TUESDAY INSIDER
By: Paul Strelow
We need to talk.
You've got questions, we've got answers or opinions.
In this popular feature, Tigerillustrated.com digs into recruiting topics broached by our subscribers.
Off we go ...
Dutch_Peacheater: What is your order of preference for the safeties that Clemson is actively pursuing and have a realistic shot at?
PAUL: If there was an apparent Caleb Downs or Malaki Starks in the crosshairs, talent would put him No. 1. But we just don't see that with the options.
Maybe we'd have given Zephyrhills (Fla.) five-star DJ Pickett dibs before he excluded Clemson from his finalists. But that would have been more on athletic profile and recruiting stature rather than what we know of him as a deep safety player.
So my view factors in fit and attainability, and thus Monroe (N.C.) four-star Jordan Young would probably be atop the queue as we approach the spring.
Monroe (N.C.) four-star safety Jordan Young
Young has speed, range and ball skills. Those assets are quite valuable. Moreover, he has a solid support system around him, and proximity is important.
In other words, he is well within Clemson's reach, in my estimation.
Those are the types you'd prefer to rein in and not let get away.
Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass four-star Jontae Gilbert is arguably the best prospect of the bunch, and the industry largely agrees there.
I wouldn't disagree with anyone who preferred Gilbert off his specs, but I could also see him following the Nyland Green career trajectory.
Both are playing the recruiting game to a degree, but my personal taste goes to Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson four-star Anquon Fegans as a player. Then Cedartown (Ga.) four-star Tae Harris thereafter.
I'd have no qualms with Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna's Cam Strong as a take for depth once the regional targets are resolved.
5iveRings: Loxahatchee (Fla.) Seminole Ridge linebacker Ty Jackson looks like a heat-seeking missile on film. Are we actively recruiting him? Was he invited to the Elite Retreat junior day event?
PAUL: Yes, Clemson is recruiting him.
The Tigers only brought one linebacker in the WILL/SAM mold to the elite junior day -- Rome (Ga.) four-star Jaedon Harmon -- and that was intentional.
But they created a couple of options that week going in via offers to Jackson and Stockbridge (Ga.)'s Chase Taylor.
When Harmon didn't claim the spot immediately, the picture expanded.
I don't foresee either Jackson or Taylor being ready to pledge Clemson by the end of the spring. But this puts more options on the table for the June official visit window.
There isn't much of a sense for Jackson's direction at this point. He's one of the quietest recruits on the radar this cycle.
Yet it feels instructive that Clemson had him in town for multiple days of the Dabo Swinney Camp, as we brought to light.
Tennessee had the same luxury, so we aren't by any means casting the Tigers as subtle frontrunners. Only that there's reason to think they are subtly in it.
andcam: Do you know if Rome (Ga.) safety signee Joe Wilkinson was more of a coach Mickey Conn like or a coach Swinney like?
PAUL: No good can come from assigning percentages there, and it doesn't have to be one or the other. Wilkinson has a solid resume.
Yet as with Nolan Turner, for example, we don't think Wilkinson ends up a part of the class without the Swinney connection.
LUV DEM TIGERS: What is the highest number of post in a recruiting mailbag question thread that hasn't asked about the transfer portal? I think we may have the record. Funny how a really good high school recruiting helps.
PAUL: When you lose, what you aren't doing is highlighted and glorified.
Hold off FSU as they so easily could have last season, and consider how that changes the story. The margins are often so slim.
Win some big recruitments -- or, even in this instance, simply put yourself in position to have a decent chance in several high-profile ones where you were previously in the background -- and yeah, the tone changes.
But this is what Clemson has consistently done cycle after cycle.
They're going to underwhelm through portal season, then surprise with the high school recruits. Par for their course.
Riverview (Fla.) Sumner four-star offensive lineman Ziyare Addison
DieHard4Clemson: If Clemson misses on Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day offensive tackle David Sanders, does Clemson sign a five-star recruit this year? If so, who do you think has the best chance of being that guy?
PAUL: As you intimate, the important part is where they're ranked at the end of the process rather than now.
The fresh reminder is that Tampa (Fla.) Catholic receiver signee T.J. Moore was a three-star at this time one year ago before his all-star game exposure catapulted him to the fringes of five-star consideration.
Peter Woods debuted at No. 5 overall in the spring of his sophomore year, fell into the 40s-50s during his junior season predictably because of measurables, then vaulted back up at the end when our network accepted before the others that he nonetheless possessed the tools for stardom at his position.
It also warrants repeating that the industry is logically reluctant to drop prospects it prematurely branded as five-stars, whether it's to save face or -- closer to reality -- massage relationships with the prospect and his fan base. In other words, a bunch of current five-stars shouldn't be five-stars when all is said and done, as tends to be true most cycles.
Riverview (Fla.) Sumner four-star lineman Ziyare Addison isn't in the Rivals250. That's presumably going to change if this past weekend's Under Armour Camp performance carries over to a Rivals Camp showing in April, and one can see scenarios where he certainly skyrockets into the top-50 nationally.
Whether Clemson lands him is more significant than whether he's a five-star or high-four star, of course.
Rivals.com has 14 prospects tagged as five-stars at present, and beyond Sanders, Savannah (Ga.) Christian Prep defensive lineman Elijah Griffin is the only one the Tigers are involved with anymore. Griffin remains a longshot to pull from UGA.
The highest-ranked four-stars with whom Clemson is reasonably battling are Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley end Bryce Davis (No. 46), Fegans (No. 50), Gilbert (No. 60) and offensive tackles Mason Short (No. 83) and Josh Petty (No. 86). They're hoping to get in the game with Sachse (Texas) receiver Kaliq Lockett (No. 57).
A lot can change within a year. There's a remote chance Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian four-star running back commitment Gideon Davidson could climb into the conversation if he did enough recruiting camp events.
Maybe Davis, Petty or Addison can get there from here, and Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep four-star corner Dallas Golden is my dark horse candidate.
So are the odds great they finish with a five-star? No. But they're in it with a half-dozen who could be close.
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this article to other message boards or social media, as it is a direct violation of copyright laws. Thank you.
By: Paul Strelow
We need to talk.
You've got questions, we've got answers or opinions.
In this popular feature, Tigerillustrated.com digs into recruiting topics broached by our subscribers.
Off we go ...
Dutch_Peacheater: What is your order of preference for the safeties that Clemson is actively pursuing and have a realistic shot at?
PAUL: If there was an apparent Caleb Downs or Malaki Starks in the crosshairs, talent would put him No. 1. But we just don't see that with the options.
Maybe we'd have given Zephyrhills (Fla.) five-star DJ Pickett dibs before he excluded Clemson from his finalists. But that would have been more on athletic profile and recruiting stature rather than what we know of him as a deep safety player.
So my view factors in fit and attainability, and thus Monroe (N.C.) four-star Jordan Young would probably be atop the queue as we approach the spring.
Monroe (N.C.) four-star safety Jordan Young
Young has speed, range and ball skills. Those assets are quite valuable. Moreover, he has a solid support system around him, and proximity is important.
In other words, he is well within Clemson's reach, in my estimation.
Those are the types you'd prefer to rein in and not let get away.
Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass four-star Jontae Gilbert is arguably the best prospect of the bunch, and the industry largely agrees there.
I wouldn't disagree with anyone who preferred Gilbert off his specs, but I could also see him following the Nyland Green career trajectory.
Both are playing the recruiting game to a degree, but my personal taste goes to Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson four-star Anquon Fegans as a player. Then Cedartown (Ga.) four-star Tae Harris thereafter.
I'd have no qualms with Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna's Cam Strong as a take for depth once the regional targets are resolved.
5iveRings: Loxahatchee (Fla.) Seminole Ridge linebacker Ty Jackson looks like a heat-seeking missile on film. Are we actively recruiting him? Was he invited to the Elite Retreat junior day event?
PAUL: Yes, Clemson is recruiting him.
The Tigers only brought one linebacker in the WILL/SAM mold to the elite junior day -- Rome (Ga.) four-star Jaedon Harmon -- and that was intentional.
But they created a couple of options that week going in via offers to Jackson and Stockbridge (Ga.)'s Chase Taylor.
When Harmon didn't claim the spot immediately, the picture expanded.
I don't foresee either Jackson or Taylor being ready to pledge Clemson by the end of the spring. But this puts more options on the table for the June official visit window.
There isn't much of a sense for Jackson's direction at this point. He's one of the quietest recruits on the radar this cycle.
Yet it feels instructive that Clemson had him in town for multiple days of the Dabo Swinney Camp, as we brought to light.
Tennessee had the same luxury, so we aren't by any means casting the Tigers as subtle frontrunners. Only that there's reason to think they are subtly in it.
andcam: Do you know if Rome (Ga.) safety signee Joe Wilkinson was more of a coach Mickey Conn like or a coach Swinney like?
PAUL: No good can come from assigning percentages there, and it doesn't have to be one or the other. Wilkinson has a solid resume.
Yet as with Nolan Turner, for example, we don't think Wilkinson ends up a part of the class without the Swinney connection.
LUV DEM TIGERS: What is the highest number of post in a recruiting mailbag question thread that hasn't asked about the transfer portal? I think we may have the record. Funny how a really good high school recruiting helps.
PAUL: When you lose, what you aren't doing is highlighted and glorified.
Hold off FSU as they so easily could have last season, and consider how that changes the story. The margins are often so slim.
Win some big recruitments -- or, even in this instance, simply put yourself in position to have a decent chance in several high-profile ones where you were previously in the background -- and yeah, the tone changes.
But this is what Clemson has consistently done cycle after cycle.
They're going to underwhelm through portal season, then surprise with the high school recruits. Par for their course.
Riverview (Fla.) Sumner four-star offensive lineman Ziyare Addison
DieHard4Clemson: If Clemson misses on Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day offensive tackle David Sanders, does Clemson sign a five-star recruit this year? If so, who do you think has the best chance of being that guy?
PAUL: As you intimate, the important part is where they're ranked at the end of the process rather than now.
The fresh reminder is that Tampa (Fla.) Catholic receiver signee T.J. Moore was a three-star at this time one year ago before his all-star game exposure catapulted him to the fringes of five-star consideration.
Peter Woods debuted at No. 5 overall in the spring of his sophomore year, fell into the 40s-50s during his junior season predictably because of measurables, then vaulted back up at the end when our network accepted before the others that he nonetheless possessed the tools for stardom at his position.
It also warrants repeating that the industry is logically reluctant to drop prospects it prematurely branded as five-stars, whether it's to save face or -- closer to reality -- massage relationships with the prospect and his fan base. In other words, a bunch of current five-stars shouldn't be five-stars when all is said and done, as tends to be true most cycles.
Riverview (Fla.) Sumner four-star lineman Ziyare Addison isn't in the Rivals250. That's presumably going to change if this past weekend's Under Armour Camp performance carries over to a Rivals Camp showing in April, and one can see scenarios where he certainly skyrockets into the top-50 nationally.
Whether Clemson lands him is more significant than whether he's a five-star or high-four star, of course.
Rivals.com has 14 prospects tagged as five-stars at present, and beyond Sanders, Savannah (Ga.) Christian Prep defensive lineman Elijah Griffin is the only one the Tigers are involved with anymore. Griffin remains a longshot to pull from UGA.
The highest-ranked four-stars with whom Clemson is reasonably battling are Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley end Bryce Davis (No. 46), Fegans (No. 50), Gilbert (No. 60) and offensive tackles Mason Short (No. 83) and Josh Petty (No. 86). They're hoping to get in the game with Sachse (Texas) receiver Kaliq Lockett (No. 57).
A lot can change within a year. There's a remote chance Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian four-star running back commitment Gideon Davidson could climb into the conversation if he did enough recruiting camp events.
Maybe Davis, Petty or Addison can get there from here, and Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep four-star corner Dallas Golden is my dark horse candidate.
So are the odds great they finish with a five-star? No. But they're in it with a half-dozen who could be close.
NOTE: Please do not copy/paste or summarize any portion of this article to other message boards or social media, as it is a direct violation of copyright laws. Thank you.
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