All Clemson Recruiting Mailbag

You've got recruiting questions and we have the answers.

Welcome to All Clemson's recruiting mailbag, where we will answer your recruiting questions. Or we will at least attempt to do so, as recruiting is a world with many moving parts and an ever-changing landscape where circumstances can often change in a flash.

With that in mind, let's dive in.

Bryan: Really concerned about recruiting at running back! We have missed out on all of our major targets for the last two years. Settling for Keith Adams, who barely had any offers if any D1 and now the same for the two local new offers we gave out this week! What’s going on here? Is the NIL money situation playing a major part? Or is it the fact nobody wants to be a part of a running back by committee and play behind Shipley?

Dataracer: Offering the 2023 RB Peyton Streko out of Georgia, is this a depth offer or do they really need two running backs in this class with Kobe Pace leaving? Looks like he's friends with Delp who UGA beat Clemson out on. Do the Tigers even have a chance if UGA offers? Last, are we now finally concerned about RB recruiting?

I will try and kill two birds with one stone here.

No doubt, Keith Adams Jr. seems to be a developmental guy. What kind of player he develops into remains to be seen. He certainly looks the part, but anything beyond that would be pure speculation.

Once Clemson missed on Trevor Etienne in the last cycle, it was so late in the process, there just weren't many backs left. And Dabo Swinney promised Etienne he would not move on until he made his decision. They then had Andrew Paul, the next target, locked up until Georgia swooped in at the last minute. It is what it is.

I have always maintained that landing a top-flight back in the 2023 class would be difficult with Will Shipley, Phil Mafah and Kobe Pace all on the roster. All guys with multiple years of eligibility left. The staff took a few big swings but missed on guys like Richard Young and Justice Haynes, two players that were never coming to Clemson regardless, in my opinion.

They then just got beat by the home-state team in Auburn for Jeremiah Cobb. Chris Johnson and Cedric Baxter were two other guys they were never getting in my eyes. You have to at least make the effort, though.

Either way, in the end, it's all about the ones you do get, and yes the departure of Kobe Pace means the staff will sign two backs. One of those will be in-state prospect Jarvis Green, who has absolutely killed it at Dutch Fork but has been largely overlooked by Power-5 teams.

Some will tell you he is a product of that Dutch Fork system. People also said that about Jailin Hyatt. I recall some speculating Antonio Williams might just be a product of that system too. We will see if Green is the next guy to prove that theory wrong.

The other target is Jamarius Haynes, out of Handley (Roanoke, Al.). He's 6 feet, 185 pounds, and his film is extremely impressive. Forget what any ranking says, go watch the film. If you are comparing Haynes and Johnson, I would take Haynes, but that's just me.

This was Haynes' first season starting and he has run roughshod over just about every team he has faced. He rushed for 476 yards in one game and runs a 10.9 in the 100. Yes, he plays at a smaller school and the competition is questionable, but he looks to have the makings of an every-down back. A well-rounded every-down back, at that.

Haynes, who I think Clemson ultimately lands, is the top take, and Green is the second in my eyes. Peyton Streko, the 2023 back out of Georgia, currently has an offer as a preferred walk-on. So yes, he is a depth guy.

As for whether it's time to be concerned about running back recruiting, that is up to the individual. Clemson has a process. It doesn't look like that process is changing. C.J. Spiller takes a lot of heat for not landing a highly-rated back yet, but it's not his call on who gets offered and when. Those final decisions ride with Swinney.

NIL is absolutely going to make it harder to land those top-rated players at the position, make no mistake. I would also remind you that Clemson has been pretty successful at finding those diamond-in-the-rough type backs. Travis Etienne wasn't an "elite-level" back coming out of high school, and neither was Wayne Gallman. Neither were Top 200 players. Gallman wasn't even in the Top 300.

Sure, Spiller is still learning when it comes to recruiting, and he'd probably be the first one to tell you that. But it's hard to argue with the product he's putting out on the field. At the end of the day, I think Clemson's failure to land a top-rated back in the past two cycles is more complex than placing blame on Spiller. Part of it is the process and being so selective. Part of it has been the depth chart, and there is no doubt in my mind that with some guys NIL has come into play. And then you have a situation like Paul, where you have your guy, only for him to be poached away by the very team he grew up rooting for.

Jamie: Are we looking at the senior kicker for Mill Creek (GA), Jacob Ulrich? It looks like he made a visit to Clemson. Watching the 7A GA state championship, and this guy is amazing!

The staff won't be looking to add a kicker in the 2023 class. The Tigers seem to be set at the position for the immediate future.

Clemson took a kicker in the 2022 class, Robert Gunn III. After an impressive workout for the staff, he earned a scholarship offer on the spot and committed shortly thereafter. He did suffer an ACL injury during his senior season in high school, but he is fully healed now and should be ready to roll in 2023. He was rated as the top-kicking prospect in the 2022 class by Kicking World. He is capable of kicking off, kicking field goals and punting.

The Tigers also have a commitment from 2024 K Nolan Hauser, out of William Amos Hough (Cornelius, N.C.). Hauser is rated a 5-star by Chris Sailer Kicking.

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