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Clemson Tigers Offer Intriguing Four-Star Offensive Lineman Recruit

The Clemson Tigers are working hard to put together the Class of 2026 and have offered a four-star lineman from Florida.

Matt Postins

Oct 12, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; A battle scarred Clemson Tigers helmet during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Oct 12, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; A battle scarred Clemson Tigers helmet during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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The Clemson Tigers are barely into spring workouts and the work of putting together its recruiting class for 2026 is well underway.

On Saturday, four-star offensive lineman Canon Pickett announced on social media that he had received an offer from the Tigers.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound guard plays at Tampa Bay Tech in Tampa, Fla., and is preparing for his senior year. While many recruiting services have him listed as a three-star player, Rivals has Pickett listed as a four-star player.

Rivals has him ranked at No. 243 in the nation, No. 36 in Florida and No. 27 at his position, with his state and position rankings on the rise.

Pickett is a popular recruit. In February, On3 reported that he was down to 10 schools, which included Clemson. The other nine are SEC and ACC powers, meaning Pickett seems intent on remaining in his geographic footprint. Of the 10 schools, Clemson was the northernmost school. The school furthest west was Oklahoma.

Per Rivals, he has 34 total offers.

He is a long way from decision time. In fact, with the changes across college football when it comes to revenue-sharing and scholarship limits, he won’t sign a traditional national letter-of-intent, which the NCAA did away with in October. The NLI is being replaced by a scholarship agreement, which will have the same binding effect as the NLI.   

The Clemson Tigers are coming off a 2024 campaign in which it won the ACC championship game and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020.

The Tigers went 10-4 overall and lost to Texas in the first round of the expanded 12-team playoff.

Many analysts are expecting the Tigers to be a Top 10 team in 2025, thanks in part of the return of Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Cade Klubnik, who had his best season statistically in three years with the Tigers. The offense is also returning much of the talent around Klubnik, though they will need to find a replacement for running back Phil Mafah.

On defense, the Tigers actually used the transfer portal to pick up some talent to help them in the pass rush. But their biggest offseason change was letting defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin go and hiring Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Tom Allen for the 2025 season. His job will be to transform the run defense.

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Matt Postins
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