The Clemson Insider thought it would be interesting to analyze the matchups on Clemson’s 2021 schedule from a recruiting standpoint by going back and looking at where the Tigers’ projected starters were ranked as recruits versus where the projected starters for their opponents were ranked.
In this article, we break down Clemson’s game against Florida State at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 3:30 p.m. Below is a rundown of the projected starters for both teams, as it stands now, and their high school star ratings and prospect rankings according to the 247Sports Composite:
Clemson offense:
LT – Jordan McFadden (3-star, No. 819 national, No. 66 OT)
LG – Paul Tchio (4-star, No. 103 national, No. 3 OG)
or LG – Marcus Tate (4-star, No. 127 national, No. 8 IOL)
C – Mason Trotter (2-star, No. 3403 national, No. 195 OG)
or C – Hunter Rayburn (3-star, No. 485 national, No. 28 OG)
RG – Will Putnam (4-star, No. 101 national, No. 5 OG)
RT – Walker Parks (4-star, No. 50 national, No. 5 OT)
TE – Davis Allen (3-star, No. 807 national, No. 39 TE)
WR – Joseph Ngata (4-star, No. 52 national, No. 9 WR)
QB – D.J. Uiagalelei (5-star, No. 10 national, No. 1 PRO)
RB – Will Shipley (5-star, No. 32 national, No. 2 RB)
WR – Justyn Ross (4-star, No. 45 national, No. 7 WR)
WR – E.J. Williams (4-star, No. 69 national, No. 13 WR)
Clemson defense:
DE – Myles Murphy (5-star, No. 7 national, No. 1 SDE)
or DE – K.J. Henry (5-star, No. 14 national, No. 3 WDE)
DT – Tyler Davis (4-star, No. 137 national, No. 12 DT)
DT – Ruke Orhorhoro (3-star, No. 745 national, No. 49 SDE)
DE – Xavier Thomas (5-star, No. 3 national, No. 1 SDE)
or DE – Justin Mascoll (4-star, No. 142 national, No. 9 WDE)
SLB/NB – Trenton Simpson (5-star, No. 26 national, No. 1 OLB)
or SLB/NB – Malcolm Greene (4-star, No. 282 national, No. 29 S)
MLB – James Skalski (3-star, No. 680 national, No. 44 OLB)
WLB – Baylon Spector (3-star, No. 609 national, No. 45 S)
CB – Andrew Booth Jr. (5-star, No. 23 national, No. 2 CB)
SS – Andrew Mukuba (4-star, No. 167 national, No. 8 S)
FS – Nolan Turner (NR)
CB – Mario Goodrich (4-star, No. 114 national, No. 4 ATH)
Florida State offense:
QB – Jordan Travis (3-star, No. 889 national, No. 25 DUAL)
RB – Jashaun Corbin (4-star, No. 261 national, No. 8 APB)
WR – Keyshawn Helton (3-star, No. 1309 national, No. 191 WR)
WR – Ontaria Wilson (3-star, No. 740 national, No. 75 CB)
WR – Andrew Parchment (3-star, No. 99 national, No. 10 WR)
or WR– Malik McClain (4-star, No. 273 national, No. 42 WR)
TE – Camren McDonald (4-star, No. 290 national, No. 15 TE)
LT – Robert Scott, Jr. (2-star, No. 508 national, No. 39 OT)
LG – Dillan Gibbons (3-star, No. 374 national, No. 38 OT)
C – Maurice Smith (3-star, No. 1093 national, No. 58 OG)
RG – Devontay Love-Taylor (2-star, No. 2695 national, No. 123 SDE)
RT – Darius Washington (3-star, No. 502 national, No. 38 OT)
Florida State defense:
DE – Jermaine Johnson II (4-star, No. 1 national, No. 1 WDE)
DT – Fabien Lovett (3-star, No. 436 national, No. 18 SDE)
NT – Robert Cooper (4-star, No. 117 national, No. 9 DT)
or NT – Jarrett Jackson (3-star, No. 848 national, No. 41 SDE)
FOX – Keir Thomas (3-star, No. 387 national, No. 18 SDE)
STUD – Amari Gainer (4-star, No. 239 national, No. 18 OLB)
LB – Kalen DeLoach (4-star, No. 221 national, No. 13 OLB)
LB – D.J. Lundy (3-star, No. 967 national, No. 59 ATH)
CB – Jarian Jones (4-star, No. 217 national, No. 18 S)
BUCK – Sidney Williams (3-star, No. 559 national, No. 27 ATH)
FS – Jammie Robinson (3-star, No. 392 national, No. 32 S)
CB – Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (3-star, No. 546 national, No. 54 CB)
Notes:
As you might expect, a look at Florida State’s projected starters and where they ranked as recruits show that the Seminoles are clearly one of, if not the most talented team Clemson will face during the regular season, at least on paper. FSU has a total of seven former four-star prospects among its projected starters. Meanwhile, the Tigers’ projected starting lineups consist of nine former four-star prospects and six former five-stars. Though, if last week’s game against Pitt is any indication, recruiting rankings don’t matter once you step out onto that field. Clemson will surely have its hands full with Mike Norvell’s squad, which has won three straight.
**All ratings/rankings according to the 247Sports Composite
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