In this week’s edition of The Insider Report, The Clemson Insider wanted to pass along the latest regarding some remaining class of 2023 targets for Clemson, as well as some updates on newly offered prospects in the 2024 class.
Following his decommitment from Kansas State this past week, rumors started to circulate that Derby (Kansas) four-star running back Dylan Edwards could presumably be an option for CJ Spiller and Clemson.
That looked to be the case when Clemson commits AJ Hoffler and Peter Woods began to tweet at Edwards about coming down to Tiger Town. After speaking with multiple sources, we can tell you that Hoffler, Woods and several others had begun to recruit Edwards on their own accord while trying to get Clemson’s coaches in the mix as well.
While there is interest from Clemson’s standpoint, Edwards may have already made up his mind about his next home. Following the timeline of events, Edwards announced an offer from Notre Dame on Wednesday, then proceeded to visit South Bend Thursday and later walked back his Kansas State pledge on Friday.
Unless something drastic changes, the expectation is that the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year will commit to Marcus Freeman’s program in the coming weeks, if not the coming days.
Staying on the offensive side of the ball, Clemson could theoretically use a fourth and final scholarship on an offensive lineman in this class.
Thomas Austin and the Tigers landed their most recent offensive line commitment on Monday, July 4, from Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Ga.) four-star Zechariah Owens, who joins a couple of other acclaimed offensive linemen in Clemson’s 2023 class — a pair of Lone Star State standouts in Permian High School (Odessa, Texas) four-star Harris Sewell and Vandegrift High School (Austin, Texas) four-star Ian Reed.
A name that came up in recent conversations with multiple sources is four-star DJ Chester, who is a high school teammate of Owens. Chester, who 247Sports considers to be the nation’s No. 6 tackle and No. 51 overall prospect in the 2023 class, has received extensive looks from programs like Auburn, LSU, Florida State, Michigan and Ole Miss.
In fact, the 6-foot-5, 305-pound offensive lineman was recently crystal balled to Brian Kelly’s program.
In any event, we’ve been told Chester is said to love the program. Whether Clemson still takes a fourth offensive lineman in the class remains to be seen.
Staying in the trenches, following Hunter Osborne’s commitment to the University of Alabama on Monday evening, Clemson’s full attention seems to be focused on North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) four-star defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.
McDonald was supposed to be at last week’s All In Cookout, but because of circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to attend. TCI was told that while several other Georgia high schoolers in Clemson’s commitment class received exceptions from their coaches to attend last Monday’s cookout, McDonald didn’t receive permission to go.
That doesn’t preclude him from visiting Clemson and possibly taking an official visit to a game this season. McDonald was crystal balled to Clemson over the weekend and the feeling remains that things are starting to heat up with the Peach State product.
Last but certainly not least, Clemson surprisingly doled out an offer to a Big Ten commit on Monday. Winton Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio) four-star defensive back Jeremaine Matthews, Jr. announced the offer via social media.
Matthews has been in consistent contact with Mike Reed, as the offer finally culminated Monday.
Clemson has one remaining defensive back spot open, which was seemingly reserved for Shelton Lewis following the All-In Cookout. With an Aug. 8 decision date looming, Clemson is said to be the leader in the clubhouse to land Lewis’s commitment.
In fact, TCI was told by a trusted source after Clemson offered Lewis, that the University of North Carolina, which has been deemed a favorite to land the Peach State defensive back after he walked back his Pitt pledge, feels like Clemson is going to land Lewis.
Whether that bears fruit come next Monday is anyone’s guess, but it’s still interesting that Clemson chose to move on Matthews. The Tigers weren’t the only program to offer Matthews on the first day of August, as Ole Miss also pulled the trigger on an offer.
At this point in time, Matthews told us that right now, he doesn’t really know if a visit to Clemson will materialize. There’s a lot going on right now and Clemson could also be full at the defensive back position if Lewis makes the expected move a week from today.
Update on top 2024 TE target
TCI checked back in to get the latest with the lone uncommitted tight end prospect in the 2024 class that owns an offer from the Tigers — Marian Central Catholic (Woodstock, Illinois) four-star Christian Bentancur.
The nation’s No. 4 tight end in his class per Rivals, Bentancur picked up the offer from Clemson on June 17, a couple of weeks after he competed in the first session of the Dabo Swinney Camp on June 1. He has since kept in touch with Clemson tight ends coach Kyle Richardson and the Tigers, who, according to Bentancur, have reiterated that “they are really interested” in him.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound rising junior told TCI he plans to return to Clemson sometime this winter and “can’t wait to get back” to Tiger Town.
Schools that Bentancur plans to visit this fall, he said, are Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Iowa State.
Bentancur, who boasts 30-plus total offers, is simply taking in the recruiting process right now and doesn’t claim any favorites at this point.
Where would he say the Tigers stand with him right now?
“I’m not sure how far up there Clemson is, but they are pretty high!” he said.
As a sophomore last season, Bentancur recorded 53 receptions for 1,165 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The latest on a highly touted corner with Clemson connection
TCI also caught up with another highly regarded prospect who was offered by Clemson this summer as well – Oscar Smith High School (Chesapeake, Va.) four-star cornerback Asaad Brown, who has a tie to Clemson’s football program in the form of a former Oscar Smith teammate – Sherrod Covil, Jr., now a freshman safety for the Tigers.
Brown — the No. 9 cornerback and No. 113 overall prospect in the 2024 class according to 247Sports — received an offer from the Tigers when he visited campus on June 9. He told TCI that he has talked to Mike Reed a couple of times lately and that his relationship with Clemson’s cornerbacks coach is “definitely” growing.
Brown gave us his thoughts on Reed, calling him a “great guy” and saying, “I can see myself getting developed by him.”
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound rising junior is “ready to see what Clemson’s going to do this year” and said he’s “definitely hoping” to get to Death Valley to watch the Tigers and his former teammate play this season.
“I’m going to definitely go support Sherrod,” Brown said, adding that he communicates regularly with Covil, whom Brown shares a close bond with.
“I would definitely like to see them run down the hill and experience that,” he added.
Other schools Brown said he thinks he’ll definitely make it to during the season are LSU, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Brown said the Tigers are one of the teams standing out to him as far as how hard they’re recruiting him.
After receiving the offer from Clemson, Brown, who holds three dozen total offers, told TCI that the Tigers were definitely in his top three.
Has anything changed since then about where Clemson stands with him?
“Nah,” he said. “They’re still there.”
— Photo for this article courtesy of @_kmcdonald55 on Instagram.
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