4-Star CB Jordan Young Explains Choosing Michigan Wolverines Over Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers are getting prepared for a big game against the SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship with the conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.

It is a massive game coming up for the Tigers on Saturday night in North Carolina. With conference supremacy and a spot in the CFP on the line, Clemson will need to have their best game of the season in order to come away with a win.

While the Tigers are focused on the game, they also had a lot of news regarding recruiting their 2025 class coming down with signing day recently.

It wasn’t a strong class for Clemson in 2025, as they brought in 15 new players and had the 26th ranking class. This was the lowest ranking for the Tigers since Dabo Swinney’s first year, as the challenges of navigating the NIL world continues to have an impact on the program.

Recently, 4-star cornerback Jordan Young, who originally committed to Clemson, flipped less than a week ago to the Michigan Wolverines in a shocking move. Young spoke about his decision and why he chose the Wolverines.

“The recruiting class wasn’t that good at Clemson,” Young said, via WBTV News (Charlotte) sports reporter Cam Gaskins with text from Gavin Oliver of the Clemson Insider. “I was the only DB at the time, so didn’t really see a bright future with that. Michigan was hitting up in the recruiting class, getting many guys that I would see that could help me and I could help them as well,” Young said. “I see Coach Morgan, he’s a great developer, and we’ve got a great relationship there. So, I feel like Michigan was that missing piece, so I just put it all together.”

Seeing a prospect leave because of a poor class around him isn’t a good look for Clemson moving forward, as Young’s comments certainly became big news.

The Michigan class is ranked 7th in the country, as the young cornerback clearly believes in their future success more than the Tigers’.

This was a big loss for Clemson, as losing a four-star player just before signing day isn’t ideal.

While the Tigers get set to battle the Mustangs, the future of the program has to be in the back of Swinney’s mind after the poor recruiting class. Whether it be utilizing NIL, the transfer portal or both the poor recruiting class could lead to some philosophical changes to the program on the best ways to recruit.