Clemson Leading for 4-Star DL Target Set to Commit Saturday

Clemson is a heavy favorite to land a blue-chip recruit as his commitment date approaches

Clemson is in the driver's seat for another defensive recruit | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers look to add another defensive lineman to their 2026 class with four-star defensive line target Keshawn Stancil set to make his decision on Saturday, June 28.

Stancil will choose from these five schools, which he announced in early May: Clemson, NC State, Penn State, Miami, and Georgia.

Commitment date set June 28th 6pm Clayton high school pic.twitter.com/uNbSOOJ9yz

— Keshawn Stancil (@keshawn_stancil) June 26, 2025

The 6-foot-3, 260-pounder from Clayton, NC, is ranked as the No. 13 defensive lineman in the class of 2026, according to Rivals. Stancil is listed as the No. 10 prospect in the state of North Carolina and would be the highest-rated pledge on the defensive line in Clemson’s class if he were to choose the Tigers this weekend, per On3.

Stancil has received three crystal ball predictions for Clemson over the past few days, including predictions from 247Sports Clemson Insiders Austin Hammons and Cory Fravel, 247Sports staff writer Tyler Calvaruso, and Rivals recruiting analyst Cody Carpenter that all point him to the orange and purple.

Clemson seems to be leading the race for Stancil, but Swinney and the Tigers were actually the last program of his top five to offer him. Per 247Sports’ recruiting timeline, NC State offered Stancil in May of 2024 – the first of those final five teams to – while Clemson came onto the scene over a year later, offering him just last month on May 27th. According to Rivals, Stancil officially visited Clemson on June 13th before taking his NC State official visit the following week. 

Per Stancil’s X account and On3, he was the only recruit on campus during his official visit at Clemson, which could turn out to be an important factor come Saturday.

Dabo Swinney and company have brought in and developed a multitude of elite defensive linemen during his 16 seasons at the helm, including Christian Wilkins, Vic Beasley, Clelin Ferrell, and many more. With current Tigers Peter Woods and T.J. Parker likely to be lottery picks in the 2026 NFL Draft next April, Clemson will need to reload with talented blue-chip recruits like Stancil to fill potential holes for 2026 and beyond.