Young defender knows he hasn't arrived, but he's positioned well after first start (2024)

CLEMSON - Redshirt sophomore defensive end Jahiem Lawson grew up around Clemson football.

Living in Central, Clemson was just a few miles away. He went to school with head coach Dabo Swinney’s son, Clay, now a Clemson redshirt sophomore receiver and holder, and stayed over at the Swinney household as a kid. Lawson also grew up watching his older brother play for the Tigers, defensive end Shaq Lawson, who has played in the NFL for nine years now.

While he wanted to make his own path, Lawson knew from a young age that Clemson was where he wanted to go, although he was not always sure about his position.

“Growing up, seeing it all, seeing the environment, seeing the people around this place, everybody (is) great family,” Lawson said. “Growing up, I played running back and receiver, and I always loved catching the ball, scoring touchdowns. So, I always thought that was more fun than tackling. But, I learned that hitting people is way more (fun) than scoring touchdowns.”

Jahiem is not quite the size of his older brother, who maintained a weight around 265 pounds in the NFL. In fact, the younger Lawson came to Clemson at around 215 pounds. He has done a lot of work to increase his weight and is now in the range of 250 pounds, but his ideal weight would be closer to 260, he said. Adding this weight has helped him play at a higher level.

“I feel good out there,” Lawson said. “Definitely hard (for me), trying to eat the right food and just doing the right things. My nutrition people were trying to tell me … (I was eating) protein every day, every two hours.”

This past Saturday, when Clemson defeated Florida State, 29-13, marked an important milestone in Lawson’s collegiate career: his first career start. In that game, he had two tackles, including a tackle for loss. He also recorded his first career pass breakup. Nonetheless, Lawson feels he and the rest of the defense could have performed better against the Seminoles.

“I think I still got a lot of work to do. I don’t think I’ve arrived yet. I still got a lot of things to do, a lot of things to work on for me personally,” Lawson said. “I thought we played okay. Definitely, we could do better, definitely a lot of technical things we could have (done) a lot better (defensively).”

This year marks his third season with the Tigers but his first full season under defensive ends with coach Chris Rumph. Rumph has four years of NFL coaching experience and over 25 years of coaching overall, including a stint with the Tigers from 2006 to 2010. Lawson says Rumph brings a lot of energy and swagger, and he, along with defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, has put him and the rest of the defense in a position to succeed under their tutelage.

“I think we got a lot of work to put in. I think Coach Wes he works every week to put us in the right position every week. But, I think as a group, we still got a lot (to) work on. But, I think we’ll be great. I think we (are) going to be a really good unit in the future,” Lawson said. “Coach Rumph, he taught a lot this spring coming in the season. He taught me just how to be a better player … That’s where I got my intangibles from … (Coach Rumph)’s an intense person. He (is) going to get on you if he needs to get on you. But, (a) loving coach and that’s what I think our group needs … A coach that’s always on you, that’s how you know he cares for you. So, that’s good. I love him. He’s a good dude …

“I think they developed me well, all the players, not even just me. We just got a lot of people in different positions here to help, and I think that’s really good for us and (it) puts more people here to help and I think that’s good for us.”