Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program were heavily involved with Jeremiah Alexander during his high school recruiting process before he ended up committing to Alabama in July 2021.

Fast forward to the present, and Alexander is now a part of Swinney’s program after transferring to Clemson from Alabama early this year.

In the latest episode of Clemson Football’s official podcast, 2 Right Turns, Alexander discussed his transfer commitment to the Tigers.

The former five-star recruit had a head start as far as his relationships with Clemson and knowing Swinney. Alexander didn’t have to start from scratch, so to speak, and thus was able to easily reconnect with Swinney and rekindle that bond during the transfer process.

“It was definitely an easier decision, having been that I already had a relationship with him in high school,” Alexander said of Swinney. “And then he’s from Pelham, Alabama, and that’s probably 13, 15 minutes away from my hometown. So being able to relate where we come from and just ball, him growing up playing a whole bunch of sports, him playing at Alabama, being a receiver – everything that he did in his life is sort of kind of like lined up in my life.”

Alexander spent his first three college seasons at Alabama from 2022-24. Following a redshirt year in 2022 during which he appeared in three games, the 6-foot-2, 249-pounder played in 24 of the Crimson Tide’s 27 games across the 2023-24 seasons and was credited with eight tackles in those contests.

A native of Alabaster, Ala., Alexander exited Thompson High School as one of the top recruits in the nation in the class of 2022. After leading Thompson to the 2021 state championship alongside current Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods, Alexander was a five-star recruit across most major outlets and ranked among the top 50 players nationally in his class.

Alexander, who joined Clemson with two years of eligibility left, said he thanks God “for putting somebody like Coach Swinney in my life.”

“Because in high school, he was a great guy, and he was able to come get me out of the portal,” Alexander said. “Just having that relationship out of high school I felt like was something that helped me be able to come here out of the portal, just due to the relationship and the guy that he is and the people that he connects with because he was able to connect with me.”

Alexander became Clemson’s third transfer portal acquisition this cycle, joining former Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Tristan Smith and former Purdue defensive end Will Heldt.

You can check out the 2 Right Turns episode featuring Alexander, Smith and Heldt below:

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story

–Photo courtesy of Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images