Jason Priester All Clemson
Tiger Tracker: All Clemson Recruiting Mailbag
You've got recruiting questions and we have the answers.
Welcome to All Clemson's recruiting mailbag, where we will answer your recruiting questions. Or we will at least attempt to do so, as recruiting is a world with many moving parts and an ever-changing landscape where circumstances can often change in a flash.
With that in mind, let's dive in.
tigerpawgt: Can you provide some background on 2023 RB Jamarius Haynes? It seems odd he didn’t have some offers from plenty of G5 or FCS programs within the southeast region.
For those that do not know, Clemson offered 2023 RB Jamarius Haynes last weekend. It was his very first collegiate offer, so it's understandable that fans would have questions.
As a junior, Haynes played safety and was the backup running back at Handley (Roanoke, Al.). Through his first five games of his senior season, his first as the starting back, he has absolutely killed it, with 94 carries for 984, with 10 TDs. He rushed for 476 yards in one game and has legit speed.
Auburn, Washington State, Florida State, Boston College and Vanderbilt are teams that have taken notice, but the Tigers were the first to actually pull the trigger.
We all know how meticulous this coaching staff is when it comes to vetting potential offers. While the process went much quicker than normal in this case, a thorough vetting was still done and Haynes checks all of the boxes.
TigerNE_CU: What is your best guess for the outlook at RB for the 2023 and 2024 classes? Seems like for 23 they are keying on a couple or few underrated kids that may have upsides after development. Certainly, Jamarius Haynes may have speed. But 2024, the quietest position seems to be RB so far. Feels strange.
I get it. Fans are distressed about how the process is playing out at RB in the 2023 cycle. They see it playing out like 2022 all over again.
However, while the fans may be starting to hit the panic button, the coaching staff is not. I don't see anything strange about this cycle compared with most others in the past. Clemson has typically taken a very methodical approach when it comes to recruiting running backs.
Seven 2023 RBs currently have offers, more than any class since 2019 when the staff also offered seven. And of those seven offers in this class, more than half went out to backs that are thought to be among the 10 best at the position, so the narrative about the focus being just on the underrated guys is just not factual.
The staff targeted both Richard Young and Justice Haynes very early on, offering both. They recruited Haynes hard. Those are two of the top backs in the class, they just missed. They then moved on to two more Top 10 backs, Cedric Baxter and Jeremiah Cobb. Again, they just missed on both. There were some big swings taken, though.
As for 2024, expect more of the same. A very meticulous approach. The only back to have an offer so far is David Eziomume, and he is arguably one of the five-best all-purpose backs in the country.
TigerNE_CU: There is a lot of talk over the past few years about how Clemson is really slipping in getting the next Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, etc. Not sure Noble Johnson is the next guy after Antonio Williams and Adam Randall. Who are your top few for 2024 you think Clemson could have a shot with?
Personally, I am extremely high on Noble Johnson. Higher than most of the services seem to be. Having said that, I would agree that Clemson does not have that alpha guy at receiver right now.
I would also remind you that Mike Williams did not arrive on campus as that alpha either. He developed into that guy. I don't think Tee Higgins arrived as that guy either. Maybe Beaux Collins evolves into that kind of player. If not, I absolutely believe that Adam Randall has that kind of potential.
As for 2024 wideouts, Clemson has only offered two, Alex Taylor and Jonathan Paylor. Of those two, I think only Taylor could even possibly fit that mold, but can he be the next Mike Williams or Tee Higgins? There's just no way to truly know at this point.
Jason: I see we only have one true WR committed for the 2023 class and no RBs. Is this a cause for concern?
Clemson actually has two WRs committed for the 2023 class, Ronan Hanafin and Noble Johnson, and two was the number coming into the cycle. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibilities to see a third WR added at some point, but that could hinge on whether there is any more unexpected attrition at the position. In-state WR Tyler Brown is a guy on the staff's radar. He was in town for the Syracuse game.
Don't let the ATH by Hanafin's name that some of the services fool you, he is a true WR, ranking No. 81 in the SI99. His being listed that way only speaks to his versatility.
As for RB, Clemson is only looking for one, and while they might not have landed that guy just yet, the coaching staff is nowhere near as close as the fans are to pushing the panic button. There is a process in place, and they have faith in that process.
Dataracer: Has Clemson's improved 2022 running game reignited any interest from big target RB recruits who committed elsewhere? This 2023 RB from Dutch Fork, Jarvis Green, who's committed to JMU. Did Clemson not take a look at him?
I don't know of any committed RB targets that are committed elsewhere that are reconsidering based on Clemson's running game this season. The one kid with an offer worth keeping an eye on might be current Auburn commit Jeremiah Cobb. With the instability surrounding that current coaching staff, there is no telling what might happen.
Georgia just offered Cobb this week, and I could easily see him winding up a part of the Bulldogs 2023 class. So much for that theory that Clemson missed on him because they didn't offer soon enough.
As for Jarvis Green, he is another player that I think has been somewhat overlooked by the services. And yes, Clemson did look at him. He visited multiple times over the past year.
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.
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