What are Clemson football’s top recruiting battles for the fall? Latest on the 2023 class
Clemson football assembled the majority of its 2023 recruiting class with a busy summer that saw 14 commitments across June and July.
But as the Tigers tackle preseason camp in earnest with their 2022 season opener under a month away, they’ve still made news with a couple of recruiting nuggets.
Here are four recent developments you may have missed surrounding Clemson’s 2023 class, which has 19 commitments and sits at No. 7 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
Momentum at WR
In its ongoing search for wide receiver recruits, Clemson has seized momentum in a big way with a Massachusetts athlete once considered a near lock for Notre Dame.
Early this week, five 247Sports insiders, including two at the national level, logged Crystal Ball predictions for four-star 2023 athlete Ronan Hanafin to wind up at Clemson.
That would be significant news for the Tigers, as wide receiver is their thinnest position within their 2023 class. Clemson’s only incoming commit there is four-star Texas receiver and No. 292 overall recruit Noble Johnson.
Hanafin checks in at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. The No. 18 athlete and No. 282 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite, he could play outside receiver, safety or linebacker in college. Clemson, naturally, is targeting him at the first position.
Hanafin’s a physical player who, outside of his defensive snaps, also plays lacrosse for Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He visited Clemson, Notre Dame, Alabama and nearby Boston College in June.
247Sports previously reported that Hanafin is planning on a preseason decision with those four aforementioned schools as finalists. His high school season starts in mid-September.
Another top DL?
The Tigers hold commitments from four defensive linemen who rank as four-star recruits or higher and continue to push for a fifth after missing on Hunter Osborne.
Four-star North Gwinnett (Ga.) defensive lineman Kayden McDonald is taking his recruitment into the fall, he told 247Sports, which gives Clemson a shot at securing a gameday official or unofficial visit.
Other top contenders for McDonald, the nation’s No. 42 defensive lineman and No. 202 recruit, are Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Clemson holds McDonald’s sole Crystal Ball prediction to date. The 6-3, 310-pound lineman recorded 19 sacks and 15 quarterback hurries during an all-state junior season.
RB happenings
Florida speedster and No. 376 recruit Christopher Johnson remains Clemson’s top target at the running back position, where it currently has zero commits.
Johnson, a four-star running back and state champion in track and field, decommitted from Rutgers in April and is now aiming for a late fall decision after his official visits, he said.
Unsurprisingly, Miami is the team to beat here. The Hurricanes are surging under first-year coach Mario Cristobal, assembling the No. 9 class in the country, and are heavy favorites to land Johnson’s commitment on 247Sports, On3 Sports and Rivals.
Ole Miss has also emerged as a realistic landing spot for Johnson.
Two new pledges
Shelton Lewis gave Clemson some cornerback depth Monday when the three-star Stockbridge (Ga.) recruit committed to the Tigers over UNC.
Lewis, the No. 97 cornerback and No. 988 recruit in the class, is Clemson’s third commit at the position. The former Pittsburgh pledge joins four-star recruits Aveion Terrell and Branden Strozier.
He is also Clemson’s second consecutive 2023 commit in the secondary, as three-star Milton (Ga.) safety Robert Billings chose Clemson on July 31. Billings is the No. 57 safety and No. 667 recruit in the class.
