The Clemson Insider has decided to take a relatively old concept and put a new spin on it. As we already introduced on our message board, TCI will field weekly recruiting mailbag questions, which will be answered in an article format. We’ll choose questions to answer and provide you with the most relevant information regarding Clemson recruiting.
Without further ado, we took a crack at answering some of your mailbag questions. It should be noted that the questions have been edited for clarity.
Q: Word was the majority of the NIL funds for the Clemson collectives early on were devoted to current players on the roster. I realize it will never be priority No. 1, but has there been any shift in utilizing incentives for active recruits now that the collectives are more established?
Collectives at Clemson will not be utilizing incentives for active recruits. The main and only focus has been to maximize the opportunities and the contributions that go to Clemson student-athletes while doing NIL the right way. Dear Old Clemson, a local Clemson collective, has now done over 100 NIL deals with Clemson student-athletes.
Of course, the opportunities that the collectives can present can be used as a recruiting pitch. Still, collectives will not be offering any incentives to any player or person that is not a current student-athlete at Clemson.
Q: How are we looking with [Kam] Pringle and [Josiah] Thompson for ‘24 OTs?
Our Gavin Oliver caught up with Josiah Thomspon back in August. At the time, the four-star offensive tackle out of Dillon (S.C.) High School informed The Clemson Insider that Clemson would “most definitely” be a top school for him throughout his process.
This was, of course, before Sept. 1 and Thomas Austin has since been in contact with the big-time in-state prospect. In previous conversations with The Clemson Insider, Thompson has spoken highly of Clemson’s offensive line coach, as the two continue to improve their relationship with each other.
Austin invited Thomspon to attend a game day at Memorial Stadium this fall. The plan is for Thomspon, who is ranked as high as the country’s No. 4 offensive tackle in the 2024 class by 247Sports, to make his way back to Tiger Town, but as of now, it remains to be seen which home game he and his family will attend.
As for Kam Pringle, the Palmetto State’s top-ranked prospect included Clemson in his top-10 schools, along with N.C. State, Tennessee, LSU, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia and Auburn.
When Clemson formally turned the page to offering prospects in the 2024 class on June 1 and started doling out offers to rising junior recruits, one of the first to report an offer from the Tigers was Pringle.
According to Pringle, Clemson let him know that he’s at the top of the board and it reinforced that he’s a priority target for them with him being an in-state offensive lineman.
I’d expect Pringle to be at the Clemson-N.C. State game next Saturday in The Valley.
Q: With offering [Jamarion] Wilcox, any chance that UGA tries to steal him away like they did last year with [Andrew] Paul? And did UGA really want Paul or just try to keep us from getting him?
After losing out on both Richard Young and Justice Haynes, Georgia and Kirby Smart are still in the market for a running back. Jamarion Wilcox, who hails from Douglasgivlle (Ga.) South Paulding High, is about an hour and a half down the road from Athens.
There is definitely interest on Georgia’s part, but Clemson remains a prime contender, along with Kentucky. There’s certainly a chance, but I’m sure Dabo Swinney and staff don’t want a repeat of what happened last year.
Georgia wanted Andrew Paul, as did a lot of other top schools who were late to his recruitment. There were those close to Paul’s recruitment, who thought the Bulldogs came in too late, but it’s hard to beat the allure of Georgia when you are a top running back prospect and a hot commodity at that.
I have a hard time seeing this play out like Paul did, but as we’ve come to learn, things are often fluid when it comes to recruiting.
Q: 2024 RB recruiting. Noticed that none of the Top 50 RBs have us listed in their favorites. Do you have any names we are looking at?
Two names have probably garnered the most attention from Clemson’s staff and that’s Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb four-star David Eziomume and Aiken (S.C.) Midland Valley four-star Traevon Dunbar.
Q: Now that Collins is leaving, does that mean we will go after another WR in ’23?
I wouldn’t rule it out, but right now, I’m more inclined to believe that Clemson is focused on the receivers in the class of 2024. Names like Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) four-star Alex Taylor, Burlington (N.C.) Hugh M. Cummings four-star Jonathan Paylor, Cass (Cartersville, Ga.) four-star Sacovie White and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star James Madison II.
Q: I saw from the team’s Facebook page over the summer that a Clemson coach had visited Lee County Ga HS. Can you tell me what player/players they are recruiting?
That would be 2024 four-star defensive lineman Omar White, who has since transferred to Valdosta.
Q: Sam, I saw chatter about Stephiylan Green being in attendance at the Georgia game. Will you have any news to report about that?
A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Rome (Georgia) four-star defensive lineman, Stephiylan Green, was in attendance for Clemson’s home opener against Furman at Memorial Stadium.
The news comes after Green was in attendance for Georgia’s 49-3 win over Oregon in Atlanta a week prior. While Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs are still pursuing the Clemson commit, it’s a positive development that Green was in attendance.
From what I understand, Georgia is still very involved here and it’s certainly a situation worth monitoring.
Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!
