Clemson football has a gap in its 2023 class. Could this new recruit fill it?
Clemson football’s 2023 recruiting class has plenty of talent: a coveted quarterback, four top-100 prospects and 17 players who rank as four- or five-star talents.
It also has zero running backs.
The Tigers took their latest swing at filling what’s emerged as a lingering hole in the nation’s No. 8 class of 2023 when they offered three-star South Paulding (Ga.) High School running back Jamarion Wilcox over the weekend.
Wilcox, the No. 58 running back in the class and No. 871 recruit nationally, attended Clemson’s Saturday night win against Louisiana Tech and announced his offer Sunday afternoon, writing on Twitter that he was “beyond blessed” to receive it.
Wilcox’s offer places him in the immediate spotlight when it comes to Clemson running back recruiting, considering the program has only offered one other uncommitted tailback per 247Sports and that recruit, Christopher Johnson, is considered a heavy Miami lean.
Clemson had offered Johnson in July after failing to gain much traction with top 100 recruits Richard Young (Alabama), Justice Haynes (Alabama) and Cedric Baxter Jr. (Texas) and missing on four-star Jeremiah Cobb, who had Clemson as one of three finalists but chose Auburn.
Johnson, a four-star recruit from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has picked up two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions to choose Miami this month after visiting for consecutive Hurricanes home games.
With the December early signing period under three months away, the Tigers have now turned some focus toward Wilcox, who’s getting attention from other top schools during a breakout senior season.
In four games for South Paulding, Wilcox has 88 carries for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s averaging 9.9 yards per carry and 218.8 yards per game and seems well on his way to surpassing last year’s career-best 1,534 yards and 23 touchdowns.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior also wrestles for South Paulding, which competes in Georgia’s second largest high school classification.
Wilcox visited N.C. State (one of the first Power Five schools to offer him), Louisville, Kentucky and Florida State over the summer, according to On3 Sports, and has been communicating with Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State this fall.
That top-tier recruiting programs are reaching out to Wilcox are both a nod toward his talents despite a three-star ranking and the fact he’s an uncommitted running back prospect in a class that has very few of them right now.
Only two of the top 25 and six of the top 60 running back recruits in the country are uncommitted as of Monday, according to the 247Sports Composite, which factors in multiple websites’ rankings.
Clemson’s running backs are a position of strength this year with sophomore Will Shipley starring and junior Kobe Pace and sophomore Phil Mafah backing him up.
But long-term depth is a concern for coach Dabo Swinney and running backs coach CJ Spiller, especially considering Clemson’s similar running back recruiting struggles last year.
During the 2022 cycle, Clemson shot high and missed on top 100 recruits Emmanuel Henderson (Alabama) and Branson Robinson (Georgia) and couldn’t land Trevor Etienne, the younger brother of former Tigers star Trevor who’s now at Florida.
Clemson also had no luck with late riser Andrew Paul (Georgia) and ended the cycle with just one running back commit, three-star legacy recruit Keith Adams Jr. of Utah. The team also awarded former walk-on running back Domonique Thomas a scholarship in August.
In the 2023 class, Clemson’s lack of running back commits stands out in a group that’s otherwise well-rounded, with five-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina, five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods, four-star defensive lineman Vic Burley and four-star offensive lineman Harris Sewell rating as the top prospects.
Next Clemson game
Who: No. 5 Clemson (3-0) at No. 21 Wake Forest (3-0)
When: Saturday, noon (ABC)
Where: Truist Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Line: Clemson by 7
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 8:50 AM.
