Colorado defensive end London Merritt commits to Clemson out of NCAA transfer portal

Colorado defensive end London Merritt has committed to Clemson out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Hayes Fawcett has learned. He does so after spending just one season with the Buffaloes.

During that season, Merritt was named to Pro Football Focus’ All-Freshman Team. He also received All-Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Honorable Mention.

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London Merritt played in nine games for Colorado this season. He logged 19 tackles, 4.0 tackles for a loss and a sack during that time.

Prior to enrolling at Colorado, London Merritt was ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 309 overall recruit in the country in his class, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. He also checked in as the No. 36 EDGE in the class and the No. 43 overall player in the state of Florida, hailing from IMG Academy.

Merritt played at three different schools during his high school football career. He ultimately ended up at IMG, where he had a strong senior season.

In eight games played, he racked up 23 tackles, four of which were tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hurries, one sack and seven pass breakups. That came after a junior year elsewhere in which he recorded 31 tackles, four tackles for loss, five sacks, 11 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and an interception.

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London Merritt just the latest portal add

After mostly ignoring the transfer portal during its rise in popularity over the last few years, coach Dabo Swinney appears to be embracing it a little more this cycle. With London Merritt in the fold, Clemson has already doubled the number of takes it had a year ago.

Merritt is the latest, but he’s not the only one. Oklahoma transfer DL Markus Strong has committed to Clemson too, On3’s Hayes Fawcett reports.

The Raiford, FL native recorded eight tackles and one sack this season for the Sooners, whom clinched their first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. Across three seasons in Norman, Strong totaled 11 tackles and three sacks.

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Prior to enrolling at Oklahoma, Strong was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 1,077 overall player in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 112-ranked DL in his class and the No. 153 overall player from the state of Florida, hailing from Union County.

On3’s Daniel Hager also contributed to this report.