2028 Four-Star Defensive Back Places Clemson Among Final Five

The 2028 class is already getting warmed up, with a four-star talent including the Tigers among his final five.

Four-star DB Giovanni Tuggle has released his final five schools, including Clemson, Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss and FSU. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Last week, 2028 four-star cornerback Kahmaree Crumity included Clemson among his Top 10 landing destinations. Now another standout defensive back in the class has trimmed his list, and the Tigers made the cut there, too.

On Thursday afternoon, safety Giovanni Tuggle released his final five schools, which include Clemson, Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida State, as first reported by Riley Alberts.

Seven other schools stand out aside from the top five, including Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Georgia Tech and South Carolina.

Tuggle is rated a consensus four-star prospect and ranks as the No. 48 overall player, the No. 5 player at his position and the No. 7 recruit in the state of Georgia, according to the Rivals rankings.

The 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back first broke out as a freshman for Winder-Barrow High School in 2024, where he totaled 39 tackles, six interceptions, two pass breakups and one blocked field goal across just eight varsity contests.

Over the next six or seven months, he earned over a dozen FBS offers, including, but not limited to: Penn State, Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas A&M.

Tuggle carried his debut momentum into his sophomore campaign this past season, finishing the year with 74 tackles, two for a loss, five pass deflections, four interceptions and one forced fumble as a full-time starter for the Bulldogs.

His recruitment only continued to skyrocket, as he added offers from Florida State, Nebraska, LSU, Miami, Alabama, Pittsburgh, Texas, Arkansas, Oregon and Ole Miss throughout his second year. During the season, he visited only one school, the Cornhuskers, in early October.

Tuggle continued to pick up offers following the season's conclusion, including, but not limited to: USC, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan and Notre Dame.

He started to receive and take an increasing number of visits throughout the spring, beginning with Ohio State, which had safeties coach Matt Guerrieri come down to visit the rising junior.

Tuggle then had a very busy March. His first stop was to Clemson for the program's annual Elite Retreat, followed five days later by an unofficial visit with the Buckeyes. He rounded out the month with visits to Ole Miss, Texas and Nebraska. 

Florida hosted him for a visit in early April before he headed back to Tigertown for the Dabo Swinney Football Camp, where he finally earned his offer. Tuggle was the third overall offer in Clemson's 2028 class, behind five-star edge rusher Asher Ghioto and four-star linebacker Jay Schell.

While no expert predictions have been submitted in favor of Clemson, the program holds the highest chance of landing the four-star talent, boasting a 24.5% chance, according to the Rivals Prediction Machine.