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Today's Fact Or Fiction feature from Rivals.com national analyst Adam Friedman, who is joined by Paul in this installment.
Four-star safety Jordan Young has Clemson and Tennessee among his top contenders but Tennessee seems to be in great position to overtake early favorite Clemson. Young isn't scheduled to announce his commitment until October but Tennessee has the final official visit in June before the dead period. Young is expecting to take a number of other official visits once the season begins this fall but the battle between Clemson and Tennessee will rage on.
Clemson and Tennessee have competed for top-ranked prospects out of North Carolina in the past but Sanders and Young seem to be focusing in on these two programs as their recruiting processes enter pivotal stages.
Strelow: FACT. Truth of the matter is, it picked up two seasons ago when Tennessee cranked out an explosive offense that displaced Clemson as the sexy attraction in the region.
That empowered the Vols to prevail for high-profile Mike Matthews last cycle, and they would beat the Tigers for lineman William Satterwhite, too. Yet as they squared off in more head-to-head battles, Clemson won its share by stealing out offensive lineman Ronan O'Connell to go with several Tennessee wanted in linebacker Sammy Brown and safety Ricardo Jones among others.
Tennessee's recent move to surpass Clemson as the favorite for Sanders brightens the spotlight on this burgeoning rivalry, so to speak. But they are also reasonably dueling for Monroe (N.C.) four-star safety Jordan Young and among the top two or three for Roswell (Ga.) Fellowship Christian four-star lineman Josh Petty and Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian four-star defensive tackle Christian Garrett.
And as we peek ahead to the 2026 class, you can see scenarios by which they'd be the ones battling for Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day four-star lineman Leo Delaney, maybe Irmo (S.C.) receiver Donovan Murph or Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic receiver Tyreek King, even Cornelius (N.C.) Hough four-star corner Samari Matthews.
Josh Heupel and NIL have made a game of it in the area again.
Full article here: https://clemson.rivals.com/news/fac...cruiting-rivalry-with-tennessee-is-heating-up
Today's Fact Or Fiction feature from Rivals.com national analyst Adam Friedman, who is joined by Paul in this installment.
The recruiting rivalry between Clemson and Tennessee is picking up
Friedman: FACT. The Tigers and Volunteers have been recruiting against each other for years but two high-profile recruitments have put both programs in the spotlight again. Five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. is seriously considering Clemson and Tennessee along with Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and South Carolina. A pair of visits to Clemson earlier this year gave the Tigers a bunch of momentum but back-to-back visits to Knoxville has really helped Tennessee as we get closer to official visit season.Four-star safety Jordan Young has Clemson and Tennessee among his top contenders but Tennessee seems to be in great position to overtake early favorite Clemson. Young isn't scheduled to announce his commitment until October but Tennessee has the final official visit in June before the dead period. Young is expecting to take a number of other official visits once the season begins this fall but the battle between Clemson and Tennessee will rage on.
Clemson and Tennessee have competed for top-ranked prospects out of North Carolina in the past but Sanders and Young seem to be focusing in on these two programs as their recruiting processes enter pivotal stages.
Strelow: FACT. Truth of the matter is, it picked up two seasons ago when Tennessee cranked out an explosive offense that displaced Clemson as the sexy attraction in the region.
That empowered the Vols to prevail for high-profile Mike Matthews last cycle, and they would beat the Tigers for lineman William Satterwhite, too. Yet as they squared off in more head-to-head battles, Clemson won its share by stealing out offensive lineman Ronan O'Connell to go with several Tennessee wanted in linebacker Sammy Brown and safety Ricardo Jones among others.
Tennessee's recent move to surpass Clemson as the favorite for Sanders brightens the spotlight on this burgeoning rivalry, so to speak. But they are also reasonably dueling for Monroe (N.C.) four-star safety Jordan Young and among the top two or three for Roswell (Ga.) Fellowship Christian four-star lineman Josh Petty and Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian four-star defensive tackle Christian Garrett.
And as we peek ahead to the 2026 class, you can see scenarios by which they'd be the ones battling for Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day four-star lineman Leo Delaney, maybe Irmo (S.C.) receiver Donovan Murph or Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic receiver Tyreek King, even Cornelius (N.C.) Hough four-star corner Samari Matthews.
Josh Heupel and NIL have made a game of it in the area again.
Full article here: https://clemson.rivals.com/news/fac...cruiting-rivalry-with-tennessee-is-heating-up
