Clemson Football Misses Out on Top Linebacker Target

A top-10 linebacker in the 2027 class heads elsewhere, but Clemson should still be satisfied with the group that it has.

Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen missed out on top-10 linebacker Roman Igwebuike on Saturday. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Clemson’s 2027 class is one of the best in the country thus far. However, it was unable to bring in a recruit who had plenty of buzz early on for the Tigers. 

Four-star linebacker Roman Igwebuike committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon, doing so on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel. He chose the Irish over Clemson, Missouri, Tennessee and Indiana, among others. 

BREAKING: Four-Star LB Roman Igwebuike has Committed to Notre Dame, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’3 226 LB chose the Fighting Irish over Indiana, Mizzou, and Clemson

“All glory to God!! I will give 110% everyday to bring a natty to my hometown!”⁰https://t.co/MVbwvEKO8p pic.twitter.com/TnKnIDLY7L

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 11, 2026

That’s how things have trended for the Chicago native as of late, despite Clemson being the second school to host Igwebuike on an official visit out of the final selection of teams. He took part in the program’s highly anticipated recruiting weekend back in the final week of May. 

After future visits to Missouri and Notre Dame, it eventually turned the other direction for head coach Dabo Swinney. Especially with a player coming from Illinois, it would be tough to beat a team like Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish. 

Igwebuike is the No. 134 player in the 2027 class, according to Rivals' Industry ranking. He’s also a top 10 linebacker and the No. 7-rated player from the state of Illinois. He would’ve been a top-three-rated player in Clemson’s class if he had decided to go a different direction. 

However, the Tigers remain in a good place after Saturday, despite the target miss. 

In fact, Clemson picked up the No. 133 player an hour before in defensive lineman Seth Tillman. The Rock Hill, South Carolina, native is one of the best in-state players in the class, and the Tigers won him over the likes of South Carolina, Georgia and Michigan. They continue to find success with recruits based in the Southeast. 

Swinney has 25 players to his name for the class as well, including three linebacker who are all in the top 60 in the class. That begins with four-star Bryce Kish, who’s been committed since March and Max Brown, the longest-tenured commit of Clemson’s cycle and brother of current linebacker Sammy Brown. R.J. Hudson rounds out the group and recently committed almost a month ago. 

The Tigers will continue to have one of the best classes in the country, one that’s inside the top 15 of many recruiting databases following a strong end of May and early June. Although missing out on a top linebacker is sour, there’s still plenty of belief that the room will be one of Clemson’s best in the class. 

Clemson Tigers on SI will remain updated with all of the remaining recruits for the 2027 class as the period slows down throughout the dog days of summer.