Clemson football gets commit No. 4 out of cookout event

Make it four commitments for Clemson coming out of the All-In Cookout Friday night.

Sunday afternoon Riverside, Mo. defensive lineman Etinosa Reuben (6-foot-3, 275 pounds) committed to the Tigers over Ohio State and Wisconsin. He joins fellow 2019 class members Joseph Ngata and LaVonta Bentley, plus 2020 linebacker Sergio Allen as weekend commitments for the Tigers.

Clemson was not the front runner going into the weekend as Reuben was making his first ever visit to the campus. That was perceived as Ohio State. In fact, Reuben said last week he didn’t know Clemson had much interest in him until a recruiter came through his school during the evaluation period and offered. From there, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive line coach Todd Bates put the recruiting rush on him.

“It was right after my meeting with Coach Swinney,” he said. “We just talked about how he could see me fitting in and my role in the future. I just like the plan that we had set. I’ve been hearing them say that they could play me anywhere.”

Reuben had his family with him on the visit and that made his first experience on the Clemson campus all the more meaningful.

“When I stepped on campus, everybody felt sincere. I was immediately taken in by all of the commits and all of the coaches,” Reuben said. “Me and Coach (Todd) Bates’ relationship is really tight. Me, him and Coach V talk almost every day.”

Last season Reuben had 55 tackles and five sacks. He’s the second defensive lineman to commit and the 21st overall for the 2019 class.

This story was originally published July 29, 2018 at 8:05 PM.