As you presumably saw, Little Rock (Ark.) Christian four-star quarterback Walker White announced a commitment Friday to Auburn following our Auburn projection this afternoon.
We had written as recently as Friday morning that our signs had pointed in Clemson's favor for White (6-4, 220) coming off last weekend's extended elite junior day visit.
Yet we had stopped short of issuing a Tigerillustrated.com projection to Clemson.
Confidence was high on Clemson's end, and the Tigers were in position to have an educated feel. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley made two trips to White's school last month -- the latter with Dabo Swinney.
Yet we were aware that White had not yet revealed his choice.
There were also tells in our communication with White that gave us pause -- and proved to be instructive in the end.
We were cognizant of Auburn making a late push as the week went along.
As buzz circulated about Auburn's increased confidence today, our educated belief is that White spent much of the month thinking his choice would be Auburn before giving Clemson the final shot at changing his mind.
We have referenced the importance of Christian faith to White and his family, and that is an aspect new Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has openly espoused as well.
Freeze has a strong track record in quarterback development. Add that to this: Clemson has brought in a pair of touted quarterbacks the previous two classes, whereas Auburn could reasonably sell White on being his guy.
So here we are.
Where does Clemson turn from here?
A couple of options stick out.
We reported that Riley's opening day stop during last month's contact period went to Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day, home to four-star Jake Merklinger.
Now, it warrants mentioning that this area was the former recruiting territory for predecessor coordinator Brandon Streeter. So there was also some logistics and other dynamics involved in Riley heading in that direction.
But Merklinger (6-3, 195), ranked No. 181 overall by Rivals.com, is the candidate with whom Clemson has been most invested. He made a handful of trips to Clemson last calendar year -- most recently attending its early October win against N.C. State as well.
UNC's stock had been rising with him. But now the Tar Heels are pushing to challenge Michigan for Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day five-star Jadyn Davis, Clemson's lone outstanding offer.
Tennessee could be in play depending on how dominoes fall, while Virginia Tech, Arkansas and Michigan State are also in the picture.
The other name we're inclined to keep a close eye on is Midland (Texas) Legacy four-star Marcos Davila, a TCU commitment.
Davila (6-3, 210) committed to the Horned Frogs on Dec. 22, shortly before Riley's departure.
TCU replaced Riley with Kendal Briles, who summarily extended several new 2024 quarterback offers and brought a couple in -- along with Davila -- to their junior day last weekend.
Our hunch is McKinney (Texas) Frisco four-star Michael Hawkins is Briles' guy.
So it wouldn't be a surprise if Davila is already surveying his alternatives.
We also suspect Riley would have interest if another Lone Star State quarterback reopened his door.
Hutto (Texas) mid-three star Will Hammond committed to Texas Tech the same day Davila popped for TCU in December.
But the bigger boys took notice and came calling last month, and Hammond (6-2, 195) scored offers from Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, Penn State and Oregon.
Thus far Hammond has stuck to the guns.
Another quarterback with whom there's familiarity to Clemson is Pinson (Ala.) Clay-Chalkville four-star Kamari McClellan.
McClellan (6-1, 198), ranked No. 143 nationally, likewise threw at the Dabo Swinney Camp last summer and has made several Clemson appearances through the years.
We'd also say, though, that it's unclear what his power conference market is.
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this post to other message boards and social media, as it is a direct violation of copyright laws. Thank you.
January DEALS on officially-licensed CLEMSON apparel and gear at The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
We had written as recently as Friday morning that our signs had pointed in Clemson's favor for White (6-4, 220) coming off last weekend's extended elite junior day visit.
Yet we had stopped short of issuing a Tigerillustrated.com projection to Clemson.
Confidence was high on Clemson's end, and the Tigers were in position to have an educated feel. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley made two trips to White's school last month -- the latter with Dabo Swinney.
Yet we were aware that White had not yet revealed his choice.
There were also tells in our communication with White that gave us pause -- and proved to be instructive in the end.
We were cognizant of Auburn making a late push as the week went along.
As buzz circulated about Auburn's increased confidence today, our educated belief is that White spent much of the month thinking his choice would be Auburn before giving Clemson the final shot at changing his mind.
We have referenced the importance of Christian faith to White and his family, and that is an aspect new Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has openly espoused as well.
Freeze has a strong track record in quarterback development. Add that to this: Clemson has brought in a pair of touted quarterbacks the previous two classes, whereas Auburn could reasonably sell White on being his guy.
So here we are.
Where does Clemson turn from here?
A couple of options stick out.
We reported that Riley's opening day stop during last month's contact period went to Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day, home to four-star Jake Merklinger.
Now, it warrants mentioning that this area was the former recruiting territory for predecessor coordinator Brandon Streeter. So there was also some logistics and other dynamics involved in Riley heading in that direction.
But Merklinger (6-3, 195), ranked No. 181 overall by Rivals.com, is the candidate with whom Clemson has been most invested. He made a handful of trips to Clemson last calendar year -- most recently attending its early October win against N.C. State as well.
UNC's stock had been rising with him. But now the Tar Heels are pushing to challenge Michigan for Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day five-star Jadyn Davis, Clemson's lone outstanding offer.
Tennessee could be in play depending on how dominoes fall, while Virginia Tech, Arkansas and Michigan State are also in the picture.
The other name we're inclined to keep a close eye on is Midland (Texas) Legacy four-star Marcos Davila, a TCU commitment.
Davila (6-3, 210) committed to the Horned Frogs on Dec. 22, shortly before Riley's departure.
TCU replaced Riley with Kendal Briles, who summarily extended several new 2024 quarterback offers and brought a couple in -- along with Davila -- to their junior day last weekend.
Our hunch is McKinney (Texas) Frisco four-star Michael Hawkins is Briles' guy.
So it wouldn't be a surprise if Davila is already surveying his alternatives.
We also suspect Riley would have interest if another Lone Star State quarterback reopened his door.
Hutto (Texas) mid-three star Will Hammond committed to Texas Tech the same day Davila popped for TCU in December.
But the bigger boys took notice and came calling last month, and Hammond (6-2, 195) scored offers from Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, Penn State and Oregon.
Thus far Hammond has stuck to the guns.
Another quarterback with whom there's familiarity to Clemson is Pinson (Ala.) Clay-Chalkville four-star Kamari McClellan.
McClellan (6-1, 198), ranked No. 143 nationally, likewise threw at the Dabo Swinney Camp last summer and has made several Clemson appearances through the years.
We'd also say, though, that it's unclear what his power conference market is.
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this post to other message boards and social media, as it is a direct violation of copyright laws. Thank you.
January DEALS on officially-licensed CLEMSON apparel and gear at The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
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