Clemson’s just-signed football recruits get head start at Gator Bowl. Here’s how
For a second straight season, a handful of Clemson football’s incoming recruits will get a head start on their college careers in Florida.
Coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday during his early signing day news conference that at least seven members of the team’s 2024 recruiting class will meet the team in Jacksonville and participate in bowl practices ahead of the Dec. 29 Gator Bowl vs. Kentucky.
The Tigers had a few 2023 recruits practice with the team ahead of the Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee last year after an NCAA rule change allowed recruits who are January college enrollees to practice ahead of their “initial enrollment” date.
These soon-to-be freshmen, of course, can’t participate in the actual game.
But there are plenty of benefits to joining Clemson a few weeks early, according to Swinney, who’s a fan of the rule change and said the team’s experience with it last year was “pretty cool.”
“They can’t play, but they can be a part of the process,” he said. “And that’s just really helpful because you go ahead and start getting some guys acclimated and start making the transition for them.”
Clemson signed 22 high school recruits to national letters of intent Wednesday and finished the day with the No. 12 class in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. Of those 22, 15 are mid-year enrollees, or early enrollees, and at least seven will be in Jacksonville. That list, per Swinney:
Five-star linebacker Sammy Brown
Four-star cornerback Corian Gipson
Four-star running back David Eziomume
Four-star cornerback Tavoy Feagin
Four-star safety Ricardo Jones
Three-star defensive tackle Champ Thompson
Three-star kicker Nolan Hauser
Preferred walk-on receiver Chase Byrd will also be on site. According to Swinney, five other mid-year enrollees are “maybes” and might make it down for bowl practices: offensive linemen Elyjah Thurmon, Mason Wade and Watson Young; defensive end Adam Kissayi; and safety Noah Dixon.
Some of Clemson’s incoming freshmen are already reaping the benefits of exposure to their future program. Thompson, a defensive lineman, is already on campus and got to spend time with Tyler Davis, a four-team All-ACC defensive tackle set to play his final game with the Tigers.
“For him to have a couple of days of the week with Tyler Davis, I mean, that’s pretty cool,” Swinney said. “A guy who he’s not gonna be able to play with but to be able to learn from him a few days, I think, is great.”
Last year, ahead of Clemson’s 31-14 loss to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, five incoming freshmen practiced with the team in the Miami area: defensive backs Khalil Barnes and Shelton Lewis; defensive linemen Vic Burley and Stephiylan Green; and offensive tackle Ian Reed.
That’s thanks to NCAA bylaw 14.2.1.1, which states that a student-athlete may “practice during the official vacation period immediately preceding initial enrollment” as long as they’ve been accepted by their future school for enrollment, aren’t actively enrolled in high school (in other words, they’ve graduated) and are eligible under all school and NCAA requirements.
Early enrollee players used to be able to practice with their future teams on campus ahead of bowl games, but they could not travel to bowl games and practice on site there. That NCAA rule had been in place since at least 2016, The State previously reported. Swinney said last year that Clemson had a few early enrollees take part in on-campus practices in that time.
Now, the Tigers can offer a second group of recruits an extra head start.
“It’s not a huge group,” Swinney said. “They’re not all there for the bowl. But a bunch of them are: I think seven or eight guys are coming in. We’ll get started right away. You can start teaching individually, start learning and start getting to know people.”
