Freshman Josh Belk will transfer, releases statement

Moments ago freshman defensive tackle Josh Belk‍ in a released a statement about his transfer from Clemson.

The News and Reporter in Chester is also reporting that they talked with Lewisville Football Coach Will Mitchell about the situation noting that, “Belk was granted an unconditional release from his Clemson football scholarship by Dabo Swinney. Josh hasn’t had contact with South Carolina at this point, but his mother has health issues and he wants to be closer to home.”

Clemson released the following statement about the situation: 

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 in the US Army All-American game.

Belk played his high school football at Lewisville High in Richburg, SC. He enrolled at Clemson as an early enrollee in January and was in the mix for a backup role during spring practice for the Tigers.