Clemson Tigers Land First Commitment of 2028 Class

With Clemson's staff now shifting their focus to the 2028 class, they've already come up on their first commitment.

Clemson has landed its first commitment of the 2028 class in four-star QB Trace Hawkins, who chose the Tigers over five other programs. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With Clemson Football still awaiting their potential final piece of the 2027 class in Lakeside (Ga.) four-star Seth Williams, the staff has now shifted their attention to the 2028 class, receiving their first commitment today.

On Thursday evening, Calhoun (Ga.) signal caller Trace Hawkins announced his commitment to Clemson, choosing the Tigers over LSU, Duke, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Virginia Tech, as first reported by On3's Hayes Fawcett.

His commitment now makes it three consecutive classes in which the Tigers have landed their quarterback as one of the first two commitments, as true freshman Tait Reynolds was the first in the 2026 class and Kharim Hughley was the second in the 2027 class, behind only Max Brown, the younger brother of linebacker Sammy Brown.

Hawkins is rated a four-star prospect and ranks as the No. 255 overall player, the No. 18 player at his position and the No. 34 recruit in the state of Georgia, according to Rivals rankings.

🚨BREAKING🚨 2028 QB Trace Hawkins has committed to Clemson🐅

Read: https://t.co/9tHhcReOba pic.twitter.com/2mWbnNOcHf

— Rivals (@Rivals) July 30, 2026

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback's commitment comes as no surprise to many Tiger fans, as he's been a frequent visitor to the program since first attending the annual Dabo Swinney Football Camp in June 2025. 

Since then, he's returned to campus multiple times: first for the controversial Week 10 loss to Duke during the 2025 season, then twice more within a month during the spring evaluation period. That steady presence paid off last month, when an impressive performance at the Dabo Swinney Camp finally earned him his offer.

The other primary reason his commitment comes as no shock is all the predictions that have been flying in since he first released his top six last week. 

Nine total experts logged predictions in favor of the Tigers, including: On3's Chad Simmons, Steve Wiltfong, Sam Spiegelman and Paul Strelow, as well as 247Sports' Cory Fravel, Benjamin Wolk, Austin Hannon, Andre Champagne and Zack Nagy.

With Clemson now having Hawkins in the fold, that leaves three-star dual-threat quarterback Trey Wright out of the picture, as there will only be one taker at the position. Wright, who totaled the most scrimmage yards nationally in 2025 (5,860), recently included the Tigers in his top 12 and even earned a prediction to land with the program. 

Other offensive targets Clemson hopes to build around Hawkins remain on the board, including: five-star wideout Braylon Clark, four-star tight end Kaleb Ballard, three-star tight end Wright Martin and seven offensive linemen (five four-stars, two three-stars).