College Football Recruiting Battle Ends With No. 8 RB Rejecting Three Major Programs

These three college football programs came up short in recruiting the No. 8 running back prospect in the class of 2027.

Dec 6, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a tv camera and the ESPN college football logo before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

A new domino has fallen in the 2027 college football recruiting cycle.

Four-star running back Gary Walker announced his commitment to Clemson on Wednesday. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder from Fairburn, Georgia, ranks as the No. 8 running back, No. 17 prospect in Georgia and No. 159 overall prospect in the class on Rivals.

Walker carried the ball 178 times for 1,669 yards and 20 touchdowns in his junior season at Creekside High School. The Seminoles finished 2025 with a 15-0 record and won the GHSA 4A State Championship game.

247Sports analyst Hudson Standish said that Walker "possesses the top-end gear to hit explosives and routinely makes defenders miss in the open field with slick cuts at full speed" and that he is "unafraid of contact and will lower his shoulders pads into the chests of defenders" in a scouting report from early May.

Walker was half of a pair of four-star offensive commits Clemson landed on Wednesday; four-star wide receiver Jamarin Simmons committed to the Tigers hours later.

Should he stay committed through the early signing period, Walker would mark the first four-star running back signee for the Tigers since Gideon Davidson in 2025.

Clemson dealt with its fair share of competition in its pursuit of Walker's commitment. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that three other programs were hoping to land Walker on Wednesday.

Florida programs in pursuit

Both Florida and Florida State were among Walker's finalists. The Gators offered Walker his scholarship in March and hosted him for a spring visit a few weeks later. In the midst of the slew of recruits it landed earlier this spring, Florida received a commitment from four-star running back Jerry Beard on May 8.

The Seminoles were on Walker much earlier in his recruitment process, offering him in October of 2025 and hosting him for a pair of unofficial visits. Walker's June 19 visit to Florida State is the last of his official visits this summer.

Florida State is still searching for a running back commit in 2027, and Walker could have been its first four-star running back commit in two cycles.

Penn State

Penn State running back Nick Singleton (10) carries the ball in the red zone in the second half of an NCAA football game against Rutgers Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in State College, Pa. The Nittany Lions won, 27-6. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For over a year, Penn State had no worries about scrambling for a high-profile running back for its 2027 class. In-state and No. 1 overall running back prospect Kemon Spell committed to the Nittany Lions in August of 2024, but he decommitted when they parted ways with head coach James Franklin.

Penn State offered Walker a scholarship in January and was one of several schools slated to receive an official visit from him this summer. However, the Nittany Lions are no longer scrambling at running back following four-star Aiden Gibson's commitment on May 12.