Exclusive: Tee Higgins Breaks Down Clemson's NFL Pipeline

With the 2025 college football season approaching, Clemson has three players ranked among the top 10 prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft. When asked about the program’s recent tendency to produce NFL talent consistently, Higgins made sure to credit his former head coach, Dabo Swinney.

“It's that Clemson water. It’s that lake over there,” Higgins joked. “It's Coach Swinney and the process he has for his players. If they follow his process there’s no doubt that they can make it to the league.”

As a former five-star prospect, Higgins had his pick of top programs. He explained that Swinney’s players-first mentality is what drew him to Clemson and is why his former coach still has a lasting impact on him to this day.

“He left a big impact on me. It was a no-brainer when I was coming out of high school choosing what school I want to go to,” Higgins said. “He’s a players coach, players first. That’s what I wanted going into college, and i’m pretty sure he’s still the same.”

During his time at Clemson, Higgins helped lead the Tigers to a national championship in 2018 and earned All-ACC honors twice. As a product of a program known for producing elite wide receivers, Higgins was asked to build his dream Clemson receiver using four key traits: hands, route-running, speed, and size.

• Hands: DeAndre Hopkins
• Speed: Sammy Watkins
• Size: Himself / Mike Williams
• Route Running: Hunter Renfrow / Deon Cain / Justyn Ross

Ahead of this season, Higgins was rewarded for his strong start to his NFL career with a four-year, $115 million contract extension. Last season, the former Tiger caught 73 passes for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns, proving that the Clemson to NFL pipeline is still alive and well.

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