Recruiting Snapshot: Clemson Tigers
While most of college football has been put on hold, recruiting marches on. The class of 2021 has seen a wave of commitments since the start of April, and the team rankings have adjusted to reflect growing classes. We are taking a snapshot of each class in their order of the Rivals Team Rankings, and up next is No. 4 Clemson.
MORE: Clemson's commitment list
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
CLEMSON
Current rank: 4
Number of commits: 9
Top commits: Four-star WR Beaux Collins (No. 30 overall), four-star TE Jake Briningstool (No. 56), four-star LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (No. 105)
Top targets: Five-star DE Korey Foreman (No. 1), five-star CB Tony Grimes (No. 13), four-star Tristan Leigh (No. 26)
LOCAL REACTION
“Clemson burst out of the gate strong, with eight of its nine commitments in the boat by the end of January. Perception seems to hold that momentum has slowed, if not stalled in light of Foreman’s decommitment. But the reality is, that’s already about half of the class Dabo Swinney anticipates bringing in.
So the Tigers now are just playing the waiting game with a select target or two for most of the remaining slots, such as Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett four-star linebacker Barrett Carter, Matthews (N.C.) Weddington four-star running back Will Shipley, Lititz (Pa.) Warwick tackle Nolan Rucci, Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley four-star defensive tackle Payton Page and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons four-star receiver Troy Stellato.
Most of the others in the targeted group aren’t expected to decide till later in the process. So in essence, this visit moratorium is an exercise in recruiting patience.” - Paul Strelow, TigerIllustrated.com
NATIONAL REACTION
“Clemson’s recruiting class was in the headlines last week as Foreman decommitted from the Tigers, their first decommitment in years. No smart recruiting analysts are calling this the beginning of Clemson’s fall from elite recruiting status, but it certainly isn’t great for this recruiting class. Foreman is a special prospect with elite talent but the Tigers are adjusting and will still sign an outstanding group of prospects.
“Most of Clemson’s recruiting success so far has been concentrated on the offensive side of the ball. Six of their nine commitments are from offensive players. Over the last few years, everybody has become accustomed to seeing Clemson sign highly rated playmakers at almost every position except for on the offensive line. That changed in a major way in the 2020 recruiting class, with six offensive line signees and five of them rated four-star prospects.
"The Tigers are building on that momentum in this recruiting class, already holding commitments from two four-star offensive line prospects with a long way to go.” - Adam Friedman, East Coast recruiting analyst