He was good in the spring but just a little more polished, a little more understanding, a little more detailed. He’s just a little more confident in everything that he’s doing. I didn’t think he had a good first day, and I let him know. He’s been great since then.”
Before joining Clemson, Smith spent two seasons at Hutchinson Community College and one at SEMO. That winding path has made his appreciation for the moment even greater. And now, he says, he’s on the best team he’s ever been a part of.
“I would say the energy,” Smith said. “We've got a lot of depth on this team. We have a lot of energy at practice. This is the best team I've ever been a part of, hands down. The way we practice, the way we do everything is business. The way we do stuff off the field. I feel like everybody is so connected with one another.”
So, could 2025 be a special year for Clemson? Smith didn’t hesitate.
“This year, it’s gonna be special,” he said with a grin. “For sure, it’s gonna be special. Just take it one day at a time, practice, then scrimmage tomorrow. Focus on the now, and then we’re gonna get the end results how we want it.”
As the Tigers prepare for LSU under the bright lights later this month, Smith’s evolution from transfer newcomer to confident contributor could be one of the stories that defines Clemson’s offense, and maybe its season.
