Signing day flip: Clemson safety recruit commits to Big Ten school
An expected Clemson football decommitment is now official.
Three-star 2026 safety Kaden Gebhardt has flipped his pledge from the Tigers to Ohio State and has signed with the Buckeyes on early national signing day, he announced Wednesday. Gebhardt had been committed to Clemson since March.
Ohio State also formally announced Gebhardt’s signing Wednesday.
The No. 546 recruit in the country, Gebhardt emerged as a flip target over the weekend, per multiple reports. He plays at Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio, which is 30 minutes away from OSU’s campus in Columbus.
The Tigers had already suffered three 2026 decommitments: Four-star defensive lineman Keeshawn Stancil (Miami), four-star edge Dre Quinn (Ohio State) and three-star safety Blake Stewart (Georgia).
Clemson also had seven players decommit last cycle.
Coach Dabo Swinney did not directly address Gebhardt during his national early signing day news conference Wednesday, but he did make a reference to recruits who will “decommit two weeks before signing.”
Gebhardt’s absence on Clemson’s Wednesday signing day materials was not a surprise to the program, which was already aware the flip was happening.
The safety recruit had previously been rock solid in his verbal commitment to Clemson. Gebhardt told The Clemson Insider website as recently as Oct. 31: ““I won’t be one of them. You don’t have to worry about me flipping.”
“To me, if you are not committed, then why are you committing?” Gebhardt told the website just over a month ago. “I just don’t get it. It is crazy. Everyone has a bad season once in a while. In life, not everything is going to be good.”
Speaking broadly, Swinney said he appreciated the commitment of his 2026 recruiting class (which ranks No. 18 nationally) amid Clemson’s worst season since 2010. The Tigers, a trendy preseason championship pick, finished 7-5 (4-4 ACC).
“That says a lot about who they are, because there’s not one person in this signing class that somebody didn’t try to talk out of coming to Clemson, that somebody didn’t talk negative about Clemson,” Swinney said. “The noise, it’s just deafening. ... But this group of young men and their families stuck with Clemson, and I just can’t say enough about what that says about who they are in this day and age.”
Gebhardt said he formally decommitted from Clemson on Tuesday morning.
“Ohio is where my heart is,” the safety said on a 247Sports livestream Wednesday after flipping. “It’s been my dream school since I was a little kid.”
Clemson football recent decommitments
Class of 2025 (7)
Four-star DL Isaiah Campbell (Tennessee)
Four-star DB Tae Harris (Georgia Tech)
Four-star DE Bryce Davis (Duke)
Four-star CB Graceson Littleton (Texas)
Four-star DB Jordan Young (Michigan)
Fou-star QB Blake Hebert (Notre Dame)
Three-star OL Jaylan Beckley (Oklahoma State)
Class of 2026 (4)
Four-star DL Keshawn Stancil (Miami)
Four-star DE Dre Quinn (Ohio State)
Three-star DB Blake Stewart (Georgia)
Three-star DB Kaden Gebhardt (Ohio State)
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 11:18 AM.
