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 Pitt at Heinz Field on Saturday, Oct. 22. 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 – Matt Bockhorst (4-star, No. 240 national, No. 17 OG)
or C – Mason Trotter (2-star, No. 3403 national, No. 195 OG)
RG – Will Putnam (4-star, No. 101 national, No. 5 OG)
or RG – Matt Bockhorst
RT – Walker Parks (4-star, No. 50 national, No. 5 OT)
TE – Davis Allen (3-star, No. 807 national, No. 39 TE)
WR – Ajou Ajou (3-star, No. 401 national, No. 66 WR)
QB – D.J. Uiagalelei (5-star, No. 10 national, No. 1 PRO)
RB – Kobe Pace (3-star, No. 451 national, No. 32 RB)
WR – Justyn Ross (4-star, No. 45 national, No. 7 WR)
WR – Frank Lasdon Jr. (4-star, No. 39 national, No. 7 WR)
Clemson defense:
DE – Myles Murphy (5-star, No. 7 national, No. 1 SDE)
or DE – Xavier Thomas (5-star, No. 3 national, No. 1 SDE)
or DE – K.J. Henry (5-star, No. 14 national, No. 3 WDE)
DT – Tré Williams (4-star, No. 94 national, No. 11 DT)
DT – Ruke Orhorhoro (3-star, No. 745 national, No. 49 SDE)
DE – Justin Foster (4-star, No. 156 national, No. 11 WDE)
or DE – Justin Mascoll (4-star, No. 142 national, No. 9 WDE)
or DE – Xavier Thomas
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)
Pitt offense:
QB – Kenny Pickett (3-star, No. 738 national, No. 33 PRO)
RB – Israel Abanikanda (3-star, No. 428 national, No. 30 RB)
WR – Taysir Mack (3-star, No. 1350 national, No. 197 WR)
WR – Jordan Addison (4-star, No. 275 national, No. 10 ATH)
WR – Shocky Jacques-Louis (3-star, No. 531 national, No. 87 WR)
TE – Lucas Krull (NR)
LT – Carter Warren (3-star, No. 454 national, No. 48 OT)
LG – Marcus Minor (4-star, No. 220 national, No. 16 OT)
C – Owen Drexel (3-star, No. 1374 national, No. 18 OC)
RG – Jake Kradel (3-star, No. 682 national, No. 29 OG)
RT – Gabe Houy (3-star, No. 1165 national, No. 1009 OT)
Syracuse defense:
DE – Habakkuk Baldonado (3-star, No. 885 national, No. 51 WDE)
DT – Calijah Kancey (3-star, No. 850 national, No. 63 DT)
DT – Keyshon Camp (4-star, No. 260 national, No. 26 DT)
DE – Deslin Alexandre (3-star, No. 1118 national, No. 55 SDE)
LB – Cam Bright (3-star, No. 1175 national, No. 75 OLB)
LB – Wendell Davis (3-star, No. 950 national, No. 64 OLB)
or LB – SirVocea Dennis (2-star, No. 3130 national, No. 225 OLB)
LB – Phil Campbell III (3-star, No. 970 national, No. 62 S)
CB – Marquis Williams (3-star, No. 835 national, No. 73 CB)
SS – Brandon Hill (3-star, No. 645 national, No. 50 S)
FS – Erik Hallett II (3-star, No. 991 national, No. 88 CB)
or FS – Rashad Battle (3-star, No. 486 national, No. 35 CB)
CB – Damarri Mathis (3-star, No. 669 national, No. 64 CB)
Notes:
While Pitt’s projected starting lineups are mostly comprised of former three-star prospects with only a handful of four-stars sprinkled in on both sides of the football, Kenny Pickett is evidence that recruiting rankings shouldn’t and don’t matter on the field. As often is the case in the conference, the Tigers are much more talented than the Panthers on paper, but they do enter Saturday’s contest as road underdogs.
**All ratings/rankings according to the 247Sports Composite
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