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 Louisville at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 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)
Louisville offense:
QB – Malik Cunningham (3-star, No. 501 national, No. 33 ATH)
RB – Jalen Mitchell (3-star, No. 1065 national, No. 72 RB)
LT – Trevor Reid (JUCO: 3-star, No. 16 national, No. 2 OT)
LG – Caleb Chandler (3-star, No. 379 national, No. 39 OT)
C – Cole Bentley (3-star, No. 616 national, No. 29 OG)
RG – Adonis Boone (3-star, No. 1220 national, No. 114 OT)
RT – Renato Brown (3-star, No. 946 national, No. 50 OG)
WR – Josh Johnson (3-star, No. 517 national, No. 77 WR)
WR – Jordan Watkins (3-star, No. 850 national, No. 48 ATH)
WR – Justin Marshall (3-star, No. 419 national, No. 63 WR)
HB – Marshon Ford (NR)
Louisville defense:
DE – Ramon Puryear (NR)
NT – Malik Clark (3-star, No. 1636 national, No. 110 OLB)
or NT – Dezmond Tell (3-star, No. 979 national, No, 79 DT)
DE – Yaya Diaby (JUCO: 3-star, No. 41 national, No. 3 SDE)
or DE – Ashton Gillotte (3-star, No. 1288 national, No. 73 EDGE)
OLB – Yasir Abdullah (3-star, No. 813 national, No. 53 OLB)
MLB – C.J. Avery (4-star, No. 224 national, No. 20 S)
MLB – K.J. Cloyd (JUCO: 3-star, No. 115 national, No. 7 OLB)
OLB – Jack Fagot (NR)
CB – Greedy Vance (3-star, No. 621 national, No. 44 CB)
SS – Qwynnterrio Cole (NR)
FS – Kendrick Duncan (2-star, No. 2542, No. 196 S)
CB – Chandler Jones (3-star, No. 385 national, No. 36 CB)
Notes: Louisville has just one former four-star prospect in its projected starting lineup on each side of the ball in linebacker C.J. Avery. He is the only player in Louisville’s starting lineup that was ranked as a top-300 national recruit coming out of high school. It is in stark contrast with Clemson’s starting offense and defensive lineups that include a total of nine former four-star prospects, six former five-star prospects and 11 former top-150 national prospects. Clearly, the recruiting rankings tell us that there is a talent gap between the Tigers and Cardinals, but if the season is any indication, that won’t matter when the two teams step on the field.
**All ratings/rankings according to the 247Sports Composite
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