Pitt at Clemson: Recruiting Comparison

Ahead of the matchup between the Pitt Panthers and Clemson Tigers, All Clemson takes a look at each teams depth chart from a recruiting standpoint.

Pitt comes to Clemson this weekend looking to knock off the Tigers for the second time in a row in Death Valley. Clemson has not lost at home since the last time the Panthers visited back in November of 2016, a 43-42 loss that was one of the biggest upsets in all of college football that year. 

This Clemson team comes in at 7-1, ranked third in the CFP Rankings, and just looking to finally get back on the field. After having last weekends game with Florida State postponed at the last minute, the Tigers have not played since the double-overtime loss to Notre Dame on November 7. 

Pitt comes in at 5-4, but just 1-2 on the road, and the Panthers are coming off a 47-14 win over Virginia Tech, despite missing 16 players due to safety protocols. 

This Pitt team is solid on both sides of the ball. They play an aggressive style of defense and lead the nation in sacks, but are also capable of putting some points on the board behind quarterback Kenny Pickett. 

Recruiting Comparison:

Quarterback

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Trevor Lawrence	2018  5*	1	1 (No. 6 All-Time)
Kenny Pickett	2017  3*	33	738

Lawrence will not have played in five weeks by the time this one kicks off. That's an awfully long time to be off for a quarterback and it's fair to question whether there will be some rust to knock off. In his second game back from injury, Pickett looked good last weekend in the win over Virginia Tech, throwing for over 400 yards with a couple of touchdowns.

Advantage: Clemson

Running Back

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Travis Etienne	2017  4*	15	213
Vincent Davis	2019  3*	52	856

Etienne's numbers might be down but he's still averaging almost 80-yards per game and more than 5 YPC. And he can beat you in a multitude of ways. Pitt goes with more of a committee approach but Davis leads the way, averaging about 40 yards per contest, on a dozen carries per game. However, Eitenne is one of the best backs in the nation.

Advantage: Clemson

Wide Receiver:

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
EJ Williams (Clemson)	2020  4*	13	69
Amari Rodgers	2017  4*	16	117
Cornell Powell	2016  4*	30	169
Shocky Jacques-Loius (Pitt)	2018  3*	87	531
Jared Wayne	2019  3*	178	1508
Jordan Addison	2020  4*	10 (ATH)	275

Dabo Swinney announced on Wednesday that Joseph Ngata will be out for at least a couple of weeks. Frank Ladson Jr. is still out too, meaning the coaches will either do some shuffling, with Brannon Spector starting in the slot or could freshman E.J. Williams be in line to make his first career start. Despite the injuries, the Tigers still have former blue-chip players in at least two spots, and will have two former Top-120 players in the rotation. There's also the fact that Powell is currently by far playing the best football of his career.

Advantage: Clemson

Tight End

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
Braden Galloway (Clemson)	2018  3*	41	858
Daniel Moraga (Pitt)	2019  3* (JUCO)	13	211

While Moraga was rated higher with the recruiting services, it is Galloway who has been more productive this season. Not to mention the Tigers also have Davis Allen they like to use. The two have combined to catch 30 passes this season while Moraga has just four.

Advantage: Clemson

Offensive Line

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
LT Jackson Carman (Clemson)	2018  5*	1	17
LG Matt Bockhorst	2017  4*	17	240
C Cade Stewart	2016  3*	163	2021
RG Will Putnam	2019  4*	5	101
RT Jordan McFadden	2018  3*	66	819
LT Carter Warren (Pitt)	2017  3*	48	454
LG Bryce Hargrove	2016  3*	69	1478
C Jimmy Morrissey	2016  Unranked	Unranked	Unranked
RG Jake Kradel	2018  3*	29	682
RT Gabe Houy	2017  3*	109	1165

The Tigers have three former blue-chip players along the offensive line, including one former five-star. They have not quite lived up to expectations up to this point in the season, but Clemson still has the edge over a group of Pitt linemen full of players who weren't highly recruited.

Advantage: Clemson

Defensive Line

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
DE K.J. Henry (Clemson)	2018  5*	3	14
DT Tyler Davis	2019  4*	12	137
DT Bryan Bresee	2020  5*	1	1 (18 all-time)
DE  Myles Murphy	2020  5*	1	7
DE Patrick Jones II (Pitt)	2016  3*	59	1190
DT Tyler Bentley	2018  3*	72	1040
DT Devin Danielson	2018  3*	51	687
DE Rashad Weaver	2016  3*	93	1536

This Pitt defensive front can get after the quarterback. The Panthers lead the nation with 38 sacks and are second nationally with 4.75 sacks per game. And it all starts with that front four, Patrick Jones II in particular. However, this Clemson defensive line is pretty good too. The Tigers rank sixth nationally with 3.75 sacks per game. Also, Clemson gets Tyler Davis back and the big defensive tackle has been missed in recent weeks. These are two of the better defensive fronts in the country, but in this instance, the pure talent level gives the defending ACC Champions a slight edge.

Advantage: Clemson 

Linebacker

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
SAM Mike Jones Jr (Clemson)	2018  4*	15	210
MIKE Jake Venables	2018  3*	29	455
WILL Baylon Spector	2017  3*	45	609
LB Phil Campbell III (Pitt)	2016  3*	62 (Safety)	970
LB Chase Pine	2016  3*	41	579
LB Cam Bright	2017  3*	75	1157

Between the two teams, Mike Jones Jr is the only former blue-chip recruit. More proof that how a program develops its players matters as much as anything. Especially at linebacker. These are two solid linebacking groups, despite the fact that most weren't highly recruited. However, one player the Tigers are still missing is James Skalski and not having the quarterback of your defense on the field always hurts. 

Advantage: Clemson 

Secondary

Player	Class/Stars	Position Rank	Overall Rank
CB Derion Kendrick (Clemson)	2018  5*	4 (WR)	26
SS Lannden Zanders	2019  3*	61	781
FS Nolan Turner	2016  Unranked	Unranked	Unranked
CB Sheridan Jones	2019  4*	15	130
CB A.J. Woods (Pitt)	2019  3*	118 (ATH)	1465
SS Brandon Hill	2019  3*	50	645
FS Damar Hamlin	2016  4*	14	151
CB Jason Pinnock	2017  3*	150	1412

Clemson has more talent, while Pitt has a little more experience. To this point in the season though, the Panthers have been a tad better, while the Tigers have been prone to giving up the big play through the air.

Advantage: Pitt

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