Tag: Jermaine Matthews Jr.

Ohio State statistical leaders through three games

These guys in particular could be a problem Saturday.

I admit that I probably should leave something like this to the folks overs at Buckeyes Wire. Then again, that’s the whole idea behind the College Wire sites. Every site has something unique to offer, and Fighting Irish Wire is no exception. We encourage you to check out all sites to get your college sports fix, particularly at this time of year when college football is reigning supreme throughout the land.

Now that the shameless plugging is out of the way, let’s talk about why you really clicked on this link. You want to see which Ohio State players are most likely to give Notre Dame problems in one of the most anticipated college football games of the year. These are the players who are most likely to stop a resurgent start to the season for the Irish in its tracks. You probably will see a few of them in the NFL soon.

If you aren’t familiar with these Buckeyes yet, get yourself familiar with them right now:

You’ve got mail: TCI answers your recruiting questions

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 …

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: Is there any way to list our current prospects and the timeline of their decision — if they have one? 

Absolutely! 

Right now, the only current prospect of note that has set a commitment date is Stockbridge (Ga.) three-star defensive back Shelton Lewis, who will be making his college decision on Monday, Aug. 8 at around 9:30 a.m. We’ll have more details on Lewis in an answer to another question that was posed, but we are expecting it to be a sunny day in Clemson.

As for someone like Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Cambridge, Mass.) four-star wide receiver Ronan Hanafin, the general expectation was that the Massachusetts native was going to be committed before the start of his senior season. However, there hasn’t been a whole lot of chatter coming out of his camp. Hanafin very well could choose between Clemson, Notre Dame, Alabama and Boston College before his senior campaign rolls around, but each passing day makes that more and more unlikely.

Another uncommitted prospect that Clemson is heavily in the mix for is Kayden McDonald. The four-star defensive tackle out of North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) is said to be eying a commitment date sometime in the month of October. That would allow him to make an official visit to Clemson for a gameday at Memorial Stadium this fall.

When we wrote about McDonald in this week’s edition of The Insider Report, we reported that he didn’t receive permission from his coach to attend the All-In Cookout because it conflicted with his schedule. The cookout was also on a Monday. Clemson should be able to get him on campus again and there should be a resolution in that regard, sooner than later.

Lastly, I wanted to touch on Christopher Johnson. It seems that Clemson may be out of the running for the three-star running back out of Fort Lauderdale’s (Fla.) Dillard High School. While Johnson hasn’t outwardly removed Clemson from contention, he recently told the Miami Herald that he’s focusing on two schools — Miami and Ole Miss. While Johnson previously told us that an official visit to Clemson sometime this fall would be in the cards, that still remains to be seen. In any event, he’s said to be close to making a decision.

Q: I thought someone shared a comment or link to an article where a UGA site predicted a heavily recruited player was going to pick Clemson on Monday. I can’t remember if he was an offensive lineman or defensive lineman but I recall he was a pretty big player. Was that a figment of my imagination?

I think you may be referring to Kayden McDonald, who received a crystal ball to Clemson from 247Sports back on July 31. As for a player who is set to announce this coming Monday, that’s Shelton Lewis, who also hails from the Peach State.

Clemson is looking to land both of their commitments, but as I noted above, McDonald likely won’t be making any college decisions until October.

Q: It might have already been covered but with us supposedly offering current OSU commit Mathews, would we still take both him and Lewis?

In a perfect world, Clemson would probably love to take both Shelton Lewis and Jermaine Matthews, Jr. 

The more talent you can accumulate on your roster the better, right?

However, after speaking with a couple of sources, Clemson did not extend an offer to the Ohio State commit. After messaging with Matthews, he told us that he spoke with cornerbacks coach Mike Reed, but that appears to be the extent of what took place.

So, in that event, I would say it’s very unlikely that Clemson would take both Lewis and Matthews. That’s from a numbers standpoint and the fact that Clemson would be rather unlikely to offer a prospect that’s already pledged their commitment elsewhere. At the same time, the Tigers feel pretty good about their chances of landing Lewis and TCI has already called for this coming Monday to be a sunny day in Tiger Town.

Q: Will Clemson pull back IN a 4-star RB?

I’m sure this question relates to the 2023 recruiting class and it’ll be interesting to see what happens next. Jeremiah Cobb committed to Auburn, while Christopher Johnson is poised to commit elsewhere. Clemson did express interest in Klein Forest (Houston, Texas) four-star Parker Jenkins, but that ship has sailed, as he committed to the University of Houston on Saturday.

The same could be said for Dylan Edwards. And while Clemson’s class of 2023 commits were driving the Tigers’ interest in the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, Edwards elected to commit to Notre Dame Saturday after walking back his Kansas State pledge the weekend prior.

Clemson is in a tough spot here, but remember CJ Spiller and staff were able to identify Parish Episcopal School (Dallas, Texas) three-star running back, Andrew Paul, as a prospect worth targeting. At one point, Paul seemed like he was heading to Clemson, but Georgia was able to swoop in late and earn his commitment.

While Clemson certainly needs to start closing at the running back position, there shouldn’t be any doubts about the Tigers’ ability to evaluate prospects that blossom during their senior season.

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!

The Insider Report: Updates on newly offered prospects, latest on some remaining targets

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 …

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.

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 Big Ten commitment reports Clemson offer

A prospect committed to a prominent Big Ten program reported an offer from Clemson via social media Monday afternoon. Winton Woods High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) four-star defensive back Jermaine Matthews Jr. announced the offer from the Tigers on …

A prospect committed to a prominent Big Ten program reported an offer from Clemson via social media Monday afternoon.

Winton Woods High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) four-star defensive back Jermaine Matthews Jr. announced the offer from the Tigers on Twitter.

Matthews (6-0, 175) has been verbally committed to Ohio State since July 1.

He is the No. 5 prospect in the state of Ohio, No. 14 athlete nationally and No. 226 overall prospect in the 2023 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

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.