Former Clemson tight end Stacy Fields brought his son, Jackson, to campus for the Dabo Swinney Camp last week.

Jackson, a rising sophomore wide receiver in the class of 2022, participated in the full first session of the camp from Tuesday to Thursday and caught the attention of Swinney and the coaching staff.

“Dabo and those guys were impressed,” Stacy told The Clemson Insider at the camp. “Dabo said Jackson needs to get in the weight room, but they know it will come. They were comparing him to Tee Higgins when he was that age, so that was just good for his confidence so he can continue to play and focus on what he needs to do to get better.”

Jackson has lived in Texas for pretty much all of his life. He attended The Kinkaid School, a prestigious private school in Houston, but will be transferring to Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, in order to play against better competition and have a better athletic opportunity.

This was the third year that Jackson, who also plays basketball, has participated in the Swinney Camp.

Jackson Fields

“I was very interested to see how well he would do because he grew three to four inches since last year, and we just came off the basketball court,” Stacy said. “We really hadn’t had a chance to train for football, so I wanted to see how well he’s done. … He’s growing into his size. He just turned 15 on Monday and he’s wearing a size 15. So, sometimes you don’t ever know when they’re going to catch up with their body.”

Jackson worked out in the wide receiver group that included Swinney’s son, Clay, and the two youngsters have become friends through Clemson’s camp.

“He’s made some bonds there with some of the guys over the years, with Dabo’s youngest son, Clay,” Stacy said. “They chat back and forth on social media during the course of the year, not just during camp.”

Stacy, a former starting tight end for the Tigers in the late 1980s and early 90s, hopes to see his son follow in his footsteps in Death Valley.

“We’re hopeful that Jackson can compete well enough to get an opportunity to consider coming here,” Stacy said. “That would be awesome.”

Stacy gave his thoughts on the current state of Clemson’s program and spoke about what he believes to be the Tigers’ secret sauce.

“It’s phenomenal. They’re continuing to build and get better, and I think the recipe is there for them to continue,” he said. “The culture is really good. It’s not the facilities — everybody’s getting the money and investing in facilities — but it’s the culture. When you hear from the current players, the former players, they know that Dabo is instilling the right culture, and that’s what’s going to make the program last and be effective.”