Saturday’s spring game in Death Valley stands as the largest crowd that transfer wide receiver Tristan Smith has had the opportunity to play in front of, and he admitted that he was nervous as soon as he ran down The Hill. But he still made plays on what he called an amazing day in front of a great crowd.
In his first contest in Death Valley, Smith caught five passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, leading Clemson’s offense to a 33-15 victory over the defense in the 2025 Spring Game on Saturday. Included in those numbers was a 72-yard touchdown on a beautiful throw from Trent Pearman that allowed Smith to not only show off his hands but his length and long stride as he strolled into the endzone on what looked like a Saturday at the park.
“It felt amazing, I’m not going to lie. It felt amazing,” Smith said with a smile after the game. “We have a great fan base. A lot of fans showed up. I saw my mom – she came to the game and that made me aware I have to go out there and just be myself and make plays and really just make plays for the team, do my job, have some minimum MAs (missed assignments), just get the plays down and the big plays are going to come.”
Smith said he was nervous from the start.
“I was just staying focused on the sideline. I was nervous. There were a lot of people here, so I was really nervous, but at the end of the day, we have some great playmakers on both sides of the ball, and I’m feeling really good about what that’s going to be,” Smith said. “When I made the first catch, usually you make that first catch, you get tackled, you get the butterflies out, but I was really nervous running out on the hill for the first time. And it was a spring game and I ran out on the hill and I’m nervous. So really just after that first catch here, I got to go. We got to play, make plays and stuff.”
Smith played at Southeast Missouri State in 2024, hauling in 76 passes for 934 yards. In the Redhawks’ final game of the season, a loss in the FCS playoffs, Smith had 10 catches for 139 yards and a score against Illinois State. He played his first two years of post-prep football at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Smith had 16 receptions for 231 yards in 10 games.
Smith said he was nervous even at those levels.
“I was always nervous. Every school I went to, whether it was JUCO, high school, or FCS at SEMO, I was always nervous my first time,” he said. “I feel like I have to prove myself. I got to make plays, do my job. I’m a big guy. I don’t like dropping the ball and I’m nervous. I’m nervous, but when I get that first catch out of the way, I’m like, okay, let’s go. And just really just watching Clemson on TV, it is the highest level of the game.”
Swinney said Smith’s confidence will continue to grow, and playing Saturday in front of a large crowd allowed him to showcase his skill.
“If we don’t have the opportunity to create that, he’s going into that game (LSU in the opener) with nothing other than where he’s been. He’s probably never played in front of probably a crowd like that,” Swinney said. “So spending his first couple years in a junior college and then obviously at SEMO, I mean, that’s a big deal. It’s a big deal. And for him to go out there and make some plays – and we really, really wanted, we kind of forced some things that way. We need him.
Leave a Reply