6 days ago
2
Khalil Barnes will continue his college career in the SEC.
The former Clemson safety has committed to Georgia after entering the transfer portal, choosing to remain in his home state following a visit to Athens over the weekend. Barnes spent three seasons with the Tigers and leaves Clemson as one of the more productive defensive backs of the Dabo Swinney era.
Advertisement
Barnes made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2023, earning Freshman All-American honors while establishing himself as a turnover threat in the secondary. He became the first Clemson player under Swinney to record multiple interceptions and multiple forced fumbles in a single freshman season, a rare combination that helped him stand out nationally.
His sophomore campaign included four interceptions and continued ball production, but his junior season looked different. In 2025, Barnes played 10 games and logged 46 tackles and five pass breakups, marking the first year of his career without an interception despite seeing significant defensive snaps.
Across 37 games and 30 starts at Clemson, Barnes totaled 147 tackles, 16 pass breakups, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles, a sack, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. His interception total across his first two seasons ranked among the best by a Clemson underclassman in more than a decade.
Advertisement
Barnes entered the portal following the regular season and now heads to Athens looking for a fresh chapter after carving out a productive three-year run in Clemson’s secondary.
Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Former Clemson safety Khalil Barnes Georgia Transfer confirmed
English (US) ·