Clemson Battling Georgia for Top Recruits
At first glance, the hiring of former Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter by Georgia as an analyst may not seem like a huge deal. Georgia, like many other top programs, brings in former high-level coaches looking for a fresh start, but looking deeper, the hire of Streeter by Georgia may have a significant impact on Clemson in the very near future.
Clemson fans rejoiced when Streeter was replaced by TCU's Garrett Riley. Fresh off of a College Football Playoff appearance, Riley won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant. Meanwhile, Clemson had struggled to find an identity offensively since the departures of Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. But while Streeter may not have been the play caller Clemson fans had hoped for, there was no denying his recruiting. During his tenure, Streeter was the lead recruiter of players like Lawrence, Myles Murphy, Cade Klubnik, Hunter Johnson, and DJ Uiagalelei.
Clemson will have to fight off teams like Georgia, Ohio State, and Oklahoma for the services of Sammy Brown (pictured).
Lawrence and Murphy both hail from Georgia. Streeter was able to stride into the Peach State and beat out the Bulldogs for their services. Now he's working for them. As it sits right now, Clemson is currently battling Georgia for three of the top twenty players in America per On3's rankings, all in the state of Georgia, and Clemson fired the guy that knows the area the best.
The players are wide receiver Mike Matthews (Lilburn, Ga), defensive end Eddrick Houston (Buford, Ga), and linebacker Sammy Brown (Jefferson, Ga). According to On3's projections, both Matthews and Houston are Georgia leans, while Clemson remains the favorite to land Sammy Brown. Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin is leading the charge in Brown's recruitment, while defensive tackles coach Nick Eason is heading up Clemson's recruitment of Houston.
Clemson is currently ranked 10th in 247Sports' Composite Class Rankings with just 6 commitments, but it's very early in the process. A commitment from just one of the players mentioned above could vault the Tigers into the top 5.
