Former Clemson and NFL Defensive End Adrian Dingle Passes
CLEMSON, S.C. — Former Clemson All-ACC defensive end Adrian Dingle passed away on Nov. 8, 2022. He was 45 years old.
Dingle came to Clemson in 1995 as a freshman out of Roberts High School in Holly Hill, S.C., where he teamed with former Clemson basketball player Harold Jamison to give Holly Hill Roberts one of the top defenses in the state. Dingle was the defensive MVP of the 1994 North-South High School All-Star game.
Dingle lettered at Clemson in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 and served as a starting defensive end in each of his last three seasons. He helped the Tigers to three bowl games over his career.
Overall, Dingle played in 46 games for the Tigers, including 34 games as a starter. He started all 12 games in 1996 as a sophomore when he had a career-high 68 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, six of which were sacks. In 1997, he missed a game due to injury but finished with 48 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
As a senior in 1998, he posted 10.5 sacks, a Clemson single-season record at the time. He recorded 15 tackles for loss and 47 total tackles that year and was named second-team All-ACC. He also recorded a team-best 27 quarterback pressures.
He finished his Clemson career with 180 career tackles, 45 tackles for loss and 23 sacks. The tackle for loss total is still 11th in Clemson history and the sack total ranks sixth.
Dingle was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. After missing the 1999 season, he went on to play five years in the NFL with the Chargers from 2000-04, playing 70 total games. He had his best year in 2003 when he had six sacks and 16 total tackles for loss among his 37 tackles.