Clemson Loses Out on Coveted Four-Star Wide Receiver to Oklahoma

Clemson has seen another one of their top targets end up with a different school after the commitment by an elite 2025 wide receiver.

The logo of the Clemson Tigers is seen on a football helmet / Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Clemson got off to a good start in the class of 2025 recruiting cycle, having one of the top groups in the country during the early portion of the process.

With many elite players still uncommitted, the battle for the Tigers was to maintain their standing towards the top of the rankings by landing some of their targets still remaining on the board.

It seemed like Dabo Swinney and his staff were going to be able to do just that when they won a couple different processes and earned commitments over some other top programs in the country.

Unfortunately, things have slowed down a bit for Clemson.

That continued on Monday when one of their top remaining wide receiver targets announced where he was going to play college football, and it wasn't with the Tigers.

Cortez Mills, a four-star from the state of Florida, posted on social media that he will be joining Oklahoma.

"Oklahoma came in a little later than the other schools, but they recruited me hard, they got to know me and my family and that was important. The trust in the coaches me and my family have was a big part of my decision. We trust the people at Oklahoma and that was one of the most important things in my commitment," he told Chad Simmons of On3.

According to him, there was no real No. 2 choice behind the Sooners.

That's disappointing to hear for Clemson who brought in the 6-foot, 165-pounder for an official visit on May 31. They weren't overly involved with him on a visiting basis prior to his trip to Death Valley, so this might not be overly surprising for the staff.

However, this is another process they haven't seen go in their favor.

When it comes to recruiting, that is the most important thing for the Tigers considering their lack of activity in the transfer portal. For them to still be an elite program, they have to get top high school players from around the country onto their team.

There's still some time for them to close out this cycle strong and finish with one of the best 2025 classes in the nation, but they have to start winning some of these battles to accomplish that.