Tiger Tracker: All Clemson Recruiting Mailbag

Each week All Clemson tackles your recruiting questions.

You've got recruiting questions and we have the answers.

Welcome to All Clemson's recruiting mailbag, where we will answer your recruiting questions each week. 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

Neal: The past 2 years Clemson has appeared to miss out on playmakers at WR and RB. I know players like Sammy Watkins and Travis Etienne don’t come every year, but we haven’t signed many playmakers lately. What are the reasons? 

Not sure I agree with that assessment. In the past two recruiting cycles (2021-22) Clemson has signed a number of guys that could be considered playmakers, and at both positions.

In 2021, the Tigers signed WRs Beaux Collins, Dacari Collins and Troy Stellato. All three were blue-chip prospects and Top-200 talents, with Beaux Collins ranking No. 21 overall in the SI99. Not a bad class of receivers at all.

2021 was also when Clemson signed both Phil Mafah and Will Shipley, and again both were Top-200 talents, with Shipley ranking No. 28 overall in the SI99. You'd be hard-pressed to find a program that signed a better duo of backs in that class.

In 2022, Adam Randall and Antonio Williams were the two receivers signed. Randall ranked No. 36 overall in the SI99 and Williams was considered by many to be one of the ten best wideouts in the class. Again, not a bad haul of receivers.

Clemson did suffer a couple of misses at RB in the 2022 class. For most of the cycle, the coaching staff targeted Trevor Etienne, a blue-chip prospect and Top-200 talent. However, at the end of the day, Etienne decided he did not want to play at the same school his older brother, Travis, experienced so much success, and signed with Florida, where he can attempt to blaze his own path.

The staff quickly moved on to Andrew Paul after the early signing period, but also missed on him, and would eventually sign Keith Adams Jr, who will very likely need some time to develop.

It's also easy to lose sight of the fact that at the start of the 2022 cycle, Clemson was over its number (5) of running backs the staff typically likes to carry. Coming out of the spring, there were six backs on the roster. Then Chez Mellusi transferred out. Due to the crowded room, it wasn't all that surprising. 

What was a little surprising were the midseason departures of Lyn-J Dixon and Michel Dukes. Originally having so many backs on the roster allowed the staff to be extremely selective, hence waiting so long on Etienne. The transfers really shook things up from a roster standpoint and came at a time in the cycle when many of the top-flight backs were already committed elsewhere.

As for the 2023 class, we can revisit that at the end of the cycle. However, as for the past two classes, I think the Tigers signed a number of 2021 players that I would already call playmakers and a couple of more 2022 players that absolutely have the potential to become big-time playmakers in this offense. 

Joel: How many more from each position is Clemson looking to get this cycle?

• QB- 0
• RB- 1
• WR- 1
• TE- 0
• OL- 1 (a tackle)
• DE: 1-2
• DT: 1-2
• LB: 0
• S: 1-2
• CB: 1 (Possibly)

Mike: What is going to be the total size of this class and is the staff done at OL?

Clemson's 2023 class currently has 16 commitments. I think the final number ends up somewhere between 23-26, depending on how things play out. See my answer above for spots that still have to be filled.

As for being done along the offensive line, the answer is no. While Thomas Austin has absolutely knocked his first recruiting class out of the park, picking up commitments from blue-chip prospects Ian Reed, Zechariah Owens and Harris Sewell, the staff would still like to add another tackle, although I don't think they will add one just to add one. It would have to be the right guy. 

Right now, the Tigers are still waiting to see how things play out with Stanton Ramil, the 6-foot-7, 310-pound teammate of DL target Peter Woods. Tennessee, Penn State, Michigan State and Auburn are all in on the Top-200 talent as well. I wouldn't call Clemson the favorite at this point, though. With both Monroe Freeling and Markee Anderson both trending in opposite directions, it will be interesting to see the staff's next move if Ramil does indeed commit elsewhere. 

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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