Clemson will play host to a bunch of top prospects for Saturday’s 12 p.m. game against Syracuse.
Here are some of the bigger names The Clemson Insider has confirmed as planned visitors for the top-15 ACC Atlantic Division showdown at Death Valley:
One of the headliners among the recruits expected to be in attendance is Central High School (Phenix City, Ala.) four-star defensive end Tomarrion Parker (pictured above), who will be on campus as an official visitor.
Parker, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound senior in the class of 2023, is down to Clemson, Penn State, Texas A&M and Tennessee. Last week, he announced a commitment date of Nov. 21.
Clemson extended an offer to Parker on Aug. 11, after he decommitted from Penn State a couple days prior.
“I always wanted to say that Clemson offered,” Parker told The Clemson Insider shortly after being offered. “We’ve been talking for a little while and once I decommitted, some of the commits, some of my friends that I know — Peter Woods and (Christopher) Vizzina — they hit me up and they were like, ‘Bro, would you be interested in Clemson?’
“Are you kidding me? Of course!”
Since Clemson has re-entered the picture, what has defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall’s message been to Parker?
“He’s losing four guys (Xavier Thomas, KJ Henry, Myles Murphy and Justin Mascoll) this year to the NFL, so he needs players who are ready to come in and play early, play right away,” Parker said, “and he feels like I’m a guy that can do that. He’s gonna recruit me hard and I really like that and respect that — saying that the defensive room is open next year. That’s a great opportunity to go into.”
Parker, who went to Tennessee last weekend for its game against Alabama, was previously at Clemson on an unofficial visit for the Sept. 10 game vs. Furman.
He is ranked as high as the No. 6 defensive lineman and No. 44 overall prospect in the 2023 class by 247Sports.
A few other significant 2023 prospects slated to be on hand for Saturday’s game as unofficial visitors are Daniel High School (Central, S.C.) three-star athlete Misun Kelley, North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) three-star athlete Khalil Barnes and North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) four-star defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.
Kelley received an offer from Clemson on Oct. 7, shortly after decommitting from Virginia Tech.
Dabo Swinney and the Tigers offered the 5-foot-11, 177-pound senior as an athlete. According to Kelley, Clemson sees him as an electric, versatile weapon that can return punts, shut down opposing receivers and/or score touchdowns.
“Swinney had called me and told me that I had been balling on the field,” Kelley told TCI after scoring the offer. “He said that they were ready to 100% offer me. I’ve been talking to (wide receivers coach Tyler) Grisham and (defensive coordinator Wes) Goodwin too a lot.”
In addition to Clemson, Kelley mentioned schools like Virginia Tech, James Madison, Maryland, Oklahoma and Florida as those currently involved in his recruitment. He’s hoping to render a decision prior to December.
Barnes (6-1, 185) reopened his recruitment and decommitted from Wake Forest on Oct. 3.
Ever since Clemson offered Barnes on Sept. 22, he’s been in constant contact with Goodwin and co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Mickey Conn. He said that his conversations with Goodwin and Conn are more personable, that they don’t talk about football.
“I feel like I talk to him the most out of any coach from up there,” Barnes said to TCI of Conn. “I can call him, and we can probably talk about what I had for lunch and have a good conversation. He always lets me know that at Clemson, they really want me. He feels that I’m the guy that they need to have with this recruiting class. It’s good talks for sure.”
After this weekend’s unofficial visit, Barnes will make his way back to Clemson for the South Carolina game on Nov. 26 and take an official visit that weekend.
As far as a decision timeline is concerned, Barnes imagines that it’ll likely come close to the early signing period. He’s hoping to be a midyear enrollee and said that all the schools he’s been in contact with will be able to accommodate him on that.
As for McDonald, he announced a top five earlier this month featuring the Tigers along with Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and Ohio State. He is ranked as high as the No. 193 overall prospect in the 2023 class by Rivals, which considers him the nation’s No. 8 defensive tackle in his class.
Clemson extended an offer to the 6-foot-3, 315-pounder in late May.
“It’s a blessing,” McDonald told TCI after receiving the offer. “Clemson’s a school that doesn’t really throw out a whole lot of offers. Clemson is a great, top-five program. In the last five years, they’ve won nattys. It’s a great program that doesn’t really throw out offers, so it’s a blessing to have an offer.”
The headliner among the 2024 prospects planning to be in attendance is Willis (Texas) five-star quarterback DJ Lagway.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound junior is ranked as the No. 4 quarterback in the country and No. 25 overall prospect in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Lagway dropped his top 10 schools last month, announcing he is down to Clemson, Arkansas, LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Southern Cal, Alabama and Baylor.
Clemson got him on campus for a pair of unofficial visits in April and June.
It didn’t come as a surprise when he included Swinney’s program as a part of his top schools. He recently went into detail with TCI about why the Tigers are one of his favorites.
“I’d say because of the atmosphere — the Christian-based atmosphere,” Lagway explained. “It’s just amazing. It’s different than any other school. I feel like that’s the reason why it sets Clemson apart.”
Some other standout prospects set to visit Clemson for Saturday’s game are Tuscaloosa County High School (Northport, Ala.) 2023 three-star athlete Sawyer Deerman, Vandegrift (Austin, Texas) 2024 four-star offensive lineman Blake Frazier, Pike Road (Ala.) 2024 three-star defensive end Malik Blocton, North Cobb (Kennesaw, Ga.) 2024 athlete David Eziomume, Carrollton (Ga.) 2026 quarterback Julian Lewis and Dillon (S.C.) 2026 quarterback Josiah Oxendine.
As always, visitor lists like this are fluid and subject to change. But as of Thursday morning, the prospects mentioned in this article are some of the bigger names TCI expects to be on hand Saturday in The Valley.
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