Clemson picks up Class of 2022 commitment from four-star St. Louis defender
Cornerback Toriano Pride announced his commitment to Clemson on Friday.
Pride — from Lutheran North in St. Louis, Missouri — is ranked the 10th-best cornerback in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports and the fourth-best corner in the state of Missouri by Rivals. He took an unofficial visit to Clemson for the Elite Retreat on June 12. Pride’s offers include, but are not limited to, Mizzou, Georgia, Ohio State, Auburn, Alabama and Oregon, which , made up the four-star recruit’s top seven schools along with Clemson.
“I like how they run their program and I like how they’re family oriented. I really like (cornerbacks coach Mike) Reed and (defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent) Venables,” Pride said last month. “They can put me everywhere in the secondary because I’m dynamic. And if I go in and grind, there’s a good chance of playing early. I know I’ve got to go in and work for it, but I want to play early. I would love to get in the rotation and show what I can do. And if I go in there and do my thing, I hope I can get to play and get a starting spot eventually.”
The Missouri product became the Tigers’ third commit of the week, following safety Sherrod Covil on Thursday and kicker Robert Gunn on Monday. So far, Pride and Covil are the only defensive commits for Clemson among the rising senior class, with plenty more who have been offered but not yet decided.
In his junior season, Pride made 22 tackles with one interception for Lutheran North and will look to add to those numbers this fall.
Pride, whose father played football at Texas Christian University, is listed as 5-foot-11 and has been described as “one of the top match-and-mirror cornerbacks in the class of 2022” by 247Sports Southeast recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins.
Clemson currently has 12 defensive backs listed on the roster, led by super senior safety Nolan Turner. He returns for a sixth season after recording 66 tackles, eight for loss, three pass breakups and a team-leading three interceptions.
Phil Kornblut contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 1:00 PM.
