Dabo Swinney is certainly glad that Clemson was able to get Khalil Barnes to join the Tigers after he was initially bound for another ACC program during the recruiting process.

Ahead of Saturday’s game at Wake Forest (12 p.m., ESPN), Clemson’s head coach reflected on Barnes’ recruitment and what he remembers about flipping Barnes.

The former North Oconee (Ga.) High School standout and Athens native originally committed to Wake Forest before later narrowing his college decision to Clemson, Oklahoma and Notre Dame — the first two of which recruited him as a defensive player and the latter of which pursued him as a receiver.

Now a sophomore safety, Barnes ultimately committed to Clemson on Dec. 16, 2022, as part of the Tigers’ 2023 recruiting class.

“He was a guy a lot of people recruited as a receiver, and initially, that was kind of what he wanted to play,” Swinney said on Wednesday.

Swinney added that Barnes, a former three-star prospect, is the perfect example of a player who continued to improve over the course of his high school career.

“He’s just a kid that he’s the epitome of what we talk about in this game, of guys develop, guys get better,” Swinney said. “That’s one of the reasons I don’t like to offer freshmen and sophomores is a lot of times, those freshmen and sophomores aren’t the best players as seniors. And a lot of times, those sophomores that you wouldn’t really offer, by the time they’re seniors, man, they’re great players.

“It’s a developmental game, and he’s a guy that just kept getting better and better and better.”

After enrolling at Clemson in January 2023, Barnes earned freshman All-American honors last season, when he became the first Tiger player in the Swinney era to record multiple forced fumbles and multiple interceptions in a freshman season. He was one of three players in the country (and the only freshman) with at least three interceptions, three or more forced fumbles and one sack in 2023.

Last season, Barnes played in all 13 games (seven starts) and was credited with 41 tackles (5.0 for loss), six pass breakups, a team-high three interceptions, three forced fumbles, a sack and a fumble recovery, which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown.

So far this season, the 6-foot, 195-pounder has once again been productive defensively while posting 21 total tackles (fifth-most on the team), four pass breakups and a quarterback pressure through the first five games (all starts).

“Really glad we got him,” Swinney said. “He’s a special player.”