Clemson adds commitment from quarterback recruit. Here are the details
Clemson football has landed a new quarterback commitment.
Four-star 2027 quarterback Kharim Hughley has committed to play for the Tigers and coach Dabo Swinney, he told Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports/Rivals on Thursday.
Hughley (5-11, 190) picked Clemson over Illinois, Georgia and Florida.
Hughley received a Clemson offer less than a week ago and is the team’s first 2027 QB commit. He is a rising junior at Gainesville (Georgia) High School and ranks as the No. 14 quarterback and No. 190 overall recruit in 247Sports’ Composite rankings.
Hughley coincidentally attends the same high school as Clemson legend Deshaun Watson, the star quarterback who led the Tigers to the 2016 national championship.
As a sophomore starter in 2024, Hughley completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns against two interceptions (254.3 yards per game). He also rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns for Gainesville (7-4).
Hughley is Clemson’s second 2027 pledge. He joins Jefferson (Georgia) four-star linebacker Max Brown, the younger brother of current Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown. Their class won’t formally sign with Clemson until December 2026.
Hughley’s commitment comes on the heels of the Tigers offering scholarships to three different 2027 quarterbacks — Hughley, Thompson (Alabama) four-star Trent Seaborn and North Cobb (Georgia) four-star Teddy Jarrard — on June 5.
Clemson had extended its first 2027 quarterback offer to Evangel (Louisiana) Christian Academy four-star Peyton Houston in early June. But Southern Cal had recently been projected as the favorite for Houston, a top 100 national recruit.
How new commitment impacts Clemson QB room
Clemson, Swinney and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley will be navigating a very different QB situation after senior Cade Klubnik’s final season.
Backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina, a highly regarded recruit who will wind up sitting behind Klubnik for three years, will be the favorite to start in 2026 and have two years of eligibility left. Vizzina was the No. 6 QB in his recruiting class.
The Tigers, who did not sign a high school quarterback recruit for 2024, will also have 2025 signee Chris Denson (who’s expected to redshirt this season) and two true freshman quarterbacks in Tait Reynolds and Brock Bradley on the 2026 roster.
Clemson generally takes one quarterback per class, but taking two in 2026 makes some sense considering the Tigers did not take a QB in 2024 and the fact that Reynolds also plans to play baseball at Clemson.
Barring any transfers, Hughley would give Clemson five scholarship quarterbacks to work with in 2027 (Vizzina, Denson, Reynolds, Bradley and himself).
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
