Clemson Beats Out Rival South Carolina for Four-Star Edge Rusher

South Carolina was considered the longtime front-runner for a top 20 DE, but things have now changed after a successful official visit with Clemson.

Clemson has its second four-star edge rusher, with Desmond Malpress choosing the Tigers over South Carolina, among others. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Just two days after the Clemson Tigers landed their first defensive end of the 2027 class — four-star Santana Harvey — the program has now landed another blue-chip prospect at the position.

On Monday afternoon, edge rusher Desmond Malpress announced his commitment to Clemson, choosing the Tigers over South Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Syracuse, with whom he had all official visits scheduled.

Malpress is rated a four-star prospect and ranks as the No. 147 overall player, the No. 16 player at his position and the No. 15 recruit in the state of Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite.

BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE Desmond Malpress has Committed to Clemson, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’4 215 EDGE chose the Tigers over South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida, and Florida State

“Proverbs 3:5-6”https://t.co/tNBMMK5pHt pic.twitter.com/JUdE5IJSob

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 1, 2026

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound edge rusher flew under the radar in the recruiting scene to begin his career. In his sophomore year, he saw limited playing time, totaling just four tackles, two for a loss and one sack across two appearances.

He started to see more schools come his way after an impressive performance at the 2025 Rivals Camp, gaining offers from Syracuse, Western Kentucky, FIU, Bowling Green, FAU and Middle Tennessee State. 

My Top reps from the Rivals Camp @JohnGarcia_Jr @adamgorney @ACHSRecruiting @CS904_ pic.twitter.com/Qm9pCweDTy

— Desmond Malpress 4⭐️edge (@babymalpress) March 30, 2025

Ahead of Malpress' junior season, his recruitment ramped up significantly, adding offers from schools like Louisville, Florida, South Carolina and Miami. 

The programs ultimately proved they made the right decision by getting to Malpress early, as during his junior season, he was a force to be reckoned with, accumulating 15 tackles, 10 for a loss, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass deflection across just six contests.

Since the start of 2026, his recruitment has taken a step up, with Malpress seeing an influx of offers, totaling 21 since the beginning of the calendar year. Of the 20+ offers, the Tigers were among the first on the board, extending a scholarship on February 2.

Throughout the spring period, Malpress took unofficial visits to schools such as Florida, Alabama and Georgia Tech. He then decided to set four official visits, choosing South Carolina, which offered him over a year ago; Georgia Tech; Syracuse, his first Power Four offer; Florida State, which heavily pursued him during his junior year; and Clemson, which hosted him for an unofficial visit in mid-April that he apparently enjoyed enough to warrant a return trip.

Initially, South Carolina was the front-runner after hosting Malpress for his official visit in the first week of May. But after Clemson got him to Tigertown this past weekend, the Tigers were able to swing the momentum their way. That shift was further reflected when Noles247's Zach Blostein issued an expert prediction for Clemson on Sunday morning, and ultimately, the Tigers landed him.

Clemson's 2027 class is now ranked No. 14 nationally and boasts 16 total players, earning over half of them in the past two weeks, according to 247Sports.

Regarding other players at the position, the Tigers' top remaining target is Cahron Wheeler, who listed Clemson among his final six in April and is currently on campus for his official visit. Three-star Elijah Cox, who received an offer from the program in mid-April, and JiQuan Rogers, who has received multiple expert predictions to land with Clemson, are also on campus. Four-star Justin Weeks rounds out the group, who was the last recruit to schedule an official visit for this weekend.

Looking ahead, Clemson will host three-star Kalib Spivey and three-star Andrew Rogers for official visits on June 12-14. Spivey appears to be trending toward the Tigers after placing them in his final four two weeks ago, while Rogers has yet to receive an offer from the program.