Clemson Predicted to Land Four-Star Safety

Five days ago, one of Clemson's top safety targets, Jarrell Chandler, trimmed down his list to just four schools, including the Tigers alongside Tennessee, Miami and Vanderbilt. Additionally, he set his commitment date for tomorrow, May 18.

Now, he's trending toward a Clemson commitment. On Sunday afternoon, On3's Director of Recruiting, Chad Simmons, logged an expert prediction that the program would land him as a close recruitment race continues to unravel.

Chandler is rated a four-star prospect and ranks as the No. 91 overall player, the No. 6 player at his position and the No. 4 player in the state of Tennessee, according to the 2027 Rivals300.

Clemson has received a 🔮 for 4 ⭐️ Safety and top 100 player in the country Jarrell Chandler. He commits tomorrow 👀🐅 pic.twitter.com/ei1kgqVsYf
— Adam (@adamdropsbombs) May 17, 2026

Initially, the blue-chip recruit looked to be a lock for the Volunteers to land as they were the front-runner for the majority of the spring, especially after they hosted him for three unofficial visits in March. Not to mention, Chandler is a Knoxville native, Halls is a Knoxville school, and it's rare for a prospect of his caliber to bypass his hometown program.

However, as his commitment date has approached, things have changed, and other suitors have been pushing hard for the versatile talent.

Miami, which is recruiting him as a linebacker, made a significant push in the race earlier this past week, with defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Corey Heatherman meeting with Chandler to emphasize how they plan to use him in the Hurricanes' defense, according to On3's Simmons.

Then came the Tigers, who hosted Chandler for their Elite Retreat in early March and have surged late this past week in his recruitment.

The program made one final push before he went public with his timeline last week, as defensive coordinator Tom Allen, defensive passing game coordinator Thomas Allen and safeties coach Nolan Turner all traveled to Knoxville to give Chandler a late presentation Monday morning, per Paul Strelow of Tiger Illustrated.

Similar to Heatherman, Tom Allen put all his chips on the table and previewed his thoughts about where he sees Chandler fitting in the defensive scheme as a safety — the position he currently plays and the one they're recruiting him for. Not only did that resonate well with him, but so did head coach Dabo Swinney's culture in upstate South Carolina.

Heading into tomorrow, the Tigers appear to have all the momentum, and ultimately, it could come down to which position he wants to play: linebacker or safety.

That said, if Chandler ends up committing elsewhere, the program still has other options at the position. Top safety target Ta'Shawn Poole has Clemson in his top six, as does former commit Seth Williams, while high four-star Chance Gilbert has the Tigers in his top four.

Add us as a preferred source on Google