Clemson has all position needs met ahead of signing day ... except one
After the early signing period in December, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney noted five positions the Tigers would pursue ahead of February’s signing day: running back, defensive line, linebacker, safety and cornerback.
In less than two months, Swinney and his staff have secured verbal commitments from:
▪ cornerback Myles Oliver — check:
▪ safety Kylon Griffin — check;
▪ defensive lineman Jahiem Lawson — check; and
▪ linebacker Kobe McCloud — check.
For good measure, the Tigers also picked up another wide receiver in Cole Turner, the younger brother of former six-year safety Nolan Turner, while also dipping into the transfer portal to bring back quarterback Hunter Johnson, who spent the last four seasons with Northwestern.
The only thing missing from Swinney’s list is a running back. The February signing period begins Wednesday.
The position quickly became one of need during the season when Lyn-J Dixon (West Virginia) and Michel Dukes (South Florida) opted to transfer. As a result, the plan to redshirt freshman Phil Mafah went out the window, and he found a spot in the team’s running back rotation. That came in handy when Will Shipley and Kobe Pace each had to miss time with either an injury or COVID-19 protocol.
Sixth-year senior Darien Rencher also saw time on the field to help carry some of the load. He’s officially out of eligibility now, which leaves Pace, Shipley and Mafah as the team’s scholarship options.
While Clemson doesn’t have a verbal commitment from a running back, it’s not for lack of effort. The team offered five players, which included Trevor Etienne, the younger brother of former Clemson great and ACC all-time leading rusher Travis Etienne. The Louisiana native had Clemson among his final schools but chose Florida.
“Clemson family appreciate everything hopefully I can still be treated like family,” Trevor Etienne tweeted on Jan. 8 when he made his decision during the All-American Bowl.
After losing out on another Etienne, Clemson moved its attention to Andrew Paul, a three-star recruit from Parish Episcopal School in Dallas. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound running back took his official visit to Clemson on Jan. 21 and is scheduled to make his decision at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, per Brian Perroni of 247Sports.
The Tigers also have an offer extended to Keith Adams Jr., an unranked running back from Pine View High School in St. George, Utah. Adams has Clemson in his top four choices, along with Air Force, Marshall and South Florida, and will make his announcement Wednesday as well.
There’s room for hope that, should neither running back commit to Clemson, the Tigers would target a transfer at the position. According to 247Sports, there are currently over 70 running backs in the portal, so there aren’t a lack of options.
The top running backs in the portal include Sean Dollars, formerly of Oregon; Andrew VanBuren (Boise State); and Bentavious Thompson (Central Florida). Dollars was a four-star recruit, the second-ranked all-purpose back in the Class of 2019 and attended Mater Dei High School, the rival of St. John Bosco where Tigers wide receiver Beaux Collins and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei attended. VanBuren and Thompson were three-star recruits from California and Florida, respectively.
“The portal, that’s a never-ending deal,” Swinney said on the early signing day on Dec. 15. “We evaluate that every single day. We’ve looked at a lot of kids, but again, it’s got to be the right fit for us. ... Most the kids in the portal are guys that aren’t playing where they are and there’s obviously exceptions to that, but we feel good about our roster, where we are right now.
“We’re certainly going to start with the high school player, and if we have a gap at a certain position from maybe a youth standpoint or injury standpoint, then we’ll keep all options open — but that’s not just now. That’s all the way, really til May, because the portal’s open for business until May 1. That could be something we have to deal with all the way til then.”
Clemson is still in play for four-star defensive lineman Caden Story. Landing him would give add to the unit’s riches after it returned Xavier Thomas and KJ Henry, both of whom had the option of turning pro. The Tigers will also get a healthy Bryan Bresee back this fall. New Clemson defensive tackles coach Nick Eason has played a significant part in recruiting Story, who was committed to Auburn and decommitted shortly after Eason left to come back to his alma mater.
As it stands now, Clemson’s recruiting class ranks 11th nationally and second in the ACC behind North Carolina, which is No. 9 in the nation. The rankings fall second to addressing need, though, and Swinney still has to get a running back left before he can check off all his metaphorical boxes ahead of Wednesday’s signing day.
