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Clemson's offensive line recruiting was highlighted in today's Fact Or Fiction feature by Rivals.com national analyst Adam Friedman. Our Paul Strelow participated in the feature.
Clemson fans should be worried about offensive line recruiting
Friedman's take: FACT. Clemson is going to sign talented prospects but it's not inspiring to see the offensive line targets they haven't closed on.
Fletcher Westphal committed to
Florida on Monday.
William Satterwhite committed to
Tennessee last week.
Alabama looks like the favorite for
Casey Poe's upcoming announcement and Clemson is trailing for
Jameson Riggs.
This isn't encouraging but, historically, Clemson wasn't known for signing top-ranked offensive linemen. They've developed low four-star and three-star offensive line prospects for years and turned them into reliable contributors. Missing on these highly ranked recruits in an area of need like the offensive line can sting for years.
Strelow's take: FICTION. Disappointed? Frustrated? Sure. Those are all logical reactions to Clemson missing out on a pair of targets this past week, and having all three offered in-state options fall for its rival earlier in the cycle. The Tigers have a good one in four-star
Ronan O'Connell, but it's reasonable to have hoped for more at this juncture.
Far be it from us to tell customers how they should think, full disclosure. But it's not as if Clemson fans haven't seen this before. And then the Tigers either score a big name late, or they work around the shortfall. Offensive lines don't live or die with one recruiting cycle, and Clemson had some banner triumphs the previous two classes.
You can justifiably argue they need to win more battles to take the next step or get where they want the position to go. But every outcome appears magnified and a referendum when you keep such a small board as Clemson, and precedent cautions us against overreacting to a string of defeats.
Full Fact Or Fiction article from Friedman