Clemson to Host 4-Star LB, Former SEC Commitment for LSU Game

As the college football season kicks off this weekend, the Clemson Tigers are making strides to pursue one of the top linebackers in the class of 2026.

Four-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett is set to take a game visit to Clemson for the Tigers’ highly anticipated matchup against LSU on Saturday, per Rivals, headlining a loaded arsenal of recruits slated to visit this weekend.

4-star LB JaMichael Garrett will take a visit to Clemson on Saturday for its matchup against LSU, @TIinClemson reports🐅

Garrett decommitted from Auburn last month.

Read: https://t.co/C84clpoYx1 pic.twitter.com/ODcn15e2Vu
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 27, 2025

After pledging to the Auburn Tigers in July of 2024 and decommitting earlier this summer, Garrett stands as one of just five 2026 blue-chippers to remain uncommitted as the season approaches. Garrett recently announced in an X post that a commitment date is “dropping soon,” indicating a new decision is forthcoming for the four-star.

commitment date is dropping soon!!
— Jamichael “Jmike” Garrett (@jamichael97) August 17, 2025

Garrett is rated as the No. 8 linebacker in the 2026 class, per 247Sports, while ESPN’s recruiting metric lists him as the 139th overall player in the ESPN300.

He is also ranked as the No. 8 prospect from the state of Louisiana, a new development, as he moved from Gulf Shores, Ala., to Baton Rouge, La., this past offseason.

Clemson has never exactly been a true contender for the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, but the Tigers have a chance to make a legitimate impact on Garrett this weekend. Now residing in LSU’s backyard and set to play his senior season at Central (La) High School, the Bayou Bengals has emerged as one of the frontrunners in the race to land Garrett.

Following his decommitment from Auburn, Garrett claimed LSU and Ole Miss as his newly named top-2 schools, according to Rivals, while also gaining attention from programs like Colorado, Miami, Oregon, Texas A&M, and Tennessee throughout the spring and summer. Clemson undoubtedly has some ground to make up, but considering the magnitude of Saturday night’s showdown in Death Valley, anything could happen, especially in this new era of revenue-sharing and NIL.

247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks describes Garrett as a “Classic run-and-hit off-ball linebacker who consistently finds his way to the ball” who has "adequate physical traits” for a modern linebacker role.

“[Garrett] projects to the P4 level as a higher-floor linebacker who tackles consistently and plays with some edge,” Brooks added. “[He] could become a quality starter as the back-seven backbone for a team.

Garrett finished his junior campaign with 91 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks for Gulf Shores (Ala.) in 2024, according to MaxPreps, while also recording a 99-yard pick-six.

Clemson currently boasts 21 pledges in its 2026 class and sits at No. 15 overall in 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings. If the Tigers’ mount a steep comeback and are able to sway Garrett to commit, he would mark their first linebacker commit of the cycle and Clemson’s fifth highest-rated 2026 pledge.