Where Things Stand Entering Day 2 of Early Signing Period for Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers signed all 20 of their signees on Wednesday, the first of the three-day early signing period.

Clemson Tigers on SI is tracking all of the program’s moves during the early signing period on our official Early Signing Day Tracker.

With the entire class locked in, here’s where things stand for Clemson entering Day Two.

An Eye for an Eye

Clemson lost one commit but picked up another later on Wednesday to make up for it. The Tigers lost four-star safety Kaden Gebhardt to Ohio State on Wednesday morning, losing a key safety in their class. However, later that afternoon, head coach Dabo Swinney picked up three-star edge rusher Michael Foster, a local product from Fort Mill, South Carolina.

15 of Clemson’s 20 commits are expected to come in January, being mid-year enrollees.

As of Thursday, Clemson is not expected to seek other pieces or flips from the 2026 class. It has shifted its focus to the 2027 class, already picking up a four-star wide receiver on Thursday morning.

What Head Coach Dabo Swinney Said About The Class

During his press conference late Wednesday morning, Swinney was thrilled with what he had in the class, speaking highly of the group of 20 throughout his availability.

The Clemson head coach makes a comparison to a year when the Tigers had one of their worst years as a program. In 2009, a 9-4 record, with an ACC Championship loss, Swinney thought that he would lose recruits from the class with a lower-graded season that his standard.

However, those players stuck with him, similar to this class, watching Clemson go 7-5 and close the season on a four-game win streak.

“They’re unique,” he said, “and I believe they’re similar to our 2010 class because these guys stuck with us amidst the worst season that we had in 15 years.”

Swinney said that the players that are joining the program have the same values as those on the team, with teams being in their ears throughout the entire process.

“That says a lot about who they are because there’s not one person in this signing class that somebody didn’t try to talk out of coming to Clemson,” he said. “That somebody didn’t talk negative about Clemson. . .but this group of young men and their families stuck with Clemson, and I just can’t say enough about what that says about who they are in this day and age.”

Finding people that are “all in”, in the world of college football now, is very difficult, and Swinney is happy in the group that he has, regardless of ranking, for next season.

Key Areas for the Transfer Portal

With the additions to the squad, it still means that other spots can be filled with the transfer portal, and Swinney expects the team to get a handful of players at various positions.

The first that standout are in the secondary. With Avieon Terrell potentially leaving for the NFL Draft at cornerback, getting a depth piece for Ashton Hampton, Corian Gipson and Branden Strozier next season could be needed.

With the loss of Gebhardt as well, and the expectation that the TIgers were going to get an additional player at safety, a look in the portal for that position could happen, also depending on if junior Khalil Barnes leaves for the NFL Draft, or the portal.

“If you get a decommit, well, it’s hard to replace that with the high school kid this late,” Swinney said. “It’s really hard. So, you got a gap, so you got to fill that, and that’s just part of it.”

Clemson’s defensive line shouldn’t see a lot of new additions, including the new recruits, but with the loss of DeMonte Capehart, and potential losses of Peter Woods, Will Heldt and T.J. Parker to the draft, don’t count out new, experienced pieces through the portal if that happens. There’s still a lot of time for the trio to decide if they are staying or returning, however.

On the offense, the amount of pieces coming at receiver and the offensive line reassure that there may not be more change through the portal. At tight end, where Christian Bentancur, Olsen Patt-Henry and Josh Sapp are all set to return, it could mean the same.

Swinney didn’t count out looking for a quarterback, although he says not to speculate to much about that.

The offseason isn’t officially here just yet, but with flips, new recruits and more decisions coming about the NFL Draft and transferring soon to happen, it means that we will learn a lot more about how the Tigers will look in 2026.