Tag: Elyjah Thurmon

Two Tigers tabbed as college football 2024 recruits who could play right away

These two Tigers could be immediate impact players in their first season with the team.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff have done a great job recruiting in the 2024 class, even if some don’t seem to believe it. 

While the Tigers didn’t earn a top 5 ranking with this class, the talent is there, and this staff knows how to recruit. The people who were knocking Clemson for their 2023 recruiting class for not being strong enough probably feel pretty foolish now with the way that group played, and the same may end up being said for this 2024 class.

This class has top-tier talent, with 247Sports identifying two Tigers who could play right away for Clemson in 2024. One of which is offensive lineman Elyjah Thurmon. 

Clemson doesn’t go shopping in the portal, which means that the Tigers play more true freshmen than the average contender, including along the offensive line. That’s a role Thurmon could earn, based on the way that he performed at the Polynesian Bowl, where he dominated all week and earned a fourth star.

Thurmon comes with tackle and guard flexibility and, given the Tigers’ struggles to find a consistent presence at guard this past year alongside Marcus Tate, it’s possible that Thurman pushes for a starting spot from the jump. At worst, he projects as someone who can help immediately in the two deep.

Clemson desperately needs help on the offensive line, and while they do return a lot of talent, Thurmon could step up and be an immediate impact player. The Tigers’ offensive line needs a bump, and Thurmon could possibly be that guy.

The next new Tiger mentioned was their top recruit, five-star linebacker Sammy Brown.

We’ve seen it time and time again at Clemson: True freshmen tend to get on the field quickly. That includes at the linebacker position, where those like Barrett Carter and Wade Woodaz have played extensively as first-year players. Woodaz and Carter are both ahead of Brown on the depth chart, but there’s an opportunity for snaps with Jeremiah Trotter Jr. off to the NFL.

Few recruits are more physically ready to play on the college level than Brown. A 6-foot-2, 230-pound freakshow of an athlete, Brown should step in right away and compete for playing time. He’s got excellent instincts and is as physical as they come. Expect him to, at worst, be an excellent special teams player in 2024.

True freshmen do get on the field quickly at Clemson, and Brown is one I’m expecting to see early. The vacancy at linebacker for Clemson is real with the departure of Jeremiah Trotter Jr., and Brown will look to be the guy who fills the Barrett Carter role as Carter moves into Trotter’s former role.

Don’t be surprised if both of these new Tigers end up being early impact players.

Clemson Football’s 2024 Recruiting Class

Here is a look at Clemson football’s 2024 recruiting class after adding two preferred walk-on wide receivers.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff did a phenomenal job with their 2023 recruiting class and look to strike the same magic they did in 2023 with their 2024 class. 

The 2024 class looks great on paper, and it looks like the class wrapped things up yesterday. The Tigers added two preferred walk-ons in wide receivers Parker Fulghum and Clark Sanderson, adding depth at wide receiver behind the two studs they have already in this class. 

With these additions, we have a clean, full look at what Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class looks like as the program prepares for the 2024 season. Below is a look at each recruit in the Tigers’ 2024 class and where they are ranked in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Updated 1/31

12 Tigers in the final Rivals250 rankings for the 2024 class

12 Tigers landed in Rivals final Rivals250 rankings for the 2024 recruiting class.

For some teams, recruiting means a lot. For a team like Clemson, it means that much more.

Modern college football is very different from what some of us remember growing up. Year after year, the game changes and differs from what we once knew. Right now, the transfer portal is going wild as teams use the portal to build their teams. Each team is different with the transfer portal, but if you look at a team like Florida State from 2023, a majority of a team’s starting lineup can come directly through the portal.

That is not the case for Clemson, who simply doesn’t use the transfer portal often (or even at all, depending on the season). Therefore, recruiting means everything for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program. Luckily for Clemson fans, Swinney and his staff are great at recruiting.

Rivals recently released their final Rivals250 rankings for the 2024 class, with 12 Tigers making the rankings. Here is a look at each of those Tigers and where they rank.

A look at Clemson freshmen midyear enrollees’ new jersey numbers

All Clemson freshmen mid-year enrollees have their numbers.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff have recently rounded out their 2024 recruiting class, with many of that class already on campus and working with the team.

The addition of the new Tigers means new numbers. Each early enrollee has received a number and is now updated on the Tigers roster. According to 247Sports 2024 team recruiting rankings, the Tigers have the No.12 overall class, with their personal rankings having them ranked No.16 overall.

This class looks to be another strong one for the Tigers, with multiple top players across the country joining the program. Below is a look at all early enrollee’s new numbers in number order.

CB Tavoy Feagin — No. 6

WR Bryant Wesco — No. 12

CB Corian Gipson — No. 12

RB David Eziomume — No. 24

S Ricardo Jones — No. 25

S Noah Dixon — No. 27

WR Chase Byrd (PWO) — No. 29

S Joe Wilkinson — No. 31

LB Sammy Brown — No. 47

OL Elyjah Thurmon — No. 52

DT Champ Thompson — No. 56

OL Watson Young — No. 56

OL Mason Wade — No. 76

OL Ronan O’Connell — No. 77

PK Nolan Hauser — No. 81

DE Adam Kissayi — No. 98

 

Swinney on OL transfer portal misses: ‘You can try all you want, but they gotta choose you’

Dabo Swinney shared some updates on the offensive line and why it was difficult for the Tigers to land transfer portal offensive linemen.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson program were more active in the transfer portal than usual this season but failed to land any of their targets on the offensive line.

While this may be disappointing to some, Swinney is happy with where the Tigers are on the line. According to Swinney, the Tigers were hurt by this as they weren’t looking for a one-and-done player, but rather someone they could build the offensive line around for multiple years.

“I’m excited about where we are, and frankly, that’s kind of what hurt us with some of these portal guys. We really weren’t looking for a one-and-done guy. That really wasn’t what we needed,” Swinney said. “Because you bring a guy in, you’re going to lose somebody. We like our guys. We don’t want to lose any of those guys. We believe in Tristan (Leigh), Collin (Sadler), Blake (Miller), and those guys, Marcus Tate – these are guys that can play tackle and guard for us. We’re really excited about them and where they are.

“So, we were really looking more for – and we didn’t know how it was going to play out with Mason (Wade), we didn’t know how it was going to play out with Elyjah (Thurmon), and we ended up getting those guys, which is just a home run for us – but we were really looking for guys that maybe had at least maybe three years left. We felt like that would be a good fit for us.”

They are looking much better on the offensive line than they were before, but it is tough to ignore these transfer portal misses. You need to earn your place on Clemson’s starting lineup, and the head coach simply couldn’t guarantee any of the players they were after a starting spot.

“As I say, they gotta choose you. You can try all you want, but they gotta choose you, and it’s hard when you’ve got seven starters coming back,” Swinney said. “A lot of these guys are in the portal for a reason. They want to be the guy, and I can’t guarantee anybody’s going to be the guy. You get an opportunity to be the guy, but you’ve got to earn it.

“But thankfully, it all worked out, just worked out the way it was supposed to. Getting Elyjah and getting Mason really was big for us because obviously they’ll come in and compete right away but give us guys that have a lot of years ahead of them.”

We all wanted to see improvement on the offensive line from the portal, but that won’t be the case this season. The Tigers will bolster the unit with their 2024 recruiting class and continue developing their players on the roster.

Clemson football 2024 early signing period tracker

Here is a full early signing period tracker for everyone who wants to keep up to date with who the newest Tigers are.

The Early National Signing Period for football is in full swing, with the Tigers putting together what looks like another excellent recruiting class for their 2024 cycle.

Players across the country are signing their letters of intent as they prepare to take the next step in their football journeys. The same goes for Clemson, with multiple top players from across the country joining the program as they look to continue to build on Clemson’s success.

Wondering who has signed with the Tigers? We’ve got you covered. Here is a full early signing day tracker to check out all 21 new signees and learn more about Clemson’s newest players.

Clemson lands big commitment from 4-Star OL Elyjah Thurmon

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers landed a big commitment from one of their top OL targets.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers just landed a huge commitment from an offensive line target.

Bradwell Institute (Hinesville, GA) 2024 four-star interior offensive lineman Elyjah Thurmon has committed to Clemson, an excellent landing for the Tigers. According to 247Sports composite rankings, Thrumon ranks as the No.24 IOL and the No.374 overall recruit in the 2024 class.

Clemson came out on top in this one after competing with teams such as Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina and UCF for his commitment. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive lineman will be an early enrollee as he looks to help bolster a Clemson offensive line that could use some serious help.

A great start to the day for the Tigers.

On3 Director of Recruiting’s new prediction has Clemson landing a 4-star offensive lineman

Clemson has received another prediction to land a highly touted offensive line target, this time from On3’s Director of Recruiting.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football coaches are working hard on recruiting, aiming to build on the success of the exciting 2023 class this season.

It has been so far so good in the 2024 class, with predictions suggesting that Clemson has an excellent chance to land one of the top linemen in the class. That offensive lineman is four-star Elyjah Thurmon, who was recently crystal balled to land with Clemson by 247Sports.

Not too long after this prediction, On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons added to the mix, also predicting the Tigers would land Thurmon. According to On3’s rankings, Thurmon is the No.13 interior offensive lineman and the No.223 overall player in the 2024 class.

This would be an excellent signing for the Tigers, who want to bolster their offensive line.

Clemson receives crystal ball prediction for a 4-star offensive lineman

Swinney and the Tigers would be thrilled to land this offensive lineman out of Georgia.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football staff are hard at work recruiting right now, looking to keep their hot run going after how electric the 2023 recruiting class was this season.

The Tigers have a great chance at landing four-star offensive tackle Elyjah Thurmon, who was recently crystal balled to land with Clemson. Clemson 247 Insider Cory Fravel locked in Thurmon to the Tigers with this crystal ball prediction, giving a 7 (high) confidence rating. Fravel is hitting at a 76% rate on his predictions.

According to 247Sports composite rankings, Thurmon is the No.22 interior offensive lineman and the No.373 overall player in the 2024 class. The Bradwell Institute (Hinesville, GA) product could call Clemson his new home.

2024 4-star interior offensive lineman names his final 8

LSU’s 2024 recruiting class is starting to shape up very nicely, and the Tigers are in the running for another blue-chip player.

LSU’s 2024 recruiting class is starting to shape up very nicely. The Tigers currently have 22 overall commits and their class is ranked as the No. 10 team in the country by 247Sports and On3.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is not done going after great players as he has LSU’s name in the hat for a four-star interior offensive lineman who just released his final eight list. LSU joins Clemson, South Carolina, Missouri, UCF, Georgia Tech, Duke and Florida on Elyjah Thurmon’s list of finalists.

Thurmon is a 6-foot-3, 285-pound, four-star interior offensive lineman from Hinesville, Georgia, where he plays for Bradwell Institute. The Bradwell Institute Tigers finished the 2022 season 1-9 and failed to make the 5A playoffs.

There are no Crystal Ball projections for Thurmon, but Florida is a 42% favorite to land him per On3. If Kelly is able to pull Thurmon away from Florida, Thurmon will be the 23rd overall commit of the class.

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