Clemson football loses seventh commitment in the 2025 recruiting class

Clemson loses another commitment in their 2025 class.

Clemson football has its seventh decommitment in the 2025 recruiting class, as the worrisome trend for the Tigers continues.

Four-star safety Jordan Young, an early commitment this month for the Tigers, has flipped to Michigan. The Wolverines were one of his finalists with NC State.  Four-star safety Tae Harris also decommitted from Clemson to Georgia Tech a few days earlier, and now neither safety pledge is committed to the class.

The decommitments have been quite a trend for Clemson. Seven of them, really, since August. But even more alarming is the fact they are losing four Top 100 prospects. That’s half. The 2025 class has lost offensive lineman Jaylan Beckley, defensive end Bryce Davis, defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell, quarterback Blake Hebert, cornerback Graceson Littleton, cornerback Tae Harris and safety Jordan Young.

Recruiting has not looked good for the Tigers of late.

Clemson football flips recruit, lands class of 2025 QB Chris Denson

Clemson flips a class of 2025 quarterback.

With Cade Klubnik expected to return for his senior year in 2025, the Clemson Tigers have added some depth to their quarterback room for 2026.

On Tuesday, Dabo Swinney’s Tigers flipped class of 2025 QB Chris Denson, a three-star recruit from Plant City (Fla.) High School that had previously committed to Coastal Carolina.

Denson is currently ranked the 27th-best quarterback recruit in the nation for the class of 2025 by On3. Listed as 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Denson had received offers from South Florida, Florida Atlantic and the Pitt Panthers.

Back in October, class of 2025 four-star quarterback Blake Hebert flipped his Clemson pledge to Notre Dame. After Hebert decommitted, Swinney reiterated the Tigers’ plan to recruit a quarterback with each class.

“We try and take a quarterback every year,” Swinney said. “We love the three quarterbacks we have. They are pretty good. Very few people have three quarterbacks they can win with. If you’ve got three quarterbacks today that you can win with, you’re in good shape.

“We didn’t take one in ’24 because that was our plan with (Christopher Vizzina),” Swinney added. “He was 17. Hey, here’s kind of the plan and it’s kind of working out really good. He’s a very good player and gonna be really good I think.”

With the addition of Denson, Clemson now has 14 recruits for the class of 2025, which is currently ranked No. 19 nationally by On3, No. 25 by ESPN and No. 26 by 247Sports.

Over the weekend, the Tigers suffered a big blow to their 2025 class when four-star cornerback Tae Harris flipped from Clemson to ACC rival Georgia Tech.

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Clemson lands commitment from four-star linebacker Logan Anderson

Logan Anderson is the Tigers’ 15th commitment in the 2025 recruiting class.

Clemson added to an already impressive 2025 recruiting class Friday with the commitment of four-star linebacker Logan Anderson (Fyffe High School, Ala.).

Listed as 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Anderson made the announcement in a social media post to X. He chose Clemson over offers from Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas and others.

“It’s a family program. It is a dedicated team and they are about the right things. Family. It’s not about clicks and money. They are about what football should be about, not like all these other schools. That is what I like about it,” Anderson told The Clemson Insider in June after attending Dabo Swinney’s high school summer camp.

Anderson is the 15th player to commit to Clemson in the 2025 recruiting class and the first linebacker. His commitment follows that of four-star defensive lineman Bryce Davis, who committed to the Tigers on Saturday.

Rivals ranks Anderson as a four-star recruit while both 247Sports and On3 have him as a three-star player. On3 ranks the Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class No. 6 overall while 247Sports has Clemson’s class at No. 10.

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Where Clemson ranks in ESPN’s updated college football 2025 recruiting class rankings

Clemson’s 2025 class remains among the best in the country.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program have had an interesting 2025 recruiting cycle. 

The Tigers stormed out the gates, landing multiple big-time recruits that landed the program among the Top five recruiting rankings. Over the past couple of months, however, Clemson recruiting has been rather quiet. Once on a wild trajectory with this class, Clemson is back around where it’s been the past few seasons. 

It’s not a bad thing, as Clemson as done a great job with their recent recruiting classes. The most recent 2023 class was one of the top performing freshman classes in the country. It’s just not where the Tigers could have been. 

Recently, ESPN updated their Top 25 recruiting rankings (subscription required), with Clemson staying put at No. 11 in the country. 

Despite ranking just 15th for the 2024 cycle, the Tigers have already checked several boxes in 2025 with big commitments at multiple positions. Davidson and in-state prospect Marquise Henderson are a pair of key running back pledges. Davidson, a top-five running back, runs with a nice blend of size, speed and power. He posted impressive numbers as a junior, rushing for 2,700 yards and 43 touchdowns. Henderson is more slightly built at roughly 5-10, 170 pounds, but has explosive, big-play speed. He rushed for more than 2,300 yards as a junior. Four-star quarterback Blake Hebert missed most of his junior season with an injury, but he has good size, he has a smooth and compact delivery, and he moves well and extends plays.

Clemson landed several defensive linemen ranked in the ESPN 300. Watford is a lengthy player with good initial quickness who can develop into a disruptive edge rusher. In the trenches, Clemson landed defensive tackle Amare Adams, the top-ranked player in South Carolina. The Tigers also pulled tackle Isaiah Campbell out of neighboring North Carolina. Campbell has a big frame and good movement skills. One-time Georgia commit Tae Harris is a nice addition to the secondary. He projects to safety, but he’s versatile enough to play corner. He posted some of the top numbers on the spring camp circuit, including a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash.

There’s not a full update on the Tigers, with them failing to mention the Tigers’ most recent commitment, 4-star defensive lineman Bryce Davis. According to 247 Sports composite rankings, Davis is the No. 59 overall player and No. 8 defensive lineman in the class.

With that huge class addition, it looks a lot better. The biggest issue is the discrepancy between the Tigers’ offense and defense in the class. They have successfully recruited a lot more talent on defense than offense. 

It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of this recruiting cycle goes for the Tigers.

Rowan Byrne, a 4-star offensive lineman, breaks down his Clemson commitment

Clemson Byrne talks about his Clemson football commitment.

Rowan Byrne committed to Clemson on Thursday. A four-star recruit, Byrne is one of the top interior offensive linemen in the nation.

Byrne, an offensive lineman at Ioan Prep (New Rochelle, New York) is a significant pick-up for Clemson. He is ranked a four-star and the No. 18 interior offensive lineman in the nation by Rivals.

The 2025 recruiting class now stands third in the nation for Clemson according to 247Sports with 13 commits.

Byrne committed to Clemson from an offer list that includes e is among the most highly-recruited offensive linemen in the nation Baylor, Boston College, Duke, Florida StateMichiganNotre DameOhio State and Rutgers among others.

“It really came down to the culture and fit at Clemson,” Byrne told USA TODAY High School Sports following his commitment.

“I fit in so well with the players there – the family feel between everyone there is unmatched. I know Clemson is a place I will be developed in all aspects and to fit in that well there it just made sense for me to go to Clemson. There wasn’t a reason I could think of not to go to Clemson.”

Byrne took an official visit to Clemson last weekend. The trip cemented the program atop his recruitment.

Clemson was his last Power Five offer, coming in for Byrne in late May.

He has canceled all other official visits and is locked in at Clemson.

“For me, Clemson was the right choice because of the culture and how great of a fit it was for me as a person,” Byrne said.

“To be able to have that fit and compete for championships is hard to turn down.”

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4-star Sunshine State safety announces Clemson offer

An elite safety has announced an offer from the Tigers.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers did an excellent job recruiting in the 2023 class, and they are looking to translate that success into their 2024 and 2025 classes.

Tuesday night, a top-tier safety in the 2025 class, Mandarin High School (Jacksonville, Fla.) four-star Hylton “Drake” Stubbs, announced via Twitter/X that he has received an offer from the Tigers. A strong target for this Clemson team that’s secondary has looked great this season.

According to 247Sports composite rankings, Stubbs is the No.5 safety and the No.51 overall player in the 2025 class. He is the No.8 player in the state of Florida, which is well known for producing talent.

We now wait for a further update from Stubbs on whether or not the Tigers make his first cut.

Social media reacts: Clemson’s annual cookout

A look at how commits reacted to Clemson’s annual cookout.

Last Friday, Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program hosted their annual All-In cookout with multiple 2024 recruits in town for the event. 

The Tigers use this cookout for the latest recruits to build relationships with their class and the rest of the Clemson family. The event is an excellent way to build these relationships and begin to create a bond between players that will be together for the next three to four (possibly more) seasons with the program.

Here is a look at some of the recruits’ social media reactions to Clemson’s annual cookout as each gets a taste of what is to come when they join the Tigers.

Clemson picks up Thanksgiving Day commitment

The Clemson football program has picked up a Thanksgiving Day pledge from a standout local prospect. Greenville (S.C.) High School wide receiver Tyler Brown announced his verbal commitment to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Brown (5-10, 175) …

The Clemson football program has picked up a Thanksgiving Day pledge from a standout local prospect.

Greenville (S.C.) High School wide receiver Tyler Brown announced his verbal commitment to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon.

Brown (5-10, 175) becomes the third receiver commitment in Clemson’s 2023 class, joining Buckingham Browne & Nichols (Cambridge, Mass.) four-star Ronan Hanafin and Rockwall (Texas) four-star Noble Johnson.

Brown decommitted from Minnesota on Oct. 11 and then visited Clemson for the Syracuse game on Oct. 22.

Clemson also played host to Brown for the Louisville game on Nov. 12, when he received an offer from the Tigers, and he returned to campus again for last Saturday’s game against Miami.

In addition to Clemson and Minnesota, Brown held power conference offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Northwestern.

Brown’s pledge brings Clemson’s commitment total for the 2023 class to 23.

He marks the Tigers’ third commitment in five days, as Central (Phenix City, Ala.) four-star defensive end Tomarrion “T.J.” Parker committed to Clemson’s 2023 class on Monday and Carrollwood Day (Tampa, Fla.) four-star cornerback Tavoy Feagin committed on Sunday to become the first member of Clemson’s 2024 class.

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Nation’s No. 1 LB gives latest, expects to visit Clemson this weekend

The Clemson Insider caught up with a priority Clemson target, ranked as the nation’s No. 1 linebacker in the 2024 class, to get the latest on his recruitment. Jefferson (Ga.) five-star Sammy Brown, who collected Clemson’s first 2024 offer back in …

The Clemson Insider caught up with a priority Clemson target, ranked as the nation’s No. 1 linebacker in the 2024 class, to get the latest on his recruitment.

Jefferson (Ga.) five-star Sammy Brown, who collected Clemson’s first 2024 offer back in March, continues to stay in contact with head coach Dabo Swinney and defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Wes Goodwin.

“I’ve been talking pretty consistently with Coach Goodwin, really just about hunting and school and what not,” Brown told TCI. “I get on the phone with Coach Swinney once every two weeks or so. It’s good to catch up with them and talk about stuff other than football.”

As Brown keeps in touch with the coaches, he has also been keeping up with the Tigers this season and likes what he’s seen from them on the defensive side of the ball especially.

“I thought that the defense has played lights out all year,” he said. “They’ve had a couple slip-ups here and there, but they’re playing good football on a consistent basis. I’ve been very impressed.”

As far as his recruitment goes, Brown – who boasts more than two dozen scholarship offers – feels Clemson is among the schools recruiting him most heavily at this point in the process.

“It’s been pretty consistent,” he said. “Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Ohio State have been probably the hardest.”

Brown has been to Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia and Tennessee this season.

“We planned on (visiting) Oklahoma this (past) weekend but couldn’t make it because of prices,” he said.

The 6-foot-2, 227-pound junior most recently visited Death Valley for the Oct. 1 NC State game after attending the Sept. 10 game vs. Furman, where both of his parents went to college.

Brown told TCI that he and his family have considered a return trip to Clemson for this weekend’s game against South Carolina.

We checked in with Brown again earlier this week to ask whether they’ll be back in The Valley on Saturday.

“I’m pretty sure we are,” he said.

Brown is rated as a five-star prospect and ranked as the nation’s No. 1 linebacker in the 2024 class by both 247Sports and the 247Sports Composite. 247Sports considers him the No. 6 overall prospect in his class regardless of position, while he is the No. 12 overall prospect in his class according to the composite rankings.

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!

5-star WR talks ‘fun’ first Clemson visit, new offer from Tigers

A five-star prospect, ranked among the nation’s top wide receivers in his class, traveled to Tiger Town this past weekend. Ryan Wingo, one of the country’s highest-rated 2024 prospects regardless of position, made his first-ever visit to Clemson for …

A five-star prospect, ranked among the nation’s top wide receivers in his class, traveled to Tiger Town this past weekend.

Ryan Wingo, one of the country’s highest-rated 2024 prospects regardless of position, made his first-ever visit to Clemson for Saturday’s game against Miami.

In fact, it was the first time the St. Louis (Mo.) University High standout has been in the Palmetto State.

“It was fun. I had a lot of fun,” Wingo said of the Clemson visit in an interview with The Clemson Insider. “I got a few fan interactions and stuff like that. I also was there with my friends, so that also made it fun. I got offered, also, so that was a big thing as well. So, it was a fun visit.”

Dabo Swinney extended the aforementioned scholarship offer to Wingo, making the 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior just the third receiver in the 2024 class to pick up an offer from Swinney’s program.

“I was talking to Coach Swinney before the game, and he ended up offering me then,” Wingo said. “My reaction was, I really can’t even explain it. It was a good reaction for sure, because they were just telling me how they don’t really offer a lot of people and stuff like that. So, when I was hearing that, it just made it even better that I was getting the offer then.”

Heading into the visit, Wingo had already checked the boxes the Tigers look for in a recruit before pulling the trigger on an offer. He only had to cross off one other box, which was simply getting on campus for the first time.

“What they were saying was I kind of filled all the boxes as a player, person, off the field, on the field, stuff like that,” Wingo said. “And the last box was me getting up there, seeing the place, and he was like, you filled out the last box, so now the rest is on us to get you to get here.”

Wingo was accompanied on the visit by his dad, his trainer and a couple of teammates, among others with family ties.

“I’m quite sure they liked it as well,” Wingo said of their Clemson experience. “From just the few words everybody was saying, they all enjoyed themselves.”

For Wingo personally, the visit was highlighted by one particular interaction he had with Clemson fans at the game.

“It was like these dudes holding up ‘We want Ryan Wingo’ on their phone,” he said. “So, that probably was the highlight.

“It was like a text in big letters, like ‘We want Ryan Wingo.’ It was pretty cool.”

Wingo will head to Missouri this weekend for its game vs. Arkansas. He has also attended games at a slew of other schools this season, including Ohio State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, LSU and Ole Miss.

Wingo, who lists close to 40 offers, said his recruitment is “pretty wide open” right now.

“But as time goes, I think I’ll eventually hopefully get something out,” he added, alluding to a top schools list.

Now that he’s visited Clemson and scored an offer from the Tigers, can he see them being heavily in the mix for his commitment down the road?

“Yes sir, for sure,” he said.

Wingo is rated as a five-star prospect by Rivals and the 247Sports Composite. He is ranked as high as the No. 2 wide receiver and No. 6 overall prospect in the country for the 2024 class by Rivals, while the 247Sports Composite considers him the No. 3 receiver and No. 14 overall prospect in the class.

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!