Tag: Harris Sewell

Starting center battle heating up, Swinney names current front runner for the position

There is a favorite to land Clemson’s starting center job.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program are looking for someone to step up and start under center. Swinney himself has named a front-runner to land the starting job.

With the Tigers’ spring game approaching, Swinney met with the media Wednesday to discuss the team and what to expect for the game. Ryan Linthicum, Trent Howard, and Harris Sewell are currently battling for the starting center position, with Swinney noting that Linthicum will “be running out first” in the spring game.

“I want to see transformation in some areas of his commitment, if you will. I want his body to be in the best possible place…if he puts the work in, I think we’ll all like the work. He’s certainly capable,” Swinney said.

This position battle is one of the most important the Tigers have as center while not a glamorous position, is an essential one. We’ll see how each player fares on Saturday as the Tigers look to improve and show fans what they have going for next season.

5 Clemson players to watch closely vs. Miami

Here are five Clemson players to keep a close eye on when the Tigers and Hurricanes kick off at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Clemson and Miami will square off in a pivotal ACC matchup at 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday night, with the Tigers (4-2, 2-2 ACC) trying to win their fifth game of the season.

Clemson has won the last four matchups with Miami dating back to 2015. In those four games, the Tigers outscored the Hurricanes 178-30. That said, this year’s Miami team has been one of the best in the conference.

Despite dropping their last two games, the Hurricanes (4-2, 0-2 ACC) are averaging 37.7 points and 501.8 total yards per game on offense while holding opposing teams to just 19.0 points per game. To win on Saturday, Clemson will need to be sharp in all three phases.

Here are five Clemson players to keep a close eye on when the Tigers face the Hurricanes.

Swinney gives update on RG competition

A true freshman and a senior are competing to start at right guard for the Tigers this weekend.

Clemson’s starting right guard position remains a two-man race between true freshman Harris Sewell and senior Mitchell Mayes, head coach Dabo Swinney confirmed on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Dabo Swinney said that Sewell and Mayes are still competing to run out with the first-team offense.

“They’ll both play. I don’t see a situation where they don’t both play,” Swinney said of Sewell and Mayes. “We’ll see who runs out there first.  They’ve got a long week ahead from a practice standpoint, but
excited about what Mitchell’s done. He didn’t play his best game a couple games ago, but Harris got a lot opportunity and, in the last game, took advantage of it. He did a great job, and we’re really excited about him and our OL in general and what we have the opportunity to produce there over these next couple of years.”

The Tigers have rotated Sewell and Mayes at the starting right guard spot over the last several games. Sewell, a true freshman, played 62 snaps in the Tigers’ last game against Wake Forest. Mayes, on the other hand, played eight snaps versus the Demon Deacons. While Sewell played far more snaps in Week 6, Mayes is still listed as the starter on the unofficial depth chart for Saturday’s game against Miami.

An opening was created at the right guard spot when Swinney declared Walker Parks out for the season with a lower-body injury, calling Parks’ injury “a huge loss” for his team. Parks started in all of the 13 games he appeared in during the 2022 season and was one of the most experienced linemen on Clemson’s roster.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Big-time Texas OL loving life as a Clemson commit

Ian Reed is loving life as a Clemson commitment. The big-time offensive lineman and consensus four-star prospect from Vandegrift High School (Austin, Texas) gave his verbal pledge to Dabo Swinney’s program earlier this summer, and he couldn’t be …

Ian Reed is loving life as a Clemson commitment.

The big-time offensive lineman and consensus four-star prospect from Vandegrift High School (Austin, Texas) gave his verbal pledge to Dabo Swinney’s program earlier this summer, and he couldn’t be happier about his college decision.

“It’s been awesome – just nothing but good things from the community that supports me,” Reed said to The Clemson Insider recently of being on board with the Tigers. “They’re just amazed how I’m committed to Clemson. I love Clemson, and Clemson’s going to be home forever.”

The bond between the commits in Clemson’s 2023 class has been getting stronger, and Reed expects it to become even tighter when he and many of the others arrive on campus as midyear enrollees in January.

“It’s been growing, for sure,” he said. “We’ve got to spend more time with each other, but most of the commits are probably coming in early, so we’ll get to spend a lot more time around each other. For sure I love my other future teammates. They have the same goals as I do and the same mindset as I do, and we want to go win championships and just continue the success Clemson has consistently had.”

As for Reed’s relationship with Clemson’s coaching staff, it continues to develop as well as he communicates with them regularly, including offensive line coach Thomas Austin.

“Just talking to them like probably once a week,” Reed said. “I know it’s the dead period right now, but we’ve just been talking over text message, and sending me love and support and just talking to me about life. I love Coach Austin. He’s a great guy, great coach.”

The last time Reed traveled to Tiger Town was in late July, when he attended the All In Cookout and had a blast with his fellow recruits and future coaches at Clemson’s signature summer recruiting event.

“Everyone enjoyed it,” he said. “It was super fun just seeing each other again, hanging out with the coaches again, just having a great time with each other basically, seeing the families again and having a good time relaxing and playing games and all that. It was awesome to me.”

Reed’s parents and youngest brother accompanied him to the cookout, and his mother came away impressed after her first experience at Clemson.

“It was my mom’s first time visiting campus, and she loves it,” he said.

Clemson beat out schools like Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Alabama and Texas, among others on Reed’s list of around 30 scholarship offers, to land his commitment back on June 7.

The consistency of Swinney’s program, and the coaching staff he has put in place, are a couple of things that played a big role in Reed’s decision to be a Tiger.

“Just the continued success that Clemson has, the vision that they have for you as a man of life and just as a player too, that really stuck with me,” he said. “I love how the coaches are very honest and transparent, and they’ll love you hard and they’ll coach you hard at the same time. I just really like that. With the new staff Coach Swinney got, this is a really great staff, development staff too. They like to develop you, and he’s got high-quality coaches. So, I’m really excited about that.”

Reed was the first offensive line commit in Clemson’s 2023 class, and he has since been joined by a couple of other big-time O-line prospects – Permian High School (Odessa, Texas) four-star Harris Sewell and Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Ga.) four-star Zechariah Owens.

Each of them is ranked as a top-150 national prospect, regardless of position, by at least one of the major recruiting services.

“I’m really excited to work with (Owens) and Harris,” Reed said. “They’re very talented O-linemen, too. They’re physical, they’re mean, they’re fast, they’re agile, they’re mobile, and they’re very good people, too, and very good people to work with. So, I’m just really excited to be their teammate.”

Reed certainly looks forward to enrolling at Clemson in January and beginning his collegiate career, but first, he is focused on taking care of business during his senior season at Vandegrift.

“I’m very excited about that,” he said, “but I’m just going to take it one step at a time, help my team, help finish and complete our goals for my high school team and what we want to do first, and then it’s on to Clemson and start again basically. So, I’m really excited about the midyear enrollee stuff and just getting ready to work.”

What can Clemson fans expect to see from Reed on the Tigers’ offensive line in the future?

“Someone that’s loyal,” he said. “I’ll give 110 percent every play. I’m physical and mean, athletic, very smart. I have a great bend, speed off the edge, too. Just a mauler and physical.”

Reed is ranked as high as the No. 14 offensive tackle and No. 147 overall prospect in the 2023 class by Rivals.

–Photo courtesy of Ian Reed on Twitter (@Ian_Reed72)

Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center.  Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix.   If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Clemson football 2023 recruiting class tracker

Clemson football is on a recruiting tear. Check out the Tigers 2023 class so far.

Updated 8/9

We are in full swing with the 2023 recruiting cycle, with this past month being a busy one for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program.

There have been ups and downs during the process, but the Tigers have had a great start in the 23′ class. Though the team has dealt with decommitments from four-star wide receiver Nathanial Joseph and three-star tight end Reid Mikeska, Clemson still ranks among the top of 247Sports 2023 recruit team rankings.

According to the 247Sports rankings, Friday’s addition of five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods has pushed Clemson up to the No.3 ranked class in the country with eleven commits and 260.28 total points.

Swinney and the Tigers are one of the hottest teams on the recruiting trail right now after snagging Woods from his home state and power house program, Alabama.

Here is a look at the Tigers’ current 2023 class with their 247Sports composite ranking:

Clemson commits react to their official offers from the Tigers

August 1 marks the day that colleges around the nation start doling out official offers to prospects. Clemson is of course among the schools that have been sending out official offers to their commits and targets in the class of 2023, and many of …

August 1 marks the day that colleges around the nation start doling out official offers to prospects.

Clemson is of course among the schools that have been sending out official offers to their commits and targets in the class of 2023, and many of the Tigers’ pledges have been announcing and reacting to their official offers on social media.

Here’s a look at official offer announcements from future Tigers:

Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center.  Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix.   If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

4-star OL commit Owens says ‘the sky’s the limit’ for Clemson’s 2023 class

Among the commitments in Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class who were on hand for Monday’s All In Cookout was Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Ga.) four-star offensive tackle, Zechariah Owens. The 6-foot-6, 365-pound rising senior had a …

Among the commitments in Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class who were on hand for Monday’s All In Cookout was Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Ga.) four-star offensive tackle, Zechariah Owens.

The 6-foot-6, 365-pound rising senior had a blast at the Tigers’ signature summer recruiting event and recapped his experience in a phone interview with The Clemson Insider this past Tuesday.

“It was fun, man,” Owens said. “It was so much fun. It felt good seeing all my guys again. I can say this and speak for everybody, we’re all like brothers. The way we look at each other. The way we talk to each other, play with each other. I know when we get to college, I already know the sky’s the limit for us.”

Before we went further into Monday’s festivities, Owens peeled back the curtain and walked us through his decision to commit to Dabo Swinney’s program back on the Fourth of July. 

If you can recall, Owens told The Clemson Insider back in early March that Clemson was his No. 1 school following a junior day visit that culminated in an offer. At the time, it was not only Swinney’s message that resonated with Owens but his ability to connect with Thomas Austin on a personal level. 

“I’m looking at him as an example,” Owens said of Clemson’s offensive line coach. “He was an offensive lineman. He came from Clemson and look where he is now. He’s the offensive line coach — that’s his dream job. Every time someone comes out of Clemson, no matter where they go…dreams come true at Clemson. I just know that if I stick with the plan they have for me, I could do the same thing.”

Now, you may be asking why when Owens’ commitment video panned into a Penn State logo before turning into his Clemson commitment graphic. Well, word got out that he silently committed during his official visit and he didn’t want that to be public information until he announced his decision.

“I knew I was going to Clemson,” he said. “My family knew I was going to Clemson. We’ve been All In. We all knew I was going to Clemson…It wasn’t no disrespect towards the school or nothing like that. I just wanted to get people off my back thinking they know where I’m going when I didn’t want to make it public.”

While Monday’s All In Cookout wasn’t about recruiting, Owens said that Clemson’s staff was still acting like they were recruiting him. Even though Clemson had 16 of 17 committed prospects on campus earlier this week, the Tigers haven’t grown complacent. They haven’t treated the commits any differently just because they’re committed. They’re still actively recruiting them and their families each and every day, especially Monday.

“I don’t know how to explain it, it’s really like a family thing,” he said. “It’s really like a family. I can’t really explain it, you really just got to be there. It’s no favorites…All of them are just family.”

That especially can be said for Clemson’s offensive line commits like Vandegrift (Austin, TX.) four-star Ian Reed and Permian (Odessa, TX.) four-star Harris Sewell.

“We might be the best o-line class Clemson has gotten,” Owens said. “Development-wise, we have the best o-line class. We’re dawgs. I got my boy, Ian, he’s tough. I’ve seen Harris’s film. Harris is tough. Harris be hittin’…We all act like brothers too, so our chemistry’s already there. The way we act towards each other and around each other, we don’t try to one-up each other. No, none of that. The chemistry is actually there and very genuine with my boys.”

The same could be said for the remainder of Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class and the five-star quarterback that Owens has been tasked with protecting.

“Everybody loves CV,” Owens said of Christopher Vizzina. “CV is like boy wonder. How could you not love Chris? He’s cool. I love CV. He’s like a brother for real. He’s the one that recruited me and helped me come to Clemson. I was gonna choose Penn State and he was like ‘Yeah, you’re not going to Penn State.’’

Owens listened. He was not going to Penn State.

— Photo for this article courtesy of  @z6ckk on Instagram.

Dear Old Clemson has added to the store posters signed by all 20 members of Clemson’s 2022 football class.

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!

Where is Clemson in ESPN’s latest 2023 recruiting class rankings?

ESPN this week released its latest 2023 college football recruiting class rankings (subscription required). Clemson’s 2023 class is currently ranked No. 6 by ESPN, behind Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia and Penn State, in that order. The …

ESPN this week released its latest 2023 college football recruiting class rankings (subscription required).

Clemson’s 2023 class is currently ranked No. 6 by ESPN, behind Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia and Penn State, in that order.

The Tigers, who were previously ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s 2023 recruiting class rankings, have seven ESPN 300 commits out of their 17 total pledges.

Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian School quarterback Christopher Vizzina is Clemson’s top-rated offensive commit, checking in at No. 40 overall in the ESPN 300 rankings, while Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson defensive tackle Peter Woods is the Tigers’ top defensive commit at No. 9 overall in the ESPN 300.

Here’s what ESPN staff writer Craig Haubert had to say about Clemson’s 2023 class:

Trevor Lawrence set a high bar, and replacing him is not easy, but the Tigers continue to add talented options under center. They signed the No. 2 overall quarterback in the 2022 cycle in Cade Klubnik and now landed ESPN 300 signal-caller Vizzina, a strong-armed, accurate and poised passer. Four-star WR Noble Johnson is a nice-sized target who is capable of creating problems with good explosiveness and the ability to break tackles after the catch. In the trenches, the Tigers have secured some very good talent. Offensively, Harris Sewell was a great pickup out of Texas. He is a flexible big man with good mobility who is also a physical finisher and should develop into a strong asset to the Tigers’ ground attack. The Tigers have recruited very well along the defensive line under Dabo Swinney. Woods was a huge get out of Alabama powerhouse program Thompson. One of the most explosive and disruptive DLs in the class, he reminds us of current Clemson standout DL Tyler Davis. David Ojiegbe is a powerful player who can be tough versus the run, and Vic Burley was a big win on the recruiting trail, as he is a multisport athlete in high school with good explosiveness and upside. At linebacker, Jamal Anderson is a rangy defender who can be a sideline-to-sideline presence.

Arkansas, LSU, Alabama and Tennessee round out the top 10 in ESPN’s 2023 recruiting class rankings, respectively, with Miami (No. 11) currently having the second highest-ranked class in the ACC behind Clemson.

The other ACC teams in the top 25 of ESPN’s 2023 recruiting class rankings are Louisville (No. 17) and North Carolina (No. 19).

Clemson’s 2023 class currently ranks No. 5 nationally by Rivals and No. 7 by 247Sports.

Come out to support Clemson baseball at Dear Old Clemson’s event which is set for September 30 at the Owen Pavilion.  New head coach Erik Bakich will be on hand as will next year’s baseball team.  If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Clemson offensive line target sets commitment date

One of Clemson’s priority offensive line targets has announced his commitment date.

One of Clemson’s top offensive line targets has set his commitment date.

2023 three-star interior offensive lineman Connor Lew took to Twitter on Saturday to announce he will make his commitment on August 5.

Lew’s finalists are Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and Miami.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Lew is the No. 42 interior offensive lineman and the No. 612 overall recruit in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Lew officially visited Clemson on June 3 and has since visited his three other finalists.

“It was impressive to see how Clemson focused on character development and preparing their student-athletes for life,” he told The Clemson Insider following the official visit. “It starts up with Coach Swinney, and he did a good job of explaining to us and describing the process and how there’s tools and resources for everyone to grow as a person and develop their character while they’re at Clemson.”

He is one of 14 offensive line recruits the Tigers have offered, three of which, Harris Sewell, Zechariah Owens and Ian Reed, have committed.

[mm-video type=video id=01g8kkb645kfwrysrhvr playlist_id=01fvdd1xkgcx6zr5s5 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g8kkb645kfwrysrhvr/01g8kkb645kfwrysrhvr-9e621044d4e47f60760d9dd5f519dbc1.jpg][listicle id=3349]

Austin talks recruiting, says it’s been ‘encouraging to see’ Clemson’s brand is ‘strong’

With the start of fall camp just weeks away, Thomas Austin had a chance to speak with reporters on Tuesday for the first time since the first-year offensive line picked up three verbal commitments in the class of 2023. Austin was asked about getting …

With the start of fall camp just weeks away, Thomas Austin had a chance to speak with reporters on Tuesday for the first time since the first-year offensive line picked up three verbal commitments in the class of 2023. 

Austin was asked about getting back on the road and what his message has been now that he’s an assistant coach on Dabo Swinney’s staff.

“I think it’s certainly been encouraging to see that our brand is strong, the message resonates with the right guys and the right families,” Austin said Tuesday. “With all this NIL and portal stuff, the college landscape is up in the air a little bit and there’s some confusion. Coach Swinney said the other day, ‘The more chaotic college football becomes, the more attractive Clemson will become to the right guys.”

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, a highly touted prospect ranked as high as the nation’s No. 8 offensive tackle and No. 67 overall prospect in the country for the 2023 class by 247Sports.

Owens 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.

Sewell is tabbed as a top-100 national prospect regardless of position by ESPN (No. 65 overall), Rivals (No. 99) and the 247Sports Composite (No. 73), the latter of which considers him the No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the class. Reed, meanwhile, is also well respected across the board as a consensus four-star prospect who is ranked as high as the No. 13 offensive tackle and No. 143 overall prospect in the 2023 class.

“I think we’ve been able to identify the right guys that fit our culture, fight our program and the right families that fit our program,” he said. “I think there’s affirmation through the summer that those guys really want to be at Clemson. I think it’s been very encouraging for us.”

What Austin wasn’t aware of until he got on the road is while everybody talks about Clemson, there’s a lot more negative recruiting going on than he originally realized. Austin indicated that when Clemson recruits against other schools on the recruiting trail, the coaches talk about Clemson, but they don’t talk about other people or other programs.

“I think there was some people that were trying to expose some chinks in the armor for Clemson, that ‘Hey, that this is the beginning of the end for us.’ I think it was good affirmation for us to be like, ‘Hey, there’s a lot of questions, but we’re well positioned with NIL. We have the best facilities in the country. We have great resources that work. Our guys are gonna come here and have incredible opportunities. We’re not leading with those conversations, right? It’s about our culture. It’s about our education. It’s about the fit. It’s about P.A.W. Journey. It’s about everything else that Clemson has to offer. That’s attractive for the right guys.”

Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.