Tiger Tracker: All Clemson Recruiting Mailbag

Each week All Clemson answers your recruiting questions.

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

Welcome to All Clemson's recruiting mailbag, where each week we will answer your recruiting questions. Or we will at least attempt to do so, as recruiting is a world with a lot of moving parts and an ever-changing landscape.

With that in mind, let's dive in.

Mailbag

Kevin: How many scholarships are left for 2022 if the coaches wanted to grab an OL from the portal?

By my last count, the Tigers were at 84, leaving one open spot. Dabo Swinney made it clear heading into the spring that Clemson was in the market for a transfer offensive lineman, an interior guy, that could come in and contribute immediately preferably a center. A graduate transfer with just one year of eligibility left, so as to not run off any of the younger players on the roster.

However, after the spring, things have changed somewhat. With Will Putnam's showing throughout spring practice, along with the progression of Ryan Linthicum, it appears the coaches would be content with staying with what they have. That's not to say they couldn't still add a player, but he'd have to fit a very specific set of criteria. They won't just add a guy to fill a spot.

Jeff: What do you think are the realistic expectations for Clemson to land Sullivan Absher, OL out of North Carolina? I felt really good until his visit to Notre Dame, last weekend.

Yeah, before that visit, I would have had Absher all but a lock to Clemson. His visit to Notre Dame for their spring game has really changed the complexion of his recruitment. Until the Tigers start developing and putting offensive linemen into the NFL, this is something that the program is going to have to deal with. 

Having said that, the longer this plays out, the better for Clemson. Due to a scheduling conflict, he won't be on campus that first weekend in June when the staff will host a number of priority targets on official visits but the plan has always been to give the Tigers an official. We'll just have to see how this one plays out, but at the moment, the Fighting Irish appear to be in the driver's seat.

Mike: What running backs are on the radar and how many will be taken this year? Also are they looking in the transfer portal for any current running backs?

Clemson typically likes to carry five scholarship running backs. This spring they had just three and will have four when Keith Adams Jr. gets to campus this summer. However, the staff has no plans to add a back through the portal. They are content going into the season with the four that they have, plus the handful of walk on's on the roster, including Dominique Thomas, who we saw a lot of during the spring game.

The plan is to add a fifth in the 2023 recruiting class, but up until now, the coaches have cast a very small net. Only three 2023 running backs currently have offers, and Clemson isn't the favorite to land any of the three. 

The Tigers didn't even make Richard Young's list of finalists and have not gained much traction with Cedric Baxter Jr., the most recent running back to pick up an offer. That leaves only Justice Haynes, and while he and his family love everything Clemson has to offer, he's from Georgia and has a lot of ties to the reigning national champion Bulldogs. Pulling him out of that state is going to be extremely difficult. 

Either way, at some point, the staff is going to have to expand the board. It's hard to imagine the coaches risking a repeat of what happened in 2022, when they waited on Trevor Etienne, only to lose out to Florida just a few weeks before National Signing Day in February.

Do you have any recruiting questions that you want to ask? If so, just let us know. Shoot us an email at jp@clemsonmaven.io or shoot us a DM on Twitter.

The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022.

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