Tiger Tracker: All Clemson Recruiting Mailbag
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You've got recruiting questions and we have the answers.
Welcome to All Clemson's recruiting mailbag, where we will answer your weekly 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.
Mailbag
M.G.: Any thoughts on where Clemson goes at RB? I know they offered Johnson but I see he’s a pretty hard Miami lean.
Right now, Chris Johnson is the guy at the top of the board, and yes, he's been considered a strong Miami lean. Having said that, that doesn't mean he's still a strong Miami lean.
There was some thought that Johnson would already be a Miami commitment by now, but Clemson jumping in has changed the complexion of this recruitment and this is becoming a battle. I would not expect a decision anytime in the near future. Probably not until later this year.
This one still has a long way to go and while Johnson won't be on hand for Monday's All-In Cookout, I think Clemson eventually gets an official visit in the fall.
David: Any concern that Clemson's not getting any top in-state recruits this cycle?
Not really. There just wasn't a ton of high-end prospects in South Carolina in this recruiting cycle. The two best players in my eyes are both offensive linemen. The Tigers did make a run at both, Markee Anderson and Monroe Freeling, but aren't going to land either.
Anderson was on hand for the big official visit weekend back in June, and is still uncommitted, but has long been considered a strong lean to the rival Gamecocks. I will be very surprised if he lands anywhere else.
Clemson did make a strong push for Freeling, though. However, having not grown up in this state, Freeling just doesn't have the emotional ties to either in-state school that the kids who grew up in this state generally tend to have. He was trending away from Clemson before the summer months even began.
While missing on both might look like a bad thing on the surface, the Tigers do already have three very solid offensive linemen committed in this class in Zechariah Owens, Harris Sewell and Ian Reed, with each being blue-chip talents. Not a bad haul for first-year OL coach Thomas Austin.
As for the other positions, there is a simple explanation, and I would frame it this way. The staff just had out-of-state players higher on the board.
Kevin: How does the visitor list look for the cookout? Any surprise visitors or non-visitors?
This year's cookout will be one of the smaller ones and will take place on Monday. It will mostly be committed players with a small number of uncommitted targets also on hand.
Safety target Robert Billings is set to attend as is DT target Kayden McDonald. We will see if WR target Ronan Hanafin makes it into town, but I'm not expecting that to happen. Hanafin is the top 2023 wideout target at the moment, but even if he doesn't make it, that doesn't mean the Tigers aren't still in it. They very much are.
As for surprises, with Hunter Osborne now trending towards Alabama, there is one blue-chip DE out of North Carolina I will be tracking to see if he makes it to the event.
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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