Clemson football rounds out 2022 recruiting class with busy day, eight new signees
Dabo Swinney was still waiting for one more decision.
Clemson’s head football coach had already signed just about everyone when he spoke to the media around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, but he was hoping the Tigers would add one final piece to round out the 2022 recruiting class. Montgomery Catholic Prep four-star linebacker TJ Dudley delivered over two hours later, choosing Clemson over Oregon, Texas and Alabama, among others.
Dudley joins high school teammate and three-star safety Kylon Griffin as future Tigers, bringing Clemson’s recruiting class to 21 players. That includes graduate transfer quarterback Hunter Johnson, who is back for his second stint with the program.
The class size is normal for what Swinney has signed in the past, but the amount of signees in February — eight — is more than the Tigers have had in recent years. Clemson in recent years has wrapped up much of the class in December, but that wasn’t the case this cycle. Still, coaches made the most of the remaining recruiting pool to fill out the class.
“I do believe this group will be another special group that will help us continue to be a great program on and off the field in everything we do, help us to be consistent in everything that we do,” Swinney said. “The objective is to add talent and depth to your roster. That’s always critical to fulfill the specific needs that you have, and I think this class has been able to do that.”
According to 247Sports, Clemson is 11th among team rankings nationally for 2022 recruiting and second in the ACC. With nine signees already on campus, the coaching staff will have to wait for the summer for the others to arrive.
Biggest get: Caden Story, DL
At this point, Clemson has a wealth of riches at defensive line and added to it with Caden Story, a 6-foot-3, 282-pound signee from Alabama. He’s the 10th-ranked player in the state and a top 30 defensive lineman nationally.
What’s more is that it’s an immediate payoff for Swinney hiring defensive tackles coach Nick Eason, who left Auburn to come back to his alma mater. Eason had built a relationship with Story, and the latter had verbally committed to Auburn. Upon Eason’s departure, Story decommitted and opted to follow Eason to be part of the South Carolina-based Tigers program.
Swinney called Story a taller version of former Tiger DJ Reader, who will be competing for the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl on Feb. 13.
“He’s that sneaky, athletic, going to be big, man,” the Tigers’ head coach added. “He’s got this mentality that you can’t teach. It’s just been instilled in him. He is a big kid that can absolutely move.”
While Story might not see playing time right away as a freshman, he’ll have the opportunity to learn from standout players like Bryan Bresee, Clemson’s second-ever ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, who’s returning from a season-ending ACL injury.
“This has the chance to be as good as we’ve ever had in this defensive line, if they work and do what they need to do to play and perform at the level they’re capable of,” Swinney said. “I think front-line guys, they’ve got some similarities, but this group’s got a chance to have deeper depth, deeper, experienced depth (than in 2018). This kid coming in, having the opportunity to learn from Bryan, learn from Tyler (Davis) and Ruke (Orhorhoro) and those guys. He’s a big get for us for sure.”
Underrated get: Jahiem Lawson, DE
Thanks to family ties, Swinney has known DW Daniel High School three-star defensive end Jahiem Lawson for much of his life. Swinney’s youngest son, Clay, played with Lawson at Daniel. They’ll be teammates again at Clemson, with Clay walking on. Lawson’s older brother, Shaq, also played for Swinney (2013-15).
Swinney has seen the younger Lawson’s development and challenged him to take his game to another level for his final prep campaign, and he did. Listed at 6-4, 230 pounds, he totaled 75 tackles (25 for loss), 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, two blocked kicks, two pass breakups, an interception, a fumble recovery and two touchdowns, helping the Lions to a second straight state championship.
“He’s much more refined than Shaq was coming out simply because he’s had an example for a long time,” Swinney said. “He’s got a chance. He’ll be a true edge guy. He’s got a chance to be a good player if he’ll continue to put the work in.”
Much like Story, he likely won’t play right away, but can use his first year to learn and develop. That way, when his time comes, he can follow in the footsteps of former Tigers like his brother, who was a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Clemson recruits: Class of 2022 signees
December signees
- Cade Klubnik, quarterback
- Antonio Williams, wide receiver
- Adam Randall, wide receiver
- Josh Sapp, tight end
- Collin Sadler, offensive lineman
- Blake Miller, offensive lineman
- Toriano Pride, cornerback
- Jeadyn Lukus, cornerback
- Wade Woodaz, safety
- Sherrod Covil, safety
- Robert Gunn, kicker
- Jackson Smith, punter
February signees
- Hunter Johnson, quarterback (transfer)
- Keith Adams Jr., running back
- Kylon Griffin, safety
- Cole Turner, wide receiver
- Jahiem Lawson, defensive end
- Myles Oliver, cornerback
- Kobe McCloud, linebacker
- Caden Story, defensive lineman
- TJ Dudley, linebacker
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 8:17 PM.
