Clemson Tigers Add Final Linebacker of 2027 Class

Clemson doesn't have many holes left to fill in its 2027 class, as the Tigers already boast 22 commitments; however, one remaining need has now been addressed.

On Friday afternoon, linebacker Raymond "R.J." Hudson officially committed to Clemson, choosing the program over the Maryland Terrapins. He is now the third and final linebacker in the current cycle.

Hudson is rated a three-star prospect and ranks as the No. 627 overall player, the No. 53 edge rusher and the No. 15 recruit in the state of Virginia, according to the 247Sports Composite.

BREAKING: 2027 3 ⭐️ LB RJ Hudson has committed to Clemson.

He chooses the Tigers over Maryland, and is the 23rd commitment for this class.

Clemson’s summer heater isn’t quite over yet. pic.twitter.com/RhykvdYP3f
— Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) June 19, 2026

Initially, Clemson and Hudson were not even in the same ballpark of recruiting.

While he visited in mid-April, little progressed between the two parties thereafter, as the Tigers already had two commits and three offers sent to other pending targets. Those offers included: four-star Roman Igwebuike, four-star Sean Fox and three-star Tyson Washington.

In the final week of May, Clemson hosted both Igwebuike and Fox on official visits and came away from the weekend feeling like they'd built real momentum. That momentum led the program to mutually agree to cancel Tyson Washington's official visit, originally scheduled for last weekend, choosing instead to go all-in on the two four-star targets.

However, things quickly changed.

Just three days later, the Clemson staff decided to pull the trigger on an offer for Hudson after he impressed in a limited camp showing while working out with the linebackers. It was a "limited" showing because he was also slated to work out with the defensive ends, the position he actually plays at Varina High School, but a hamstring injury forced him to sit out the rest of the camp.

With the Tigers by far the biggest offer on his board, he decided to scrap his originally scheduled Syracuse official visit in favor of Clemson and quickly set a commitment date.

Maryland had already hosted Hudson for an official visit that same weekend as Clemson's big recruiting weekend, and he received an expert prediction to land with the Terrapins shortly after. That prediction, though, came before the Tigers' offer.

Once Clemson entered the picture, it looked like only a matter of time before he locked in his commitment with the program, earning three expert predictions to land with the Tigers across 247Sports and On3. Now, that prediction has come to fruition.

With Hudson officially in the fold, he joins a linebacker class that includes four-star Bryce Kish and three-star Max Brown.

It's a huge get for the Tigers, as all signs were pointing to the program missing out on both priority targets in Igwebuike, who was recently predicted to land with Notre Dame, and Fox, whose recruitment predictions flipped from Clemson to Kentucky after the Wildcats threw a significant NIL deal at the four-star recruit.

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