The Clemson Insider thought it would be interesting to analyze the matchups on Clemson’s 2022 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 Wake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Truist Field in Winston-Salem. 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 – Marcus Tate (4-star, No. 127 national, No. 8 IOL)
C – Will Putnam (4-star, No. 101 national, No. 5 OG)
RG – Walker Parks (4-star, No. 50 national, No. 5 OT)
RT – Blake Miller (4-star, No. 208 national, No. 16 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 – Brannon Spector (3-star, No. 522 national, No. 60 WR)
WR – E.J. Williams (4-star, No. 69 national, No. 13 WR)
or WR – Beaux Collins (4-star, No. 86 national, No. 12 WR)
Clemson defense:
DE – K.J. Henry (5-star, No. 14 national, No. 3 WDE)
DT – Bryan Bresee (5-star, No. 1 national, No. 1 DT)
or DT – Ruke Orhorhoro (3-star, No. 745 national, No. 49 SDE)
DT – Tyler Davis (4-star, No. 137 national, No. 12 DT)
or DT – Ruke Orhorhoro
DE – Myles Murphy (5-star, No. 7 national, No. 1 SDE)
or DE – Justin Mascoll (4-star, No. 142 national, No. 9 WDE)
SLB/NB – Barrett Carter (5-star, No. 33 national, No. 3 LB)
MLB – Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. (4-star, No. 37 national, No. 5 LB)
or MLB – Keith Maguire (3-star, No. 442 national, No. 26 OLB)
WLB – Trenton Simpson (5-star, No. 26 national, No. 1 OLB)
CB – Sheridan Jones (4-star, No. 130 national, No. 15 CB)
or CB– Nate Wiggins (4-star, No. 118 national, No. 7 CB)
SS – Andrew Mukuba (4-star, No. 167 national, No. 8 S)
FS – Jalyn Phillips (3-star, No. 448 national, No. 37 S)
or FS – Tyler Venables (3-star, No. 1127 national, No. 81 S)
CB – Fred Davis II (4-star, No. 53 national, No. 7 CB)
or CB– Nate Wiggins
Wake Forest offense:
LT – Je’Vionte Nash (3-star, No. 1328 national, No. 76 OG)
LG – Sean Maginn (2-star, No. 2260 national, No. 105 OG)
C – Michael Jurgens (3-star, No. 964 national, No. 40 OG)
RG – Loic Ngassam Nya (NR)
RT – DeVonte Gordon (3-star, No. 1015 national, No. 90 OT)
TE – Blake Whitehart (3-star, No. 1581 national, No. 69 TE)
WR – Donovan Greene (4-star, No. 271 national, No. 39 WR)
QB – Sam Hartman (3-star, No. 767 national, No. 32 PRO)
RB – Justice Ellison (3-star, No. 2608 national, No. 344 WR)
WR – A.T. Perry (3-star, No. 1418 national, No. 205 WR)
WR – Taylor Morin (3-star, No. 1934 national, No. 161 ATH)
or WR – Ke’Shawn Williams (3-star, No. 2198 national, No. 285 WR)
Wake Forest defense:
DE – Rondell Bothroyd (3-star, No. 1317 national, No. 66 SDE)
DT – Dion Bergan, Jr. (3-star, No. 1706 national, No. 119 DT)
DT – Tyler Williams (3-star, No. 1572 national, No. 93 DT)
DE – Ja’Corey Johns (3-star, No. 1192 national, No. 46 ILB)
LB – Chase Jones (3-star, No. 1335 national, No. 56 ILB)
LB – Ryan Smenda, Jr. (3-star, No. 1124 national, No. 41 ILB)
CB – Caelen Carson (3-star, No. 1726 national, No. 149 CB)
S – Chelen Garnes (NR)
or S – Brendon Harris (4-star, No. 371 national, No. 25 S)
S – Malik Mustapha (NR)
NB – Isaiah Wingfield (NR)
CB – Gavin Holmes (3-star, No. 1283 national, No. 113 CB)
or CB – J.J. Roberts (3-star, No. 1693 national, No. 143 CB)
Notes:
There is unsurprisingly a stark contrast in the talent of Clemson and Wake Forest’s projected starters, at least on paper, with the Demon Deacons only having a pair of former four-star prospects and no former five-stars as opposed to the Tigers’ 14 former four-star prospects and seven former five-stars. Wake Forest has one former top-275 national recruit in wide receiver Donavon Greene while only one other projected Demon Deacon starter was a top-400 national recruit (safety Brendon Harris, No. 371 national).
Most of Wake’s projected starters were ranked outside of the top 1,000 players in the country as recruits. Clemson, meanwhile, has 13 former top-100 national prospects and six former top-150 national recruits among its projected starters
**All ratings/rankings according to the 247Sports Composite
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