Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 13 | W 45-10vs Furman | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#17
Ari Watford
Sophomore defensive end on Clemson's 2026 roster.
6′5″ · 240 lb · Norfolk, VA · Maury HS
Returning to Clemson for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2025
1 tackles
1 game into 2025 so far -- Best game: 1 tackles, vs Furman
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 defensive end on Clemson's 2025 roster.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Clemson in 2025.
Ari Watford
The receipt: 1 tackles against Furman — Week 13, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- game log
His career
2025
- Signed with Clemson4-star out of Maury
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Clemson
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Clemson7-6HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dabo Swinney
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Clemson | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Clemson
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive end · Clemson
Returning around him
- 9 Clemson players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -4 net (11 in / 15 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Clemson · Last season: 7-6 (AP #12) · Talent rank #16 · 2026 recruiting class #20
The defensive line · Clemson
- #13Will Heldt14.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #14London Merritt8 tackles for loss · 2025
- #15Jaheim Lawson6.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #99Markus Strong3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #17Ari Watford0 tackles for loss · 2025
17 more on the roster · Clemson team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology