Lipscomb Academy senior Cam Blivens’ future was still to be determined as he sat in class recently.
The standout wide receiver had decommitted from Columbia in December and skipped the early signing period. He was on the market looking for a place to play college football.
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That’s when he answered a FaceTime call from an unknown number. It was Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney.
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“It was crazy. I was not expecting that. I thought it had to be a prank or something,” Blivens said. “(Swinney) was just like, ‘What’s up, Cam?’ And he panned around and it was like he was in a meeting room and all the other coaches were in there all saying, ‘What’s up?’ ”
Blivens committed to Clemson on Jan. 18, he announced on X, while on the way home from a weekend visit with the Tigers.
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He said that Swinney told him a Clemson receiver had entered the transfer portal unexpectedly and a spot opened up. Right after that, Lipscomb Academy coach Trent Dilfer — who is close friends with Swinney — shared Blivens’ highlights.
That was enough to prompt the call to Blivens, whose other offers included Pittsburgh, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, UAB, Navy, UConn and Western Kentucky.
Blivens is a three-star receiver and the No. 73 player in Tennessee from the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
He caught 63 passes for 1,086 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025. He also rushed for a TD, threw for two, had three interceptions on defense and returned two punts for TDs.
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Blivens was a Division II-AA Mr. Basketball finalist in 2024. He was averaging 22.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 steals at the midway point of this past season.
Football became his passion as his high school career advanced. All he needed was a place to play.
The dots connected when Blivens saw Clemson in person.
“It was great. It felt like a big family. Everyone was so welcoming. I was the only one there,” Blivens said. “It was a lot of quality time with Coach Swinney, (receivers) Coach (Tyler) Grisham and the offensive coordinator (Garrett Riley).”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
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He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clemson football lands Cam Blivens, WR from Lipscomb Academy
