Two-Time Clemson Tigers National Champion Receiver Dies at 26 Years Old

The Clemson Tigers have lost a member of their two football national championship teams after his passing.

Wide receiver Diondre Overton catches a ball during Clemson Pro Day at the Poe Indoor Facility in Clemson Thursday, March 12, 2020 / Ken Ruinard / staff, Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Clemson Tigers announced on Saturday that Diondre Overton, a wide receiver for the Tigers during both of their national title runs, died at 26 years old.

The Tigers did not release a cause of death nor when he passed.

"Clemson Football and the entire Clemson Family mourns the passing of Clemson alumnus Diondre Overton," the program wrote in a social media post. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends."

The news came the day of Clemson’s home opener with Appalachian State at Memorial Stadium. It’s likely the Tigers will remember Overton before the game.

Overton has been playing pro football since his final season at Clemson. He went undrafted in the NFL, he was signed by the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats but was released shortly after.

Later in 2021 he signed with the Vienna Vikings of the European League of Football

In 2022 he reached the USFL with the Philadelphia Stars, as he was drafted in the 16th round. He played for the Stars through the 2023 season and finished with 42 catches for 533 yards and five touchdowns.

Late in 2023 he signed with the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers, but the league merged with the XFL and became the UFL, which led to the demise of the Maulers.

He was selected in January by Memphis in the UFL dispersal draft.

With the Tigers he was part of their 2016 and 2018 national championship teams, catching passes from Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. He grew into one of their top receivers in his final season in 2020.

Overton caught a touchdown pass in each of the first two games of Clemson’s 2018 national championship season, including Clemson’s penultimate score of its 28-26 win at Texas A&M.

His best game was against Boston College, where he tied the school record for three touchdown receptions in a game and had a career-high 119 receiving yards.

Overton chose Clemson over NC State, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. For his career he had 52 receptions for 777 yards and seven touchdowns.

The native of Greensboro, N.C., Overton signed with the Tigers out of Walter Hines Page High School. He was the number four overall prospect in the state according to 247Sports. He was a two-sport star at Hines where he also played basketball.