It’s time for this week’s edition of The Insider Report.

We hope everyone had a great weekend.

The latest on remaining class of 2023 targets

As it stands on Monday, July 18, Clemson’s top remaining targets in the class of 2023 remain as follows: Milton High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) four-star safety Robert Billings, Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.) four-star defensive end Hunter Osborne and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Cambridge, MA.) four-star wide receiver Ronan Hanafin.

The Clemson Insider established as such when we took a look at what’s next for Clemson in the 2023 recruiting class. As Billings told us over a week ago now, the expectation is that he will be in attendance for the program’s annual July cookout come next weekend.

Right now, Billings figures to be the only uncommitted prospect that will be on campus, but that hasn’t stopped Clemson from pushing for Osborne and Hanafin to be among next weekend’s turnout.

As for Hanafin, TCI was told by a source not to count out Clemson’s chances with the Massachusetts native, even though he has been considered a Notre Dame lean for quite some time now. Another source informed TCI that Clemson is currently trending for Hanafin, but it would be premature to divulge that the Tigers have unseated Notre Dame as the long-standing favorite to land his commitment.

Clemson currently stands well with Osborne and those familiar with his recruitment like the Tigers’ chances at landing him. However, there has been no indication that he’ll be attending next weekend’s cookout or that he’ll be making an announcement regarding his recruitment anytime soon.

In any event, things remain fluid as Dabo Swinney and staff look to fill out their remaining open scholarships for the class of 2023.

Elite Buckeye State signal caller planning Clemson gameday visit

One of the nation’s top signal callers in the class of 2025 recently spoke with a Clemson assistant coach. Findlay (Oh.) 2025 QB Ryan Montgomery spoke with Brandon Streeter on Friday and we were told that the call went great.

While Streeter was on vacation when Montgomery was on campus for an unofficial visit on June 18, Clemson’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach spoke at length with the prized Buckeye State quarterback prospect this past week.

Right now, Montgomery is looking at either Louisville (11/12) or Miami (11/19) for a game day visit at Memorial Stadium this fall.

An update on 5-star Clemson QB target

The Clemson Insider spoke with Willis (Texas) five-star quarterback DJ Lagway ahead of this week’s edition of The Insider Report. Lagway, who is considered to be the apple of Clemson’s eye in the class of 2024, gave the latest on his recruitment and updated his interest in the Tigers at this time.

Lagway has recently had a chance to speak both with Brandon Streeter and Dabo Swinney. According to Lagway, Clemson’s coaching staff has been telling him that he’s their top target in the 2024 recruiting class and that they’re really excited about him and his future.

“I have a real good relationship with those two coaches,” Lagway said. “I talk to Coach Streeter a lot, at least once a week. I try to get on the phone every couple of weeks with Coach Swinney. I talk to them a good amount. I have good conversations with them. We have a good relationship and I’m excited to keep building on it.”

He spoke with Clemson’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks last week. While Lagway is Clemson’s top target, the conversations have shifted away from football and have focused more on life, family and the human aspect of things.

“That’s a huge factor,” Lagway said. “Outside of football, you’ll be around these people for like three-to-four years at a time, so you got to be able to be comfortable on and off the field with them.” 

Is there anything about Clemson and its recruiting philosophy that’s stood out to Lagway?

“Really just the family atmosphere is different than all the other schools,” he explained. “That kind of the vibe, the Christian-based atmosphere, that makes Clemson stand out from the rest.”

Lagway is unsure when he’ll visit Clemson next, but said that he’ll “definitely visit” for a game at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. He doesn’t have any games circled, but he’ll workout a date with Streeter eventually.

Lagway will be getting his miles in this fall, as he also plans on taking gameday visits to Texas A&M, Florida, Southern Cal and LSU.

Rising junior receiver target gives the latest

In addition to Lagway, TCI also caught up with Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) four-star wide receiver Alex Taylor on Monday. Taylor, who was the first rising junior WR that Tyler Grisham offered in this cycle, updated his current recruitment and where Clemson currently stands in the mix of things.

“After I got offered, I’ve really just been talking to Coach Grisham more frequently, like every week,” Taylor said. “I’m ready for Sept. 1, so I can talk to him more than two times a week. I was the first 2024 (wide receiver) offer and I was super excited about that, so I know he thinks highly of me.”

Taylor said that his relationship with Clemson’s wide receivers coach has “definitely been getting stronger” throughout these past couple of weeks. He also admitted that he talks to Grisham more than really any other coach. 

When asked what stood out about Clemson’s recruiting approach thus far, he made sure to mention how frequently he has been talking to the Tigers, even as a rising junior. He still has a lot of time left in his recruitment, but acknowledged that he also talks to Clemson more than any other school.

This past week, Taylor had a chance to talk to some different coaches on Clemson’s offensive coaching staff, including Streeter and running backs coach CJ Spiller. Taylor has been getting more into it with the whole coaching staff and learning more about Clemson as a whole.

That proves to Taylor that he’s a priority for Clemson.

With that, he’s planning on catching at least one game at Memorial Stadium this fall.

— Photo for this article courtesy of derek.lagway on Instagram.

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