Letter From Dabo Swinney Just One Connection In-State LB Feels to Clemson

Bubba Alexander has been attending Dabo Swinney’s high school camps sine he was a youngster, with this summer being no different.

The rising high school sophomore and in-state linebacker has grown up an avid Clemson fan and to this day the camps are still one of the highlights of his summers.

“My dad graduated from Clemson, and my grandparents are all graduates from Clemson,” Alexander told The Clemson Insider. “My dad grew up in Greenville. He was a massive Clemson fan his entire life and when I was a baby they put a onesie on me with a Clemson Paw on it right out the gate. So I’ve been a Clemson fan pretty much since the get go.”

Wes Goodwin was still an analyst on the staff when Alexander first started attending the camps, with the youngster getting a lot of tutelage from the Tigers’ current defensive coordinator at the junior camps. While he was still in grade school, Alexander would routinely send hand-written letters to both Goodwin and Swinney, thanking them for the experience.

One summer, Alexander penned a different kind of letter to Swinney, which prompted a genuine response from the head coach.

“One time Dabo was getting a little bit of hate online for some of the decisions he was making and I was telling him that he was doing a great job,” Alexander said. “He wrote me back and said he appreciated it and to keep doing my thing. But I really remember those letters were super, super cool. Especially when Dabo wrote me back that one time. He’s in such a big role, and it was it was so cool for me being as little as I was to get those.”

After one season at Hammond, Alexander sees a lot of similarities between that program and the one at Clemson.

“We got a lot of coaches that mimic the same stuff and we see it at Hammond, a lot of the culture,” he said. “One of the reasons that I love Clemson so much is because of what the head coach shows. You actually feel like you have a personal relationship with your coaches at Hammond, and you can see that with Dabo.”

“I feel like Clemson just does such a great job showing the culture. And every time you go, you see them talking about God and Jesus and how that’s affected their lives. The words of wisdom. That’s something I feel relates to me so much. It’s just who I am. This is why it’s so great there. And I see a lot of similarities between the two, and it’s pretty cool.”

Clemson was just one of several camp stops for Alexander over the summer. He also worked out at South Carolina, App State, Mercer, Auburn, Furman, Wofford and he was also going to try and get to NC State.

However, Alexander really feels connected to Clemson. With Goodwin literally watching him grow up on the field, so to speak, Alexander feels Clemson’s defensive coordinator has a different perspective.

“He said I am developing great,” Alexander added. “The past few years he’s been telling me to get in the weight room and make sure I am doing this and that but this time he said I was moving around really well. And that every year he sees the improvement, which is why you go every year. He also said to keep working on agility and again to stay in the weight room.”

Heading into his sophomore season, Alexander is hoping to see his recruitment start to pick up some steam. The young linebacker is ready to start reaping some of the rewards from all of the hard work he has been putting in on the field.

As a member of the 2027 class, Alexander is well aware that he is still very early in the process. Clemson won’t even start offering players in his class until next summer. Although, an offer from the Tigers would be the ultimate dream come true and the plan is to be right back at camp next summer as he continues his journey to earn one.

“I don’t even know what I would do,” Alexander said. “I’d probably flip a lid. I’d scream all over the place. I don’t even know what I would do. It would mean the world to me. Clemson… that would be a childhood dream come true. To get an offer from a place that you grew up loving your entire life. A place you mesh so well with the people there, the coaches there, and the players there and the community there. It’s the perfect spot. I would probably geeks out like a little five year old.”

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